"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
He finds himself at the bank of the crystalline lake, his ivory nose hovering carefully above the quietly lapping waters that dampen his hooves, the wet and compacted sand giving way beneath his weight. The springtime wind is lush and gentle, twirling the blue and starkly white of his mane and tail within its cool fingers, playing with the red and black feather that lies curiously behind a single ear, entangled within his mane since his birth.
The water is completely clear and barely moving, save for the gentle ripples that the spring wind causes across its surface - otherwise, the stallion is staring into glass. He lifts a single foreleg, white and bright with the green mountainous backdrop behind him, and paws curiously at the shallow water’s edge, turning up little smooth pebbles with his hoof. Once out of the water, he lowers his muzzle to examine them, sniffing at them curiously. He glances upwards with a tilt of his head, the mixture of white and blue cascading over one of his curious and even-bluer eyes as he stares out at the wide lake. Winter has only just waned, and though the air around him is warm and inviting, he wonders if the lake is ready for his first swim since the end of summer.
With a splash (because why hesitate), Svedka throws himself with a single leap into the depths of the familiar lake. His gold and white painted skin shivers as the water rushes up to meet him, lapping gently at his shoulders and haunches. It is cold, frigid even, but there is a breathless smile on his face anyways. He takes a large inhale of breath, and ducks his head completely beneath the cold waters.
Cherry blossoms float lazily in the spring wind, spinning and twirling from the higher parts of the mountains and landing on the surface of the unwavering lake, dotting it with pinks and reds. Svedka emerges from the waters, the blossoms splitting away from thebroadness of his chest as he moves forward from the deeper parts into the shallows, lipping at the flowers with ivory lips curiously and then drinking deeply. His blue and white mane lay plastered against his neck, his forelock dripping with the sweet water of the lake.
Svedka pulls himself from the lake, a few blossoms sticking to the broad of his back and withers, while some lay entangled in his mane and tail. He stands on the sandy shoreline, water cascading down his legs in rivulets and pooling beneath his hooves before flowing back into the waters from whence it came. He had come up to his large weeping willow tree that cascades its branches into the water, large and leaning with bright green tendrils. He lifts his nose and closes his eyes, allowing the warmth of the sun to begin to dry his cold flesh.
With a content sigh he moves closer to the trunk of the large tree, its branches brushing against his back as they drape carefully around him - though it is hard to hide the intense white and gold of his body, as well as the navy that streaks through his mane and tail.
The white mare doesn't have it as easy as the palomino by far.
She's lost her black winged filly again; she does that. Worried, but trying not to emit a sense of worry just in case Tähti is just hiding and trying to scare her (also, again) Ilma trots around until she reaches Hyaline's lake; for a moment her heat sinks, but then she realizes someone else is splashing around in the cold water carelessly. Perhaps not the greatest example for her little girl, although, thankfully Solace had promised to keep an eye out as well.
The alabaster pegasus approaches slowly; perhaps if she waits here, Tähti will join her soon enough. She thinks that character-wise, the girl might take after her uncles - and will do anything to upset their caretaker, be it an older sister or in this case, a mother. It might be better not to give in, but to do that, Ilma could surely use a distraction.
Luckily, the soaked stallion is aiming for a tree. The winged female approaches, though more slowly than when she was aimlessly worrying about the place. He has blue highlights in his mane and tail; not cerulean like Solace's wings, but similar enough. Perhaps this must be her ever-wandering brother. She'd said as much to Ilma before, that he would show up and leave as he pleased.
She has no reason or time to hesitate, out in the open like this. She whinnies softly to call for his attention and closes the distance (as much as she dares; she does not fancy getting wet yet). "Good day! I'm Ilma, are you perhaps Solace's brother?" she asks (she thinks it weird to ask if he is named Svedka; sounds too personal for one she hasn't met before).
@[Svedka]
Side note: hahaha I looked up his name, you alcoholic.
