"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
Rays of sun upon the back of her predominantly pale coat was heaven in and of itself; so much so that she nearly forgot the task at hand as her lids closed dreamily. The sounds of crashing waves welcomed her back to the gray stone cove of Nerine. The briney gale buffeted her barrel as her limbs carried her closer to the general area where she had witnessed the gathering of the residents. It would be a good a spot as any to suit her purposes.
Breckin pauses parallel to the shoreline, allowing the sea to lap gently at her cannons. Her voyage throughout the realm of Beqanna had opened her eyes to so many different people and kingdoms already—and she did not doubt there was plenty more to explore and discover—but there was one place in particular that she had felt her heart longing for and thinking about the most above all others. A place that amongst the strong, both of body and mind, she could perhaps be modeled into her very best. It would take time, she knew, to flourish in Beqanna. But half the battle was finding and surrounding yourself with the type of people you would like to have an influence on your development. The spotted woman gave credit to Scorch for teaching her this, when she had emphasized the sense of comraderie Nerine shares. And if there is one thing she took away from watching the Nerinians interact, it is that they seemed to support each other individually as well as for the collective good of their home.
Now the leopard mare stands upwind, her pause and intent purposeful. She is vulnerable she knows, though she doubts anyone in the civilized kingdom would outwardly strike her down first before asking questions. Though she seeks the attention of Queen Hestia and her friend Scorch, she is content to wait patiently without the utterance of a word, watching the gulls cry and circle overhead.
Nearly a year passed with little resurfacing of the spotted vagabond, to Scorch's sadness. She'd enjoyed the conversation the two shared back then - enjoyed the way that Breckin hadn't been afraid to ask the tough questions, and then some. Everyone always took care to avoid the topics they thought might be painful, as if a mare as mutilated as Scorch couldn't handle a little roughing up - but not Breckin. The two had struck up an easy friendship, and indeed, Scorch could easily visualize the beautiful woman among Nerine's stalwart ranks.
Perhaps it was a coincidence that Scorch happened to be travelling along the coast towards the ritualistic meeting grounds, but it was more than likely that a faintly familiar scent had goaded her along this way without her knowing it. At any rate, as the sea lapped around Scorch's large hooves, the far, far off sight of a figure standing alone on the beach caught her attention thanks to her keen dragon eyes. Though Breckin could not hope to see Scorch from this distance, a grin split across the advisor's face, and she pushed into a canter to close the distance between them as quickly as she could.
"Breckin!" Her brusque voice burst over top of the din of the rolling waves, full of mirth. Though some might associate Scorch with anger and sarcasm, those who knew her best knew this side of her, too. The shallows splashed gaily around her hooves as she pulled up just short of the spotted mare, her eyes a dazzling blue-violet as she reached out between what little distance was left to affectionately exchange air with the appaloosa. "I'm so glad you've returned, friend."
Stepping back, the rat-mare settled into a hip, eyes bouncing eagerly over the mare to check for any strange, new features. Before she could help herself, her voice came bursting out again, excited and keen. "So, how were your travels? Did you get to know the faeries a little better? Tell me everything."
05-17-2018, 09:08 PM (This post was last modified: 05-17-2018, 09:09 PM by Breckin.)
The coastal winds scale her whitened body raggedly. Tustling her mane with blatant disregard, it batters at her waiting frame. There's an urge within her to move closer towards the granite cliffs in search of shelter, but the idea gets quickly tossed away. Her intent was to be seen, and hiding away to avoid the rising harshness of the gale would only delay her purpose in coming here. And now that her mind was made, she was eager to share with her friend.
Speaking of friends, a flickering ear just manages to make out a familiar roughened voice above the surge of air around her. A warm smile plays at her features while dark eyes lay claim to the barren silhouette that quickly closes the distance. Reciprocating Scorch's friendly gesture, her muzzle reaches outward towards the mare with a gently inhale and exhale. "I'm so glad to have returned, my friend. And that you are the one to receive me." The obvious eagerness in the mare's vibrant eyes is enough to draw a laugh from Breckin's upturned lips. She realizes suddenly, how drastically she had missed the easy friendship that the two had formulated and honestly how glad she is to be back within the kingdom of Nerine.
Settling into a relaxed stance of her own, the leopard mare meets Scorch's gaze before responding to her questions, "I've not had a run in with any fairies yet, but by journey was well met by most I encountered along the way. I've travelled to Hyaline, Ischia, Sylva, and some lands in between. Probably one of the most interesting encounters was with your irritating son. But I say irritating in the best possible way, of course. The smile she wears grow a little brighter then, "In fact he helped me come to the decision that I would love to devote myself to the sisterhood of Nerine, if she will have me."
