"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 wish I could feel it all for you, I wish I could do it all for you
It was not winter when she’d left, but when she fell through the rift in the cave, she had come to again knee-deep in water as icy as any she’d ever experienced in the Tundra, the beach had been locked in the depth of winter. But it was her beach again, and she breathed in the salty air with a sense of relief, glad to be home, to be herself again.
But was she truly herself again? Even before she opens her eyes Kellyn can feel the difference – she can feel them at the edges of her consciousness, whispering, and can see them from the corners of her vision, and she knows. The ghosts of the underworld will not truly leave her; they are as much a part of her now as the fabric of time itself. Shaking her head, she looks around, glad to see the others emerging, noting their faces for later consideration (it seems the youngest of them have done the best – Nihlus and Wrynn and Ramiel; Kellyn and Rhy are the only true adults amongst them) but she does not stay to speak to them.
She runs instead, stopping only when she has reached the snow-covered Field, exhaustion burning in her limbs and her throat dry and aching. A part of her wants to turn North, to flee back to the protective gaze of her grandfather and the Brothers, but she is not the same girl who left to follow Carnage’s mad call. Someday she will return, to tell Brennen of those who miss him, but now she does not want to go back to the only home she has ever known. Instead she lowers her head gratefully to the cool water of the stream, and tries to decide where to go. She cannot go to the non-mythical Kingdoms; she has no interest in losing a power, old or new. They are a part of her, ingrained. The Valley has a certain call to her soul, an appeal, but even now Bethanie’s wary voice rings in her ears ‘You are not your mother’s daughter…yet.’ She knows that the ghosts would not approve of the Valley. But the Deserts - ‘You look like her, you know.’ Does she look enough like Elite to be rejected in the Deserts? Would they know?
She doesn’t know what the right choice is.
Kellyn
the girl who walks in time and talks to ghosts
daughter of cagney and elite
It had been a long time since she had last visited the Field and she is not sure what has drawn her here today, but she has chosen to follow her instinct. She had left her son back in the Amazons for he was growing strong and becoming very much the independent young man that Malka had wished him to be.
She pushes him to the back of her mind though for she would not be able to concentrate well with the young man in her thoughts. An easy smile sticks to her face as she treads through the snow. It was probably the last snow fall of the year and Malka enjoyed the white powder when she could. There wasn't much of it in the Amazons and Malka made a point to avoid the Tundra during its coldest times, but here she was today and even with the white fluff on the ground, a promising sunshine sparkled across her back keeping her warm enough that she did not feel the need to cover herself in feathers.
She moves slowly towards the stream that she knew was in the Field, for it tended to be a gathering spot among those that came to the Field. She was not failed today by the stream either fore as she approached, she saw a roan mare standing alone sipping from the moving water. Malka dipped her head to the stream to drink as well and respectfully waited until the mare had finished and lifted her head from the water before moving towards her.
"Greetings!" she says softly to the roan mare as she dropped her head in a gentle greeting, ears tipping forward to catch any words she may whisper. "I'm Malka, of the Amazons," she adds after a bit, her tail flicking softly across the top of her hocks as her amber eyes look over the mare that stood before her. She is quiet for a moment, giving the mare an opportunity to introduce herself if she wanted.
"What brings you to the Field on such a chilly day?" she poses, front leg reaching out and playfully striking the snow that was under her feet. She pulls her leg back beneath her and lets her back leg cock slowly, coming to a resting pose. She had never feared the Field and prefer to simply talk to others than force feed them some bout on how amazing her kingdom was. And so, she falls silent waiting to see what tidbits that roan would offer up.
Malka
immortal, quetzal-shifting Lekh, Kosi & Erinak of the 'Zons
06-01-2015, 01:09 PM (This post was last modified: 06-01-2015, 01:10 PM by Zilpah.)
It seems like forever ago that Zilpah and Kreios found Kellyn in the Meadow. It was the Meadow, wasn’t it? She remembers Kellyn as being pretty, and quiet, and then not very sure she wanted to stay in the Desert.
She can always try again, right?
After all, the Desert was very different now. It was… more lively? More powerful. More… dangerous?
It might attract some new types.
It might now be what Kellyn is looking for - for though she does not know it, Cam is more like Elite than most of them could ever guess.
The sand is not like the snow; it is cold and wet and stings when she’s in it too long, and Zilpah does not like that feeling. So instead of walking, she is flying, even though the air numbs her nose and ears. Zilpah isn’t really looking for anything or anyone in particular, she’s just stretching her legs (and wings) for a bit, so imagine her surprise when she thinks she sees someone familiar. The bay mare wheels around and descends to get a closer look - and when she has confirmed it is Kellyn, Zilpah decides to go and see what’s up. I mean, they aren’t ‘friends,’ per se… but they were friendly, and it seems only polite.