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
The summer sun is generous, filtering through his willow tree and alighting small patterns of gold and shadow on his coat, warming him with the wind from the mountains. Hyaline itself has become rather busy, and though Svedka is not one to keep to himself, he is finding that there are many unfamiliar faces in the mountain valley. The stallion, still dripping from his swim, tilts a back hoof as he lazily begins to doze - the buzzing of pollinating bees and the summer’s wind lulling him into a nap.
It is not long before something stirs him awake (he is not one to doze for hours at a time, anyway), and with a curious look on his handsome face, his wide and bright blue eyes open, blinking gently. Only a few moments after he hears a voice - soft and alluring on the summertime wind - and his golden ears prick towards the sound. It is a woman - fair and as ivory as the moonlight, with lovely feathered wings at her side. Svedka has always enjoyed the pegasi of Beqanna - his own father and similarly, his sister both fly into the skies like the eagles they are, so in turn, he has found the idea of wings strange and beautiful. The woman before smells like the sun and sky - clear and crisp and free - just like his sister often does.
Often times he wonders why he had not been given such a gift, but he knows the reason - he would never come back to earth if he had such magic at his sides.
He smiles immediately at the nameless woman, wondering how it is a visitor from the heavens has decided to find him.
“Ilma!” he repeats her name, but with a gusto as if the two had met before. The ends of his mane and tail have begun to dry in the sun, so when he takes a few steps forward to close their distance, the blue and alabaster tendrils flutter around his face in the strong wind, the black and red feather behind his ears rustling against his cheek - perhaps a summer’s rain were to happen this afternoon, with such a gale now flowing through the valley. “It is a good day,” he musefully agrees, lifting his cerulean gaze upwards to stare at the softly blurred vines of his willow, and the white fluffy clouds that float through the gaps. “And yes,” he replies, turning his gaze towards her with a bob of his chin against his chest. “I am he.”
The white and golden stallion - with the same blue of Solace’s in his mane and tail - is not easily mistaken for someone else. Though he lacks the dark gold of his sister, the two are extremely alike in their looks. Most are able to figure out who is from sight, even though they do not know his name. “Call me Svedka, though I am extremely proud of my title as ‘Solace’s brother’.” A laugh resound in his chest, found as it curls genuinely on his golden lips and sparkles into his bright blue gaze. His statement is nothing but the truth - Solace is ever more popular than he is (he rather likes it that way - he could never be a king like Solace is the queen), and is prideful in the fact that she is such a strong leader. Just like father.
“How long have you been in Hyaline, my friend Ilma?”
(be my escape)
Svedka
@[Ilma]
OKAY YES but technically Lavender came up with the name so she is an alcoholic too
Instantly, the white mare gets a jovial greeting; so different from how Solace would react, yet similar in that he seems to welcome her warmly even if she is a stranger to him. She smiles at the sunkissed stallion, warmly herself. She is here in Hyaline after all, just because she wants to help; it is a sanctuary for those in need and that is exactly what she emits to those visitors and those who’d ask her any other time. Breckin had even called ther an embodiment of kindness - now Ilma is not one to boast about that, but she carries the memory in her heart, hoping to make similar impressions on others as well.
He tells her that he is indeed Solace’s brother, and is rather proud of that title. She laughs, a tingle in her chest, light-hearted for once. Although Ilma is very kind, with it comes her ability and sometimes need to carry burdens for other. She worries about Tähti, growing up without a father or another foal around to play with even though thus far she seems fine with that. She worries about Kagerus who returned from wherever she always went one day without her heavy belly but also without a child, wondering is she had used some kind of magic that had killed the foal instead of herself but feeling that right then was not the moment to ask.
Right now wasn’t either, because the mare was effectively keeping herself away from Ilma and Tähti - perhaps because they would remind her of what happened, but Ilma did not know.
So she’s happy to find the man so enthusiastic; her worries are over for a moment, and perhaps that is his strength, and why Solace confides in her brother so easily. ”She speaks highly of you, Svedka. It is about time we met, I’ve been here since last summer. Kagerus brought me here, and your sister was very welcoming. So I stayed,” she smiles. ”I heard you roam from time to time, so perhaps that is why we haven’t met before.” she offers kindly. He’s proving an even better distraction than she could have hoped for. And an attractive-looking one at that. For where she is the colour of the moon, his sun-and-clouds remind her of the summer days out here.
