"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
Convalescence by the sea has long been a recommended course of treatment, healing efforts of all kinds enhanced by the cleansing and balancing effect of an ocean shore . In Nerine the dappled tobiano woman recovered from her mysterious ordeal splendidly. Thanks to Djinni's merciful aid she was well in respect to her physical injuries almost immediately upon their meeting. Mental wellness or the semblance of it came slower and she was reluctant at first to venture into Nerine proper to meet its residents and establish herself. She could not trust the body or psyche she occupied.
Her mind felt unpredictable, sometimes she was angry or terrified without understanding the stimuli that precipitated the emotions. She thought that her missing memories might be a part of the problem but as the days wore on and she developed new pictures of the world and herself she began to feel that she did not want the missing memories back. It would be nice to not feel out of control, but something had brought this about, she knew that somehow...and she didn't want to know what trauma could have left her blank and often spiraling into a half-mad panic.
Finally one evening, after keeping herself apart for an uncounted number of days, she descended toward the shoreline. The sun had just begun to edge toward the watery horizon but had not yet started to sink into the sea. The tracery of new scars in her hide would be less visible in the fading light but she still tried hard not to be self-conscious of their pink ugliness. Holding her head high as she came down to the water she tried not to wonder if she had been shy or gregarious in whatever life had preceded her arrival to Beqanna. She had to make a new life here. Whatever she had been before lost, a black twisting thing locked behind a dam of amnesia.
Her nose was full of sea spray and she weaved along the solid wet sand where the waves sometimes broke against her legs and other times just lapped at her hooves. When she encountered others she whickered soft greetings but did not approach anyone and thus avoided the fiery bloom of anxiety that would surely accompany any attempt to introduce herself. She had been ready to come down here, hadn't she? Yes. She needed others. Agnieszka needed to begin again.
Alone in her grotto, Djinni has all but forgotten about the bloody tobiano mare from the Field. She has had other things to occupy her mind, most of them there to build a barrier to the one place she does not intend to let it drift. The blue-eyed black stallion remains behind that wall, and by default the piebald Agnieszka remained there as well, tucked away as a memory the genie does not want to remember.
The method serves her well until she crosses literal paths with the other mare, unable to ignore the half-familiar face lit by the evening sun. "Agnieszka" She says, pausing in her journey to look over the not-quite stranger. She looks better, Djinni notices, much improved from their last meeting. Yet there is something less than rested about the tobiano mare, something that is not quite right that she can't put a name to.
"How have you been?" She asks. "Enjoying Nerine, I hope?" There is just enough emotion in her expression to appear genuine, and there is true curiosity in her dark eyes. They are brown today, soft and doe-like, the hue to which Stillwater had referred. Here in Nerine she wears them in her natural shade, warm brown beneath rosey lashes. Elsewhere they are green - or blue or gold or even not there at all - but not here, not home.
Sometime in the last decade this place had become home, sometime between her first steps on the beach alongside Queen Naga and this encounter with the greying black Agnieszka.
Winter had come baring her teeth this year, the bitter coastal wind whipping into her alabaster tresses, further tangling the feathers and shell pieces alike that adorned them. Though no snowfall touched Nerine’s sea banks this evening, the stinging bite of frigid air chilled her to the bone. The promise of sunset was upon them, casting her spotted coat into a warm orange tone and despite the sun’s lazy descent in the sky, it did little to divert the stubborn cold.
Breckin had been nearing the end of her watch, practically counting down the seconds until she could retreat to her personal nook in the cliffside kingdom and release herself to precious sleep. Tired eyes had become increasingly heavier, harder to keep open, nearly shutting entirely as she drew closer towards her sanctuary.
Until she spots a rare color further along the shore through the narrowed slits of her hooded eyes. Curious creature that she is, her dark eyes immediately snap open with newfound interest in the evening’s unravelings. The course had already been set, and with several gliding steps, her speckled frame joins the painted pair.
“Djinni,” she greets the recognizable mage first, “It’s good to see you again.” Breckin offers the rose toned mare a small, tired smile. The mage had been somewhat reclusive as of late, and it was nice to cross paths with her again, if only for a temporary while. Shifting her attention towards the newcomer, she holds onto that soft smile with the ease of a motion well practiced. “Please forgive me, we’ve had many newcomers recently and I’ve not been able to remember everyone’s name just yet. Would you mind refreshing my memory? I am Breckin by the way, it’s nice to officially meet you.”