The other mare visibly relaxed upon Scorch's arrival, as if their companionship had been the key to a back ache she'd had for just a day too long. Their breaths mingled prettily in the form of vapour rising from where they greeted one another, and Scorch couldn't deny that she, too, felt more at ease knowing that Breckin had returned to her - to Nerine. The Sisterhood thirsted for new women to claim, worthy warriors and diplomats who thirsted for her, too; deep in the depths of her freckled friend's blue eyes, she saw that thirst, and she saw it sated, too.
"Of course," she offered off-handedly, as if anyone else greeting her were not even a remote possibility. Ears perking eagerly as her friend cocked a hip and took a deep breath as if to speak, Scorch silenced her own thoughts, knowing that what her friend had to say would answer any question brewing just behind her eyes.
Ah, so no magical encounters yet; but she was certainly surprised by how many of the lands Breckin had been to. This showed in the way her brows lifted exponentially, though her smile remained stubbornly stuck in place. Busy girl! She would know many more of Beqanna's intimate details than any spy - and that, all on its own, was valuable to the Sisterhood.
"Well, no wonder it took you so long to return to us," She finally interjected with a deep-throated chuckle. "You've been to more places in this new Beqanna than even I have. Good for you - I'm sure you learned a lot more than I could ever hope to teach you with my simple waggling tongue." A wide grin split her lips, and it faded easily back down to that same characteristic smile as they continued to speak.
"But if I'm being honest, I'm glad you're picking Nerine. It's the right fit for you - and, though I'm not sure if you know it or not, I have assumed the throne of this kingdom. So don't be shy, miss busy body, and tell me: which caste most interests you these days? I'm sure Leilan would love for you to be either; he gets to flirt with you as a diplomat, and box with you as a warrior." She rolled her eyes, clearly indicating her joking nature. "He is a handful that one; my apologies."
Again it amazes her just how quickly she had formed a friendship with the barren mare next to her. Their conversation progresses easily, almost as if their previous dialogue had never actually ended. The thought makes her smile widen further as she adjusts her stance to compensate for the pesky wind still howling in her ear. Scorch's comment about her waggling tongue forces a laugh through her dark lips, "I must disagree with you there. A year's worth of curious wandering cannot replace a lifetime of experience. I don't doubt there's much you can teach me and I would love to learn from you."Breckin falls silent for a moment to narrow her eyes and drop her smile to a one-sided smirk, "And don't think your mentioning of previously being dead fell on deaf ears either. There's a story there and I expect to hear it some day." She's only partially joking with that last bit of course; she really would like to know how all of that was possible, though that would be for another day hopefully.
The smile drops significantly then, upon hearing that Scorch had gained ranks to the throne. She was not sad in this simple fact, quite the contrary she was rather elated that her regal friend had acquired the title. It was the simple grief at wondering about what had happened to Hestia. But she pushes the question down for now, choosing instead to focus all of her attention at the questions she was being asked.
"I would choose the peace caste still, if you would have me there. I won't say I will never opt to be in the battle caste, but for now I think it wise to just dip my hoof in the kingdom ranks. And is that what he was doing? Flirting? Is that how it usually goes? Being flustered and irritated and not wanting to leave at the same time?"Where had that come from? The spotted mare's ears listlessly cast backwards, suddenly confused and embarassed by her inelegant rambling. "Oh no, I am the one who should apologize. There's more important things to talk about then...whatever that was. So allow me to congratulate you on gaining queenship! Are you excited to be leading again?"
"A lifetime of experience may contain some wisdoms I will agree... But when you get with someone as linguistically indulged as me, it usually takes a while to actually impart them. Somehow, I don't think you mind though," the Queen offered with an affectionate chuckle. It was still strange to her that so many of Beqanna's residents needed explanations and stories from her in regards to, well, her whole appearance and history; before her death, everyone had just known. Scorch'd been raised among a Beqanna with a people landscape that nigh-on did not exist any more, besides herself, Brennen, and very few others. Hestia had been one too, and there's Djinii and Nayl - but of the more active members of Beqanna, almost none knew anything about Scorch's past life.
And that's okay; just... Weird.