While Zilpah is landing, another bay and white mare comes up to Kellyn. The ex-princess notes that she bears the Amazonian tattoo and smiles. It never occurs to her that they might be in competition for a new recruit. Instead, she bounds over, cream and rust colored hawk winks pressed against her sides to keep her warm and stave away the shivers. “Kellyn! Hi! Feels like it’s been forever since I last saw you. Whatcha been up to? We - ah.” she pauses, sheepishly. There she goes, accidentally taking over the conversation again. Whoops. Bright, friendly amber colored eyes turn to the Amazonian and she tries to rectify it. “I’m Zilpah. Did you say your name was Malka? It’s nice to meet you!”
Because really… it is.
(I know I said I was closeting her, but I couldn't help myself with this one first)
I wish I could feel it all for you, I wish I could do it all for you
She raises her head to the enthusiastic approach of another mare, offering a nod though she does not speak at first, though when there was a pause she offers, “I’m Kellyn.” The other mare is bright and almost enough to bring Kellyn to a response, but she is nothing compared to the fire that is Zilpah. The strawberry girl can’t help but smile in response to the appearance of her old friend, however brief their acquaintance had been. Zilpah and Kreios had been kind, even her very short meeting of Yael had been relatively pleasant, but it had not been enough to hold her to the Deserts.
Perhaps the Tundra had not been ready to let her go, or perhaps she was not ready to leave home then.
“Zilpah,” she says the greeting with a gentle laugh, her eyes flicking to watch Malka’s reaction to her hyper-active friend. In her opinion, it will say a lot about the mare if she takes Zilpah in stride. When the Deserts girl has introduced herself to Malka and fallen silent, Kellyn looks from one to the other again. “I had family things to attend to,” she says to Zilpah, though she does not elaborate. Let them think it was a Tundra matter, with her father or her grandfather or even her absent brother. She does not want to explain that she went on a crazy mission for her maternal grandfather that she is still not sure was entirely real.
Malka had asked a question also, and as much as she would like to listen quietly to the two of them, she knows that will get her nowhere. Speaking is part of polite society, as she’s learned. “I am from the Tundra,” she explains to the Jungle woman. “And as welcome as family makes me, there is nothing permanent for me there.” Kellyn has no idea that she is technically niece to the son Malka thinks so fondly of – she has steered clear of most visitors to the Tundra, including Malka and her son, for as long as she can remember. Part of Cagney’s plan to keep her identity a secret. The little mare was always blissfully unaware of the cold – it is nothing to the Tundra’s winter, and even further from the cold that had been space.
“I don’t know much about the Jungle.” Her green eyes travel back and forth from one to the other again, settling on Zilpah. “And how fares the Deserts since I was there? Is Yael still Queen?” Yael had been nice, but almost too nice. It had put Kellyn on edge, waiting for the other side to show. Everyone had another side.
Kellyn
the girl who walks in time and talks to ghosts
daughter of cagney and elite
As is customary among the Field, Malka is not alone with the roan mare for long before another bay mare, this one winged, approaches. Malka offers the energetic flyer a friendly smile. It is apparently by her enthusiastic greeting that the two mares already knew each other and Malka stores their names away for potential future meetings.
"Pleasure to meet you both," she replies to Zilpah's greeting. If there was one thing Malka could handle, it was the over energetic. She had a curios son and lived in the Jungle, home land for playful monkey, testy birds and the ever watchful lion. And for the most part, she was a rather laid back mare. There were few things in life that could bother her and high-energy mares were very low on that list - let's face it, she lives with and is adviser to Scorch!
Kellyn speaks of the Tundra and Malka heads shakes slowly. "The Tundra has never had much to offer to the mares that it homes. Which is why I can gladly say that the Jungle has many more opportunities for our sisters." She had lived in the Tundra during the thaw and while she appreciated Brennan's easy going nature and the bonding time with her son, there had been little for her to do except stay in the cave or roam endlessly as mare opinions were not high sought for there, especially when Mountain had been king, though it may change with Errant re-taking the throne.
Kellyn asks of the status of the Desert and Malka holds quiet. She knows that Yael is no longer queen, but prefers to allow Zilpah to speak on her own kingdom matters. It was the way Beqanna work though. It was a very fluid world to live in and monarchies and kingdom relations were prone to changes - many without warning.
Malka wonders how much Kellyn may know about the Deserts, but she is not the kind to probe into ones past (for many, like herself, have very painful pasts) and so, she quietly waits to see what Zilpah has to offer about the Deserts.
