"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
01-25-2019, 12:00 PM (This post was last modified: 01-25-2019, 12:55 PM by Eurwen.)
Eurwen
diamonds are found only in the darkness of earth as truth lies in the darkness of mind
She’s still a little distressed, but that’s a relatively normal state of mind for her really. She’s good at covering it up enough she thinks, she hopes - and looking at the Knabstrup stallion she even manages a wee smile. He’s so eager to see.
She briefly takes her time to breathe in, before answering Naz’ question. ”Oh, yes of course! I mean, they are allowed to choose me, but there’s a lot of family around here. I also have a twin sister. She’s technically a little older, but before my mom, I think a friend of hers ruled? Wishbone. She came by, last winter, but I guess she didn’t wanna stay.” she claps her mouth shut when she gets carried away, blushing a little on her light-coloured face and then eagerly picking up on the next subject.
”I don’t know what they are, they’re just pretty! Let’s go!” she tells her new friends, and quickly pivots and takes off into a trot, directed north-west. ”The ocean’s rough and cold, but if you’re careful you can swim to the other side.” Hmm. She hasn’t tried making a bridge yet - perhaps some other day she can try. It’s not like she really wants to test her strength with stone for something new, with visitors, and get them into danger after all!
It doesn't take long for the mare to start speaking again, talking about her family, Avlorr's ears changing direction to listen to her with intent, but she halts her conversation before he can say anything, quickly changing the subject to leaving and going to see the lights, though Alvorr could not complain, he was excited to see them too.
The stallion turns to face Naz, his eyes focused on him "I believe the lights have something to do with the sun" he had heard this back home, during their constant omens of weather and the worship of gods "I think..." he looks away for a moment, avoiding eye contact.
Alvorr is quick on his legs as they begin to leave, his spirit open to exploring this new land, the once bitter smell of the ocean now inviting him in to explore, to see the many wonders it offers.
"The ocean is quite an interesting place" he says as they travel, his eyes still not following any particular horse "It's very mysterious, we know hardly anything about it, some speculate that the gods have been hiding there, afraid of what they have created above" the male looks starry-eyed as he explains himself, almost getting lost in the stories his parents would tell as he stops "Sorry" he adds in a laugh as he continues to trot, his pace matching the others, still eager to see the new sights.
" darling. we're slow dancing in a burning room. "
Eurwen still looked slightly distressed, and Nazariy subtly drew his muscles sharp and tight, as though he could shrink away into nothing. She managed to smile at Alvorr, but Nazariy was slightly projecting his anxiety, a small spike of it in his stomach.
He nodded gratefully when she replied to his question. It was a lot easier to understand, this time. He evaluated that, while she was a prince's daughter, they lived in a more... democratic system? Nazariy hummed. It seemed like a good place, but his anxiety made it awful. Maybe he'd come here when he and Alvorr split up. Plus, there was something to be said for the way she clamped her mouth tight after saying too much. He didn't know how or why someone could trust in anything.
"Sorry in advance," he tried to laugh, but the sound was tight. "I don't know much about anything." She was blushing a little, and Nazariy watched her a little closer out of his own caution. It was nice that Alvorr seemed excited, which thankfully managed to soothe Nazariy's intense anxiety. It didn't help that his awkwardness was building into a genuinely painful burden in his chest. He didn't think he'd have an anxiety attack, but he was in actual hell. Alvorr looked away from him at the last bit.
Thankfully, the filly turned and started moving, the movement and the lack of eye contact managing to massage out the nerves in Nazariy's body. They spoke of the sea as they moved, and Nazariy forced himself to walk on the outside of the pack so he could hear what both of them were saying. His left ear wasn't completely deaf, but it lacked a level of hearing that made him feel like he was on the outer. He had to have his right side facing his partners to understand. "I don't think- we didn't have an ocean where I come from, so I don't know anything about it."
He looked at his friend. "Hey, don't apologise. People like what you have to say."
01-30-2019, 03:26 AM (This post was last modified: 01-30-2019, 03:27 AM by Eurwen.)
Eurwen
diamonds are found only in the darkness of earth as truth lies in the darkness of mind
The little girl is just that - a girl. She is indeed trying her hands at things, though she believes that she knows enough to pull it off (or perhaps her face is young and innocent enough that the others will simply forgive her more easily). It's not like she has no life experience at all... or so she thinks. Her blushing therefore, is for overruling the conversation, ashamed she had started rambling - and so she'd quickly gone with the change of subject.
The filly listens to what Alvorr says and tilts her head slightly - she's never heard of a sea god, only of one in the sky, and that one is nasty, dad says - so she's curious. "I met a fairy once. I wonder if they know about the gods in the sea?" she asks him - as if he would have the answer maybe.
The subject of lights passes her almost completely - all lights stem from the sun, she thinks, or it must be magic. Whatever the case, she doesn't feel like she's supposed to know, or to find out.