BRECKIN
call me forward when the crown falls .......
@[Agnieska] @[Djinni] sorry this is crappy but i did want her to officially meet you lol
The chill was bracing, keeping the tobiano mare squarely in the moment. Nerine filled her eyes and even in this coldest of seasons she found it beautiful. She felt sure that should she remain here these shores should grow to be a comfort to her, a calm safe place that she could return to and feel soothed. Even if the return was only in her thoughts.
"Djinni." She spoke the other mare's name in turn by way of greeting, stepping away from the water so that she could stop and talk without the incessantly lapping water stealing the sound of her voice. Her tone was pleased, it was nice to encounter someone she already knew. Unlike Djinni she did not have any negative associations when she thought of the mare that had found her in the field. Only feelings af gratitude and the slight anxiety of being beholden to someone she could not repay. "I am much better. Nerine is lovely. I am very grateful to you."
The wind whipped at her and filled her ears with the sound of the sea but she did not miss the approach of the leopard spotted Queen. Agnieszka knew enough of the kingdom to know who ruled over it despite having kept herself so separate in her early days of acclimation. Shifting slightly to welcome the other mare to their little party she waiting politely until she was addressed, violet eyes clear and interested."Please, no apology is necessary, I have kept to myself to much for anyone but Djinni to remember my name or face." Lips tipped into a self deprecating smile. "I am Agnieszka. Though it seems to be a cumbersome name, so Eszka will be fine. I am happy to meet you." After turning her name, the only scrap of her previous self that she had retained, over in her head for days she had selected this shortened nickname. Perhaps it would not stick to her, and someone would select something better in time.
@[Djinni] @[Breckin] My power supply died in my PC and hubs is hogging our other computer so I wrote this on my phone. Sorry if it's horrid. :S
The dappled mare looks much improved from our last interaction, and she says as much. To her gratitude I simply nod my head a bit, acknowledging her words. "It is a beautiful kingdom," she replies.
At the sound of hooves, he genie's bottle green eyes flick over her spotted queen, sharp but heavily shielded by impossibly dark lashes. It has been some time since she last saw the monarch of the northern shores. The appaloosa seems to be in good health, and despite her frequent liasons with handsome stallions, Breckin hadn't borne a foal this past season. A woman after my own heart, Djinni thinks, having lost count long ago of her partners and having only two children.
(Well, there are four but she has made herself forget the boys years ago.)
"It's good to see you as well, your majesty." She is always impossibly formal, and this habit has not changed in all her interactions. The smile she offers the spotted mare is more relaxed, an easy grin. As the other mares speak, Djinni looks from one to the other, waiting for her turn in the conversation.
'Eszka, then'. She repeats the mare's foreign title with a slight dip of her head, appreciating the shortened variation the grey splashed mare had to offer, and hoping that the unfamiliarity of the name might grow to become more akin to familiar in time. The influx of visitors and new residents to the harsh beauty of Nerine was astounding and humbling, it kept her busy and her curious nature reveled in the promise of fresh acquaintances. "I sincerely hope you are in enjoying what our kingdom has to offer. Do you have plans to stay with us long term, or are you planning on venturing elsewhere after awhile?"
Whatever tiredness her eyes had held starts to burn away in light of a growing brightness, realizing that she should have sought out the rose toned mage awhile ago. Though she had known of Djinni's participation in the contract between Loess and Nerine, she had absolutely no clue if she'd been properly thanked for doing so. Well, there was no time like the present.
"Djinni," she began, training her eyes back to focus on the ageless mare, smile falling to a slight frown of apologetic nature, "I'm sorry I didn't seek you out sooner, to thank you for your services to Nerine." In retrospect, it wasn't much, but the leopard queen felt it necessary to appreciate what Djinni had done in regards to the contract all the same, and for the coastal kingdom in general as well. And it was purposeful that she does not elaborate on the specifics, deeming it an unnecessary tactic, trusting that the genie would understood what she meant fully without saying it directly.