Scorch pulled a sheepish face at being called out for having been dead, but covers the expression with an expert eye roll. "I didn't think it was worth mentioning - all I did was be dead for a while, not much wisdom to impart there. End of story." She chuckled again, grinning at Breckin, knowing that this off-handed explanation would absolutely not satisfy her newest and most promising diplomat. But still, she'd always been a bit of a rascal once you got to know her; it felt good to have a close friend to tease again. Better than she could have imagined.
"Peace caste it is," Scorch smiled, mentally jotting down Breckin's place in the ranks. "I'll be immediately promoting you, for your participation in the tournament as well as your travelling to Hyaline. Bring me a recruit, and you'll be brought up another level." Dry stuff, but her subjects needed to know that their efforts were recognized. When the subject of her son's antics come up though, she's glad to leave behind the politics of it all.
"That sounds about right," Scorch laughed, the sound smoky and disjointed but altogether her. "I could use that exact line in reference to Hestoni and I's first encounter, decades ago. Now look at us - married with eleven children and countless grandchildren." She made a face as if she weren't implying anything, simply just telling a story like the little angel she was - y'know, a burnt, scarred, hairless angel. "But that's telling..."
When the questions turned towards her, her own ears flopped to the sides. Heaving a great sigh, Scorch averted her dragon gaze to consider the kingdom that stretched out before them, rolling and overhanging and beautiful. "If I'm being honest, Breckin, my time to rule has long since passed. I am immortal, but more than that I'm old. Although I recognize that right now there is no one else suited to the throne - I just wish I could have continued as Nerine's Advisor, the second in command. But when the first in command dies, I suppose this becomes my duty by default." She snapped her eyes back to Breckin, momentarily worried that her vulnerable expression of emotions would somehow defame her in the eyes of her speckled friend; but the worry passed when she remembered that this was a safe space for her to speak. "I love Nerine, and I will of course serve her as Queen - I am excited in some ways, and I have the expertise to at least no fuck it up at worst. But when my heir, Wishbone, comes of age - it will be a relief not only to me, but probably to all the residents of this land whose eyes hurt when they look at my crispiness."
"I... I hope that wasn't too forward of me to say, Breckin. I know you'd prefer to hear that I'm elated and ready for anything - but I'm not. I've seen too much of this world for that; but for now, I am at peace. And maybe that's enough."
Scorch
Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle
@[Breckin] Literally just zoned out and let Scorch write this post, expected it to be like 3 paragraphs max and... then this happened. Ooops
“Firstly, I don’t mind at all,”she says in response to Scorch’s remark about her not minding listening to the barren mare’s wisdoms. “Secondly, I don’t believe you in the slightest,” Breckin chastised in the friendliest way she could verbalize. There was a who, what, when, where, why and how that remained yet to be revealed pertaining to Scorch’s death story, and some day she would find out before her dying breath. The spotted mare took a momentary breath before acknowledging the Queen’s remarks about her diplomatic ranking. Her head dipped in an affirming nod, “Thank you, Scorch….or Queen Scorch? Your majesty? I’m afraid I’m at a loss here. What is the proper way for me to address you now given the situation? And I will make some trips back to the Field to check for possible recruits.”
The sovereign moves on to address Breckin’s interpretation of the encounter with Leilan. Not entirely sure how she felt about imagining herself birthing eleven children, the leopard woman tries to offer a small smile, though in reality it probably came across a nervous expression. “That many, huh?” For a moment she allows the consideration to settle into her mind further, and is surprised how the idea of motherhood is not entirely off-putting. Perhaps someday with the right person… she muses inwardly, jumping slightly when her heart pushes an image of a roan colored stallion before her mind’s eye. Giving a shake of her tangled locks, she attempts to refocus her thoughts for the conversation at hand as Scorch begins to answer her question.
Returning listless ears to an upright position, she solemnly listened to her friend’s words, meeting her vibrant gaze whenever she offered it. Until Scorch gets to the bit about other people’s eyes hurting from looking upon her ‘crispiness.’ It’s obviously a jibe at herself, but Breckin cannot help the small roll of her eyes. “Oh please. If anything your appearance is a fine display of resilience I would hope that all Nerinians should seek to strive for. Myself included.” She smiles warmly then, “I appreciate that you are comfortable enough to share your thoughts with me. And I would indeed prefer to hear that you are happy with where you are at, not at a subject though, but as a friend. However I will take solace in knowing that you are at least at peace. Perhaps after Wishbone assumes the throne, you can return to where you are happiest.” She bumps her nose into the older mare’s scarred shoulder, “If there is anything I can do to assist you, you only need ask.”
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