@[Svedka] sorry it took so long so here is a phone post <3
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
He is attracted to her immediately. Though it is not always physicality that Svedka always hopes for (though it is something he will never say no to), there is something besides her outwards beauty that draws him in. Her voice is as light and fresh as her pale coat, and her laugh is like the tinkling of sea glass along a white shoreline of the sea. It is her laugh that causes him to step closer, and though he is still damp and dripping from his swim in the lake, it does not seem to bother him as he drip-dries in the summer sun.
“She speaks highly of me because she has to,” he admits with obvious laughter, wrinkling his golden nose and offering Ilma a broad smile. “otherwise people will question her own character.”
His brows quirk upwards as she continues and mentions Kagerus - his meeting with her had been fleeting and brief, but filled with so much raw emotion and desire that even now he cannot figure out what happened that afternoon beneath his willow tree. The surface of his withers still show the mark where she had dug into his flesh wantonly, though there is no physical sign that shows the questions she asked him, or how dark she made him feel. He finds it interesting that Kagerus had met Ilma, and were possibly even friends, with someone who reminds him so much of himself - light, gentle, sunny. Kagerus seemed to have despised that part about him (not that he would pretend to be anything else for her, and she found herself wanting him all the same, despite his light-heartedness compared to the darkness within her), but Ilma seems to radiate from it. He notices that she is even more radiant as the sun begins to shift and tilt through the soft branches of his willow, playing shadowy patterns on her pearly coat, leading his eyes over her to the white and billowing feathers of her wings, on which he lingers on for a moment. He had always fancied wings, and hers were the most flawless he had seen - perfectly white.
“I’m glad you decided to stay,” he says truthfully, his eyes slowly floating back to hers. “It’s true, I do find myself needing to wander more often than not.” He dips his head slightly (embarrassment?), still looking up at her through the dampness of his white and blue forelock, where behind his ear twirls the red and black feathers from his birth. “But each time I come back I always find myself looking for a reason to stay longer than before.” He smiles, tucking his chin to his chest and then raising his head, a soft chuckle reverberating in his chest. “I’m sorry I haven’t met you sooner, Ilma. I must not be doing my job the way I’m supposed to.”
04-19-2018, 12:32 PM (This post was last modified: 04-19-2018, 12:33 PM by Ilma.)
A little breeze goes a long way
She finds the gold-and-white is easy to talk to, and forth comes another light chuckle when he claims that his sister would have to speak highly of him, otherwise perhaps people will question her. "Perhaps that is so." To her, it would not have made much a difference, she initially thinks, but perhaps that is because she met Solace first and recognized her to be equally light-hearted and kind as herself, though perhaps with more heavily-weighing duties, as a queen. But she also supposes, that he is right - she would not have found Solace as kind as if she had spoken ill of another, without them being present. So there's that.
As it is, her thoughts are with Solace for a moment, so Ilma hardly notices the gold-flecked stallion's eyes tracing her wings. To be honest, when she came to Beqanna, she had been used to them as common, as it was a trait shared with about half her family. But here she noted there were many different mutations, and to Ilma they were all the more intriguing - yet, it had already occurred to her once or twice that several un-traited horses here would like a trait themselves, and that some traits were looked at with more suspicion than others - her wings were apparently a likeable asset.
She has noticed his bite marks, of course - they stand out on lighter-coated horses, she knows; but as they are fading images she decides not to ask. Ah, good girl Ilma - sometimes just too shy or too naive, and yet, experienced in other ways. She's shockingly two-faced in that way, almost - but of course that is not something she notices herself.