The conversation continues with Alvorr apologizing and she gives him a short, confused look before Nazariy continues to say that he shouldn't apologize. She nods then, gives them a small smile, and turns her eyes back on the road. It seemed private, and she doesn't want to intrude.
Soon enough they make it to the stony outcrops just north of the forest, where the sea can be heard and seen, crashing at the rocks below, each time retreating only to try again. She peeks over the edge a moment, then steps back to allow the guys to see if they want to. "Here's the sea. If we go further north maybe we can get closer. If you want to." She always cared for the sea, it was the sound and smell of home, but actually swimming in it was dangerous, even now that she had grown quite a bit since last she had done it. But Naz had said he didn't know about seas, so maybe it could scare him and so she didn't want to force either of them to go nearer if they didn't want to.
The ocean breeze was already filling his lungs as they approached, his eyes closed for a moment as he inhales the scent briefly.
Getting even closer sounded quite interesting, the male was already quite confident and set on exploration "I would love to" he turns to the spotted female with a smile, next changing his gaze to Naz with the tilt of his head.
"How about you?" he asks as he takes a step forward to take a better look at the sea, "You, sea, the sea gods are quite interesting. I don't know if they exist, I don't think anyone does" he holds himself from laughter for a moment before continuing, exhaling deeply "I personally don't think there's anything down there, apart from weird squids and fish. But, my homeland likes to believe in these things, worship them even" he finished, glancing back over to Naz.
The sea was quite an interesting place, whether there was anything there or not it still brought curiosity forward. A deep blue and cold mass of salty mess, often unforgiving and quite ruthless.
"I wonder what is beyond the sea" he looks out toward the horizon, smaller waves flattening to a cosmos of liquid blue the further he looks "Or what is down there, contrary to what I said before, there might something interesting down there, something maybe others are too afraid to see" he raises a brow "Or maybe I've just gone insane because of my past family"
He laughs gently as he stares back toward Naz, almost cowering behind him suddenly as he looked back toward the filly, Alvorr was one to talk quite a lot as soon as he met others, never learning to shut his mouth even for a moment.
"What about you Naz? You said something about your lands, how was it there?" he asks as he moves beside him, still eager to look over toward the ocean.
" darling. we're slow dancing in a burning room. "
Nazariy shivered a little in the breeze. He kept as close as he could to Alvorr without imposing, without seeming like a creep. Hell, he thought, he probably seemed like one anyway. The whole world seemed to press in on him, this filly and the shame he caused her to have. He looked away.
Alvorr was nice, though. His words were gentle, and his eyes were cool and calm. He was like a rock to lean against- unmoving, stable. Nazariy knew nothing about stability, and he never had. He listened to the filly speaking to Alvorr, to the way she held her imagination softly. He was glad she asked Alvorr, seeing as Alvorr seemed to have the answers.
"I'd love to see the sea. I want to see everything," Nazariy smiled. Alvorr said something that ended in a laugh, and Nazariy chuckled a little, although it took another moment for him to get the joke. "That's an awful joke," he muttered, but it was friendly.
Nazariy followed Alvorr to the brink, where an expanse of dark blue spanned the horizon. He looked back to Eurwen, who seemed to feel at home here. The water nearly looked like a being in and of itself. "I could believe in a sea god," Nazariy whispered, not fully intending to speak. He looked out.
He imagined the sea foam reaching him.
Or maybe I've gone insane because of my family. Huh. Insanity was a concept Nazariy was none too familiar with, and he looked at Alvorr a little closer. "I don't think you're insane." He stepped a little closer to the waves.
"Oh- my lands! Yes, it was... dry. Sandy. I blended right in, as you can imagine," he said, gesturing to his own golden coat.
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
She might come off as flimsy and whimsical, but on the other hand, she’s learning so much from this experience. First, that she shouldn’t assume and talk too much while someone else is not done explaining. Second, she could be more inviting, like Alvorr. Third… maybe she shouldn’t expect of herself to do it right in one go.
Alvorr makes a joke and she giggles a bit, then bites her lip to prevent herself from bursting out, looking with twinkling eyes from the one male to the other. Naz is a little late to get it, and calls it an awful joke, at which she shrugs, chuckles lightly, and follows the rest of the conversation between them more quietly. She tilts her head at the mention of being insane because of his family, then shrugs. ”Oh, you should meet mine.” she chuckles. Insane is probably not the word she’d use, but surely there are worse horses in the world, and Alvorr does not look or sound insane to her.
The dun however, needs to get used to the sight some more, she thinks - evident by the way he walks, almost like a child, on the rocky shore, carefully stepping and afraid of losing his balance - and he talks about lots of sand, which is something she’s never seen before. Frowning in thought for a second, she looks at the waves and to him. ”You mean it’s…” she tries to picture it, ”like a sea but made of sand?” she asks him.
His comment about fitting in gives him a small smile. She’ll probably never fit in any kind of land, the way he mentions; but she doesn’t mind. Nerine is home, and it will always be home to her, wherever she may go. ”Perhaps you’ll find a new home here.” she offers softly.
