"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Nymeria could remember it quite well. The day that Kreios had brought the new mare to her precious home, the day that Nymeria’s world had been shaken apart. The bay mare had not been living in Orange Country long, but she had grown accustomed to the quiet. She had become friends to the trees for this was her home or at least that is how it felt. Nymeria knew that the reality of the situation was that Kreios owned this home, and she was merely an invited visitor. She may have been devoted to her stallion, but there was no way of knowing if he shared in that mutual feeling. Nymeria had watched from a distance when the white mare had danced amongst the rows of trees and touched her nose to Kreios. It had sent shivers of jealously down Nymeria’s spine- and thinking of it once more brought about the same (albeit a bit smaller) reaction.
It wasn’t like Nymeria to search out the new mare, but she thought it best. Nymeria knew that a herds’ health depended upon the relationships within its borders. She knew that jealousy would not harness care and support for Kreios- so she would take it upon herself to meet, greet, and listen to the white dancer. Nymeria wanted to give her a fair chance to represent herself. The judgments that Nymeria had made previously would simply not do. She wished to approach this interaction with nothing but an open mind.
It was tough for Nymeria to stroll to the central location of the country. She enjoyed the outskirts and venturing atop the canyons. Nymeria knew though that the spring would eventually bring about the dancer. She would have to gather a drink sometime, and when she did Nymeria was ready to be friendly with enough friendliness as she could muster.
Well I've been saved by the grace of southern charm, I got a mouth like a sailor and yours is more like a Hallmark card
When Kreios went to the deserts for army related things, the ivory faerie wandered her new home, marveling at the beauty of it. She knew there was another mare here, she could smell her scent upon the breeze and it was comforting in a strange way to know that she was not alone, even if she hadn't met the other yet. Lithe and graceful she wove between the trees in a lilting trot, the silken strands that were her mane and tail floating behind her. A bubble of laughter rippled from her dark lips as she set out from the watering hole, her steps springy and light with her youth.
Dark eyes scanned the shore of the small pool, lighting on a pretty bay mare with a head even more refined than her own. Lips pulled up into a delighted and friendly smile, and she lowered her muzzle to take a long drink so that her voice would not squeak when she spoke. She knew her voice wasn't one of those deep sultry ones like some mares had, but it was easier to talk to someone else if you didn't speak like a little mouse because your throat went dry from apprehension. Walking towards the bay woman, she stops within a polite distance, close enough to extend necks and exchange breath if that was the other's custom as it was her own, but not close enough to invade personal space. Dipping her head, she smiled up at the other woman, her voice like a trill of bird song on the spring air.
Hi! I'm Illusen. I know you live here too because I can catch your scent every now and again. It comforted me to know that there was someone else here besides Kreios and I. May I ask your name?
Mare 4 Hispano-Arabe 15.3 hands Gray (bay roan based)(Ee/Aa/Rr/Gg) Kreios, Orange Country, no young Sael
Well I'll keep drinkin' and you'll keep gettin' skinnier, I'm just like you, only prettier
The heat of the day was coming upon Nymeria causing beads of sweat to wet her brow. She sighed, impatient. Her head sunk to the water basin, and quietly she licked up the water, and wished that it were cooler than the air. The water seemed to boil in the heat, and it scorched her throat once swallowed. Nymeria’s tail began to flicker more with each minute that passed. She was growing irritable. It was not an intentional irritability, but nonetheless it would possibly effect the upcoming conversation.
Eventually Nymeria could hear hoof steps amongst her. She lifted her head only to quickly set eyes upon the white dancer. She stared, unsure of what to say. Luckily the other mare spoke first and my did she say a lot. Nymeria nodded along to the name and overzealous introduction, but when the mare said that someone being there besides her and Kreios comforted her, Nymeria snorted. Her and Kreios? Um no…It was Nymeria and Kreios First. Nymeria did her best to shed her frown and cut out a smile to lopsidedly paste over her inhospitable features. It was her idea after all to find the white dancer.
”Nymeria.” She replied simply while her heart felt like it was going to pop from her chest. ”What do you think of Kreios?”
I won't be what you want me to be Your picture perfect vanity I don't want to be your dirty pretty
Illusen knew the signs of jealousy from other mares when she saw them, and Nymeria was displaying them all. She lowered her head dejectedly, knowing that no matter how much she liked Kreios this was going to be as disastrous as the last place. Quietly, she answered the other's question, eyes clouded over and ears back.
He is handsome and kind, though I guess that matters not if my presence bothers you so much. I know how jealous mares can be, I have lived through it before.
Tossing her refined head so that her long mane moved from it's customary place over her left shoulder and the left side of her neck, she revealed a long jagged scar that marred the pristine perfection of her ivory hide.
When I was two years old, another stallion saw myself and my sister Symphony in a common area and decided he had to have us for himself, despite the fact that we were both too young to be what he wanted us to be. He stole us from our father's herd under cover of darkness, and then forced us into his own. The other mares were jealous of us, he treated us like prizes that sparkled, making us run before him in our herd's movements near my father's lands, taunting him. One of the other mares graced me with this scar, saying that maybe he would not favor me so much if I had some sort of deformity. Others joined in and made the wound much worse than it normally would have been, my hide was crimson for a long time after that. I try my best to forget what happened during that first year, other than my sister there was never a horse I trusted after that. Well until I met Kreios that is. He forcebred us many times, and though I never became with child, my sister did and she died in childbirth because her body wasn't yet ready to bear the stresses of it. After the death of my sister I hid from him as much as possible, and in the end I managed to escape by leaving the island and swimming towards the next nearest land mass.
Quietly she turns to go, making her way out of the groves by the water, heading towards the pink sanded desert. Perhaps there she could find a spot where she would not be a bother to some mare's jealous heart.
Mare 4 Hispano-Arabe 15.3 hands Gray (bay roan based)(Ee/Aa/Rr/Gg) Kreios, Orange Country, no young Sael
Mirror mirror, you're so vain Would you sell yourself for fame? Are you the vulture, or are you the dove?
Nymeria had never had a female confidant other than her sister. The mare was not accustomed to others assumptions to her emotions. Brinley always knew what she was thinking. She rarely misinterpreted. Nymeria was clueless as to the fact that others may be too brash as to come to conclusions about her without even a working knowledge of who she was. The mare before her, the white dancer, quickly turned from her bubbly self to a much darker version. When the mare’s ears pierced back, Nymeria mirrored the reaction. What the hell… She thought.
Where the fuck is she getting this from” Nymeria continued to think, unable to get a word in edge wise. The illogical mare had commandeered the conversation. In fact she had grown so flustered that she now felt the need to recollect her entire history without even a hint of prompting. Nymeria, though, had been taught to be gracious so she listened with a tilted head. She was utterly clueless as to why the dancer had even brought up the story for Nymeria had only asked about Kreios.
The mare’s history would have been upsetting to Nymeria except for the fact that the bay mare lacked in empathy when it came to strangers. Illusen, though a fellow herd mare, was still a stranger. They had just met, and Illusen had literally regurgitated her life history. The spillage landed in front of Nymeria and she stared, dumbstruck at the whole occurrence. The gray mare turned and began to walk away. Nymeria’s mouth dropped.
”Uh….” She began. What..the…fuck… She thought. ”Sorry……?” She finished uneasily.
