"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
i suddenly feel like a different person from the roots of my soul comes a gentle coercion
So much has seemed to happen in a matter of weeks. Marlyn had taken Sylva, removed the caste structure and replaced it with her own. A new home for the weak and weary, a sanctuary for those who did not fit nice and neat in the cookie cutter shapes of good and evil...light and dark. Sylva was for those who wanted peace and solitude when it seemed as if the basic needs of horse kind was at it's very edge...
But now, in her good fortune, she had met with the fairies. Perhaps her 'wrong place, wrong time' was indeed exactly as it should be. The mystics had granted Marlyn her gifts back and in return had tasked her with the very same abilities. A small but hopeful smile moves across her lips as she is quiet about the secret.
Amber pools drift around as the mare looks upon the small groups of equines, some were indulging in quiet conversation while others chewed grasses or drank from the icy stream. Small coils of steam form frosted clouds with each exhale as the leggy mare stands amid the falling flakes from above. With the return of her traits, no longer did she shiver in the cold. Her spotted skin remains unflinching even when the sharpest cut of cold attempts to steal her breath. Mar pays it no mind as she continues her search. She wonders briefly of the stallion that had been granted the same ability and how she was uneasy about the way he smirked and spoke.
Marlyn would use this chance to spread the good in Beqanna. She would use this small gift to those who appreciated the generosity of the fairies. Marlyn would be sure to pass along the gospel for she was not a magician amongst horses and this power was granted by the great fairies. Marlyn was not a goddess amongst her kind. No, she is but a humble creature doing the bidding of a great power.
marlyn
yes it is same post as the other threads but yes...starters are hard lol
For the first time in her short life, she is happy.
Lonely days in the den and feral months in the forest have given way to peace and safety, and family. Following Ruan to Sylva is perhaps the best decision that she’s ever made.
But she can’t completely divorce herself from her feral roots.
On quiet days she slips away from the wooded territory, heading back into the lands that had been her home for so long. She visits her old haunts and hiding places, and while she still thinks of them fondly, she is secretly pleased to find that they are not home any more. Sylva is home. Ruan and Reagan are home.
So she turns back towards Sylva, but along the way she stops by an icy stream to refresh herself. The stream is already surrounded by other horses, but she keeps to herself, tucking herself in between a pair of thick oaks. From her hidden vantage point, her brown eyes scan through the gathered creatures, passing over a myriad of colourful and confident mares and stallions. Perhaps some day she will feel comfortable enough to join in such a crowd for conversation … but today is not that day.
She turns away from the stream then, but freezes when she realizes that there is another close by. She had not heard them crunching through the snow. Brown eyes linger over the spotted coat, before finally rising to meet a pair of deep, warm amber eyes. “Hello.”
i suddenly feel like a different person from the roots of my soul comes a gentle coercion
Marlyn almost runs into the dark skinned girl during her distracted stance. "Oh!" Surprise is evident on the features of the young spotted mare but a small burst of laughter follows nervously. Honey hued depths quickly determine that the other is of a more peaceful demeanor and the mare gives a small exhale of relief. Beqanna seemed to simply swarm with those that prey on the peaceful and trusting natures of the equines that possess them.
Marlyn looks the other female over with a small smile, noting the strength of a still growing form. The shock of white hair against the contrast of her skin is quite flattering. "So sorry about that." Mar attempts to reach the other politely. "I can be quite clumsy." The smile spread like sunshine through a stained glass window across her lips. "I'm Marlyn, what's your name?" Yes, the woman knows she has her stipulations from the fairies but she wants to gift those with their traits back that deserved it, would use it responsibly (at least for this very moment). Marlyn is not a goddess amongst horses...no, but she was not irresponsible with her task either.
The mare almost runs into her, small and underfoot as she is, and Terra takes a step back, tucking her dark, feathered wings closer to her sides - an instinctive defensive measure. But the stranger seems more surprised than irritated, and Terra’s wings relax at the slight smile that crosses the speckled face.