When he speaks again, her eyes are drawn to his in the natural fashion of conversation and perhaps what could be seen as interest. He's a handsome man for sure, and so, it's not too weird for her to be attracted to him. She's not ready for such a thing as love just yet, however, or really much of physical contact. But looking never hurt anyone, and she knows she cannot be the only woman (or man) to notice his natural flatter and fall for it one way or another. For example, his almost playful-looking shame gets her to see his head in a different light, eyes shining through a dually coloured forelock for a moment before he lifts his head again. While it is of course his fault that he wasn't around long enough to meet her, it is not something he could have known, so Ilma is not to hold anything against him for it. Then, he smiles and tells her he always finds a reason to stay longer, and she smiles in return. "I can imagine there may be something new for you to discover each time you return. Surely that will take time to investigate." Right now, she was the new thing, but who knew who or what it could be next time? Perhaps a small avalanche that reveals a cave or creates a new viewpoint, or even another new recruit or, heck, with the way he's looking, if there were more mares around here than just his sister, she imagines that he might just come home to find out he is a father.
She quickly pushes that thought aside, looking almost ashamed at her own thoughts. She quickly diverts her gaze to the lake and the surrounding green grasslands, searching for her own product of exactly thoughts like those; trying to decipher if the shadow she sees up ahead is her daughter. She feels that perhaps this season may be too early for her to have a second, so she really doesn't need to take those hormones and dump then around her queen's own brother to add to the mess.
But at his claim that he must not be doing his job very well, she turns back right at him, slightly confused, other matters forgotten. "How so?" she asks. If he's such a wanderer, this could be expected, right? "What is this duty, that you cannot do as your heart tells you to? Perhaps you need to ask another duty instead," she muses. She realizes that as the queen's brother he may have things to do here that are expected of him, but that he does not really need for himself. If that's the case, well, she's sure that Solace would understand and would happily give him another task. Perhaps recruiting and exploring, even spying, would fit him better. Tasks where he can wander all he wants and meet as many new horses as possible, or even blend in.
@[Svedka]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
The twins themselves are - though very much alike visually (streaks of blue in their mane and tail from their father, splashed with ivory and shades of gold from their mother) - are quite different. Since they were only children, Solace set and abided by the rules. The ones of diplomacy and politics, of kings and queens. It makes the truest sense to have the winged mare as the caretaker of Hyaline, as she had groomed herself for this moment since Svedka can remember. He, on the other hand, set and abided by his own rules. When the world calls out to him, he answers. When his heart begs for love, he gives in. When his soul longs for a world anew, he is quick to run. It is how it has always been, and even now there is perhaps a single ounce of him that is itching for a new world, but there is a loyalty that is instilled within the stallion that cannot be shaken - one that keeps him coming back to his sister and to Beqanna - and when it calls out to him, he always answers.
Time has marched on and with it they have grown, physically and mentally, into the two vastly different beings that are before each other, yet with the same exact wistfulness and dedication that they have known since birth - a type of loyalty that long transcends time and seasons, but is embedded deep within their bones and their souls, intertwining them in such a way that despite Svedka’s wandering ways, the two will never truly be apart.
He watches Ilma curiously, enjoying the way her voice sounds on the now-chilled breeze. Autumn’s breath hangs in the valley, the wind feeling crisp against his sleek summertime coat, and the dampness of the lakewater that still clings to him. The pale woman turns her face away from him to survey the lake that he had recently emerged from and his cerulean gaze swiftly turns to follow her own. “Why Ilma,” he begins, still staring out to the crystalline lake though he can feel her eyes on him now, “I had been meant to show you that in Hyaline, everyone will be welcomed and cared for.” He remembers when Solace had first asked him to fill the duty of the Heart, and he had immediately been prepared to turn her down, even though he had no idea what the title meant. He could not uphold a position for her, enough to where it would be done well, and he knew it better to not try to pretend he could.
But Solace had surprised him.
The title only meant what he truly is: be an explorer, a lover, a friend, and build those relationships here, in Hyaline. Made simply, she created a job for him that only encompasses what he had already been doing.
It is now that he turns his face back to hers, a small smile on his pale lips. “Though I can tell that you know this; someone else has already made you feel welcomed and cared for here, which is why you stay.” He did not mean anyone in particular - perhaps Solace, or Kagerus, or any other number of residents living within the beautiful valley.
