"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
Well, despite it all ("it all" being the fact that she had a kingdom to call her family filled with women who were the embodiment of everything she stood for, a gift she literally could not have dreamed of after being welcomed back to life), Scorch couldn't help but sort of hate it here. No, obviously she didn't hate it here - but it would never be home the same way the Jungle had been.
She stood under some trees today, trying her best to stay out of the sunlight. Back home, she'd never needed to worry about sunburns, as the thick jungle forest protected her delicate skin at all times; here, if she forgot to shield herself with some shadows, she'd literally end up burnt and crispy. Even now, some blood trails down from where her skin cracks and rips open, most noticeably from her withers.
Damn this place and its summer sun... she grumbled to herself, fighting the urge to scratch her sunburn against the bark of a dead birch tree nearby. That seriously wouldn't help - and god forbid she go for a dip in the ocean. Not only would the salt water make her cuts sting, it would shrivel and dry up her skin all the more. Seriously not pleasant.
Snapping her teeth moodily in the direction of the tempting birch tree, Scorch turned around to go in search of a pond she knew to be nearby. It was a shaded little body of water, so hopefully cool enough to ease the searing sensation of her body. Or maybe she'd be interrupted by some interesting company along the way, to distract her from her meaningless agony.
04-07-2018, 10:19 AM (This post was last modified: 04-07-2018, 08:19 PM by Lewana.)
Lewana
The heat never ceases to stop during the long waning days of the boiling summer. For many of the sisters the heat is an endless battle, with unfortunate and painful suburns, and the unhelpful waters that surround Nerine, that may be worse than better for burnt wounds, and infected sunkissed gashes. Lewana can only imagine what it feels like, for she herself has managed to remain untouched from the trecherous heat. She is a clever little thing, manufacturing her own manner of escaping the heat of the summer days, by hiding out in shadey cool trees, high above.
Today the lovely leopon is hiding out in a rather cooling birch tree, she watches from above as Scorch, a strong female figure of the sisterhood struggles in the heat. In the moment, she climbs down, claws digging into the coarse bark until she leaps landing gracefully on her feet. "Heat burning you up?" She asks, her dark coat begins to soak up the sun, and she isn't much of a fan. "have you tried mud?" She asks as she follows in toe with the mare who is heading straight towards a natural spring. She doesn't hold her up, for she knows how much the sun is affecting the hairless mare.
It's not to say that Scorch was defenseless in the heat of the summer's sun - indeed, she more than anyone could deal with its onslaught. At the blink of an eye she could swathe herself in shadows, shielding herself from the sun's awe-some powers; but unlike some, such as Lewana, it often escaped her to do such a thing. These days, her mind buzzed with chaotic thoughts of her newly returned lover, distracting her from everything else to the point of unintentional self-harm by sunlight. So ah, I suppose she cannot truly complain - for with Hestoni by her side again (and other places, too), the pains of her wounds were washed away more effectively than any fresh-water stream could ever manage.
As her wide hooves caused little tufts of dust to spring up from the dry Nerinian soil, the sound of four paws alighting on the same alerted Scorch of another's presence. Peering to her right and perking her ears, she would have startled if she hadn't recognized the leopon. She'd spoken up in the kingdom meeting that'd been called earlier this summer, asking to join Hestia's rank of elite spies. She'd described herself very articulated at that time, presented as one with a firm sense of identity; and indeed, as their different legs fell into the same rhythm, the relative stranger spoke again in that easy-going and self-assured voice.
"Lewana," She greeted easily, a small smile curling her cracked lips as she turned her gaze back to the path at hand. "Good afternoon to you as well." The two hadn't as of yet spoken like this, but already a familiarity between them put Scorch at easy, her sense of humour showing in the ironic but friendly way she spoke. "Alas, I haven't quite worked up the courage to plaster myself in mud - I'm quite the sight as is, without adding to it with dirt."
She chuckled. "No, I usually manage to shade myself with a manipulation of mine, but I've been distracted lately - on the hottest days of the year, of course." Her eyes flickered from the scenery to the leopon, studying both the trees that passed as well as the charcoal cat whose rolling gait perfectly matched her own. "What about you? The fur on that coat of yours doesn't exactly look light or thin."
04-20-2018, 11:09 AM (This post was last modified: 04-20-2018, 11:11 AM by Lewana.)