She stays on her guard though - a relic of her days living on the run in the woods. It always pays to be cautious with strangers, no matter how friendly they seem. That said, the risk she’d taken in going with Ruan had paid off in the end …
“S’alright.” She gives a noncommittal shrug. Ruan would probably want her to be more polite, but she hasn’t exactly mastered the art of conversation.
The mare reveals her name as Marlyn, which Terra thinks to be quite odd (it sounds like a boy name to her). But thankfully she at least has enough social graces to keep that to herself. So instead she flicks her silver forelock and offers a one word answer - her own name. “Terra.”
The mare is staring at her with open expectation, and Terra supposes that this is the point where she’s supposed to make ‘small talk.’ “From Taiga. You?” Despite the stilted speech she is actually interested in the answer - the mare smells a bit like Taiga, but not quite.
i suddenly feel like a different person from the roots of my soul comes a gentle coercion
The filly is not the most talkative but it was perhaps the way she was raised. Sometimes it is best to not talk to strangers in Beqanna. A wiry smile is warming the painted woman's features, the white mask crinkling at the edges of her eyes. Lobes are trained forward as she listens while noticing the nonchalant shrug, the lack of connection that the filly feigned. Marlyn is not much older than the girl...barely a mare in her own right but with the responsibility of Sylva, her head was a little heavier, her own shoulders a bit more strained.
"I'm from Sylva." Her voice thickens slightly with robust pride for her home a touch of dreaminess hinting with the amber depths of her eyes. Marlyn is not sure how she should continue after this. Sure, she could fill the air with nonetheless, babbling ceaselessly for answers to questions that she wasn't sure if she really cared to know. So instead, with a direct eye, Marlyn asks- "Terra, have you lost anything in the Reckoning?" Marlyn purposely leaves the question open and dangling as she awaits the reply that the dark mare interprets from her question.
The mare isn’t taking her strangeness to heart, and it emboldens her. She relaxes further, though the last bit of tension doesn’t leave her muscles (and never will).
“Sylva.” She repeats, tasting the word on her tongue. She’s heard the place mentioned once or twice … a land somewhere off to the west of Taiga. From what little she knows of the place it seems similar to Taiga, at least, in that it has a lot of trees. It’s probably why Marlyn’s scent seems so similar to that of a Taiga resident.
She’s suddenly struck with the desire to see the place, to see how their trees are different. She’s seen so little of the world - all of her roamings so far have been confined to the forest and to Taiga itself after all. But … not today. Today the forest and this strange little meeting are enough newness for her.
The mare’s next question puzzles her, and her silver tipped head cocks to the side. “Lost?” The mare clearly thinks that such a question will mean something to her, and yet it doesn’t. She’s been lost before, deep in the woods, but that doesn’t seem to be the sort of ‘lost’ that Marlyn is talking about. “What do you mean?” Oh the things she will soon learn about herself!
The filly's confusion is mirrored across the spotted woman's own features. Something had lead them to cross paths and Marlyn knew the other was in loss of a strong possession. Feathered heels move her to better look at the silver haired child with a scrutinizing eye. "Well something is amiss." She chuckles softly, more to herself than to her company.
The white masked mare roots herself to the ground for this next part. Lids fall over the cocoa pools as she begins to concentrate. She truly doesn't know what she is doing really. "Stand still, Terra." The words pass between her lips, hushed and close before something manifests in her minds eyes. A small glowing light that seems to brighten as it comes closer.
With a quick snap of her teeth, Marlyn can see herself gripping the now thrashing orb and she opens her eyes with the thing in her mouth. Her motions are quick, but Marlyn tucks the light ball to her chest with gritted teeth and suddenly spurring to press it against Terra's form and her own...forcing the light into the girl.
Marlyn must step back now as cold sweat damps her skin as she watches to see what she has given the youth. "There, Terra, whatever you may have lost is now restored." A small smile cross her features as she must lean against a rough tree trunk for a bit of rest.