04-21-2018, 01:51 PM (This post was last modified: 04-21-2018, 01:52 PM by Ilma.)
A little breeze goes a long way
Perhaps Svedka, too, is perhaps too polite for his own good; at least he doesn't comment on her suddenly flushed face or her quick deterring to the lake. He follows her gaze but when she looks back on him, he is still staring out the bright expanse, allowing her to fully indulge on his features for a moment. His face softens when he thinks of his title, and Ilma understands then that it was Solace who gave it to him, without him saying so directly. She smiles when she thinks on it; except for the exploring part Svedka's title indeed was perfectly fitted for him.
When he's finally done with his train of thoughts, for he falls silent a moment, he turns to her and reminds her again of her first days here. She nods. "They did, indeed." Both of them, in fact. "Solace does as excellent a job at it as you, though she has littler time for it now or then. I think it is so that you can enjoy your exploring and let the outside world know about the welcome Hyaline can offer them." she offers.
That still doesn't take away the fact that he feels he's failed her in one aspect or the other. She muses on that a moment. "If that is still the case, perhaps you'd like to show me around once again sometime? I'm sure there must be places I've missed out on so far." The lake of course was an obvious place to visit, but perhaps there were secret passages and caves that even Tähti might already have found and she had not - it also might be quite entertaining to go on a second guided tour; for with another horse by her side there would be a different order as to what needed to be visited, some places Solace might have skipped, some places he might skip that Solace had shown.
@[Svedka]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
He smiles at her - broad and genuine - enjoying the way she spoke about his sister. It is obvious that Ilma has learned to know Solace the way that Svedka knows her. He also enjoys the way she speaks about him. He wonders if he is an open book, and that is why Ilma is able to describe him so accurately, or if there is something she can see in the depths of his cerulean gaze. Her next words make his brows rise slightly with curiosity, his chin bobbing slightly. “Would you like to do that now?” He asks, already thinking of areas he had not yet explored himself, and how much he would enjoy exploring the expanse around him with Ilma by his side. His gaze falling to the soft feathers of her brilliant white wings, wondering if it is even possible for her to have missed something to see in Hyaline, with her ability to fly.
Svedka’s eyes narrow thoughtfully, licking his lips before continuing: “What’s it like to fly?” His question is sudden and completely off topic, but he does not find it odd that he has done so. He thinks back to his father and asking him the same question - “Freedom,” the bay king had told him. He also remembers asking Corvus (he inhales quickly at the thought of him, holding his breath for just a moment before exhaling smoothly), and the buckskin had been unable to describe it to him. Svedka wonders what Solace would say, though he feels as if it would be along the lines of Warrick’s description.
For some reason, he feels like Ilma can give him another way of picturing it and would do so beautifully. He is still enamoured with the idea of flight itself - to heave yourself upwards without a second thought, to spiral through the clouds and to shoot so close to the sun you can feel it burning up your skin...the idea exhilarates him.
The only other thing that Ilma can think of to do right now other than take a new tour in hopes of discovering new places, would be to either wait or search for her ebony filly. And she had decided not to just earlier. So, she happily nods. ”Sure! If you’re not too occupied.” she cocks her head - why, you silly Ilma, she thinks, you’re the one occupying him -so she adds in smoothly: ”...with sunbathing and swimming, I guess.” she smiles a bit more sheepishly, not knowing what to say.
She is rather happy that the palomino-white produces another question, and she is happy to elaborate. ”I suppose you’ve climbed the mountains for their view? The sight is much like that, the horses down here tiny, you’re loosened from the world. Add the feeling of the wind going through your mane - maybe as if you were running down that hillside - I guess it’s the joyous feeling of being untouchable up there that is so appealing.” she smiles, then thinks of last winter. ”It was rather bothersome to be pregnant last winter. I was too heavy to get up there at some point.” she admits. While she loved her daughter, she had felt restricted, too. She’s not likely to seek out male contact next fall to be sure.
@[Svedka]
Fyi keeping this thread timed in summer. (:
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