Malka
immortal, quetzal-shifting Lekh, Kosi & Erinak of the 'Zons
Oh good. Everyone is just lovely! But then again, Zilpah has never really met anyone she didn’t like. She’s like a puppy, without the following bit: eager to please, energetic, and constantly happy to see everyone.
Malka doesn’t say much about the Jungle, and Zilpah wonders if she doesn’t know more about the two Kingdoms. Not the inner workings of the Amazons, of course, but more about the current feelings towards each other. The so called ‘betrayal’ of Cam and defection for the Desert, the alliance and unaccepted sisterly request, and the tension that was in the air (or did she imagine it?) when they came to bring the news. Naturally, she would never say anything bad about someone else’s home (and really, she doesn’t think poorly of the Jungle at all!), so she sticks to the facts about her own sandy castle.
“Actually, Yael stepped down a year or two ago. Vanquish died and she didn’t want to be Queen anymore. So there was this whole big competition and everything, and I don’t really know how it worked, but some Gods chose the winners and now we have two new Queens! Pevensie and Camrynn. They’re pretty cool. Cam made this sphinx-dog creature to help guard the Kingdom aaaand… I don’t know, it seems to be busier these days. Which is good, of course. Oh! And I was promoted too!” Zilpah beams with this last statement and then falls silent. After a moment, she starts up again, albeit little more gently, though just as earnestly, “I hope things with your family are ok. I don’t suppose you saw my Dad, Rigdon, while you were in the Tundra?”
Zilpah rarely gets to see her father, and still harbors a little bit of guilt for how things went down between her Ima and Abba. Any news would be good news. It’s been nothing but silence on the northern front.
I wish I could feel it all for you, I wish I could do it all for you
They speak of the Jungle first – and unlike the Deserts, this is a place Kellyn hasn’t been. She’s skirted the edges, curious, but never in the same time-continuum as the living, and never when she might encounter another living being. It had been hot and humid, but bursting with the smells of life. Flowers and animals and birds she didn’t recognize; dense and green and unlike anywhere else she’d ever been. Malka speaks of opportunities there, refers to the Jungle women as Sisters in the same way Brennen has always referred to his companions as Brothers. Her father has never addressed the other Tundra men that way – he has always been there, but yet apart from them.
Kellyn fears being that piece of the Jungle that her father is of the Tundra – not quite belonging, for one reason or another. Exploring the Jungle would be a grand adventure, and the chance to belong to a tight knit group intrigues her. To be part of something as completely as Brennen is of the Tundra – nearly inseparable, as if they do not exist independently – is a thought that causes a moment of hope to swell in her chest. But she knows that she wouldn’t be able to hold a thing forever – not even if it filled her heart with belonging. And the Jungle, like the Tundra, is forever. Still, she smiles at Malka, and if it’s sad for something she’ll never have, probably no one will notice.
Zilpah takes up the thread of conversation, and a part of Kellyn is relieved that Yael is no longer Queen. The golden monarch had been kind to her – but a part of Kellyn always wondered if the mare would suddenly realize who she was, and change her mind. If she’d known that Yael already knew who she was, perhaps she might not have ever returned to the Tundra in the first place.
Never have been called by Carnage.
Never have seen space and time in a whole new way.
“My family will be fine.” she smiles at Zilpah, “And I have seen Rigdon, though not very recently. Perhaps he is away on business. The Tundra has had much upheaval recently.” She’d never spoken to Rigdon, because she rarely spoke to the Brothers, but surely it hasn’t been that long since she’d seen him around? She doesn’t want to worry her friend. The Deserts has its own set of dangers – but it isn’t the same ‘forever’ that plagues the Jungle. And it isn’t a Kingdom that the ghosts will disapprove of – she won’t have aunt Bethanie haunting her about becoming her mother, which she is sure would happen if she went to the Valley. And maybe – maybe it’s meant to be. For her to right some of the wrongs her mother perpetrated on the Deserts by serving there. The wrongs her mother supposedly perpetrated on the entirety of Beqanna.
A small part of her wishes she’d had time to ask Carnage about it. Surely he remembers.
“Both of your offers are intriguing.” Kellyn finally says quietly. “And someday I hope to see the Jungle – I am sure it is beautiful. But I feel like I have unfinished business from my first trip to the Deserts.” A lopsided smile here, towards Malka, sorry that she has wasted the woman’s time. “I guess I failed the first time I tried to live in the Deserts, but that feels like a lifetime ago. I’d like to try again.” She steps towards Zilpah, waiting for her once friend to lead the way.
Kellyn
the girl who walks in time and talks to ghosts
daughter of cagney and elite