The speckled feline, stays on pace with the hairless mare. Her eyes wandering over scorch’s body, studying every scratch upon her pale skin. She couldn’t help but wonder what happened, what were the turn events that seared this mare’s skin, what had burned her, how did she survive? Her curiosity pesters her, but she knows better than to ask. Curiosity killed the cat after all. The two are strangers to each other, their names and positions in the kingdom were both the only things they knew about eachother.
A smile marks her inky maw, as her green eyes fix upon the mare “Quite the trick.” She remarks, her tail flicking inquisitively. Manipulating shade? How much fun would that be? Lewana could rest on about any tree she wanted if she had such a gift. She admires Scorch, curiosity striking her mind.
“Ah, well I’ve found that trees have become my escape. But it’s not a very efficient way. I have to migrate from tree to tree depending on the time of day.” She answers, a purr erupting from her throat, sweet and thick.
The pair reach the spring, and Lewana crouches down to the ground to take a sip of the cool and refreshing liquid. Her velvet muzzle catching smalls drops of water like morning dew on her chin and whiskers. The feline licks her lips, moving towards a shaded patch of seagrass, and settling down in an inky heap. Her gaze flickering back and forth, “What’s been distracting you these days?” She questions inquisitively.
Stranger things had happened to her than strangers wondering about her appearance; indeed, that may have been one of the most reliable and un-strange aspect of her life to date. So long ago was it that she trod this earth fur-clad that she nigh on forgot of that time more oft than not; of course, when she glimpsed the roaming of her children’s fur that had been passed on to them from her genetics, she got an idea of how she might have looked had the Dragon Dream not taken her by storm that night decades ago.
She saw the way Lewana eyed her scars - but her stories weren’t the end all and be all. She would tell if asked, but she would not simply tell.
But the big cat offered a companionable line of conversation in the stead of an acceptably intrusive question, and Scorch chuckled back in response. The nub of bone that was her tail flicked in subconscious mirroring of Lewana’s lusterous Black appendage, though to ever see Scorch doing so was rare. Her tail was useless to her; but she did like her new companion, and perhaps this is what pushed her to act out of the norm.
“Sounds like it’s tough to catch a cat-nap these days,” came her rough voice, laughter following in the wake of her words. The other’s purring caught Scorch’s attention and her ears flicked attentively to the strange, foreign sound, but she’s quickly decided she liked the low rumble. “Cool trick yourself,” she said inquisitively, wondering if Lewana would understand her comment but denying to explain herself further.
As companionship often will do, the time passed quickly and before Scorch realized it, they were upon the spring. In unison with the other, Scorch lowered her hammer head to the bubbling waters to take a long, deep pull. The coolness hit her belly sharply, but the sensation quickly quelled the more she drank. When she’s had her fill, she watched as Lewana moved to lay in a patch of shade, glimmering in dappled sunlight that pushed through the canopy overhead. The cat did look beautiful in this light; Scorch had to admit it.
Snorting and spraying a fine mist, Scorch stepped into the fresh cool water and did not have to go far into the lagoon before she was shoulder-deep. She and the cat were some meters apart, but considering that they both lounged now in their respective comforts, the conversation flowed on easily. Scorch considered Lewana’s question for a moment as relief came to her minor wounds, soothing the irritation she’d Been feeling for the last few hours now.
“I’m not sure if you remember him from the time before, but my husband Hestoni has returned from the dead.” A grin split her lips foxily, and her gaze became a little more heated than usual. “And, well, we’ve been faithful even through death. But it’s been a long while - and, as you probably remember also, we quite enjoy raising children.” The autumn breeze blew strongly as if to remind the pair exactly what season it was; cheeky little thing! Scorch laughed easily, lowering her head to the water to splash about for a moment.
It felt good to have an easy life.
If only it could stay that way forever.
As the water rippled in response to Scorch’s silly antics, the Marengo straightened and offered another grin, less heated this time. “What about you? Anything occupying your mind this fall?”
@[Lewana] loving this thread!! Also sorry for random season shift lmao
![[Image: scorch2.png]](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d3f8827d56fd033f445fc5aa8055947a/3778d5ee43303690-eb/s1280x1920/532e323d08dfe066db7c4d27a9277d571bf7cdb2.jpg)
