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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    earth and sky both
    #1
    She has not forgotten their conversation or the worlds in Leliana’s magma eyes. She has not forgotten the kinship she felt with a mare she barely knew, that she conversed with for quite some time not even needing a name. Rae hardly knew the details of this mare's life, but there was some deep seated understanding that seemed to linger between them. They understood each other in some profoundly simple way, despite being so vastly different in so many others. At least, so Rae thought.

    It takes a while to work up the nerve to land on the ground near the border of Tephra. The lands have become obvious enough to her from her vantage point above it all, and she feels as if she knows this place as well as if she’d stayed from birth. Of course, she hadn’t, and time here had moved forward and everything had changed and in the end, she was more outsider than native. That could change though, if she wanted.

    You simply need to show up and ask for Leliana.

    The words ring in her head as she stands, uncertain, waiting for someone to find her. Having watched their interactions enough, she is pretty sure someone will find her soon enough without a need to announce her presence. The horses here were pretty diligent about their borders, and Rae is patient. Besides, if they take too long, it’s an easy chance to escape.

    Though she doesn’t think she wants to escape. Whether or not Tephra will be her forever home, she cannot say, but it’s certainly worth trying. No one could make her stay. No one could chain her to the ground. She could be part of the earth and sky all at once, she thought. Deciding to stay, deciding to find roots, did not change who the core of her always would be. A refreshing breeze dances around her, tugging at her mane and tail, and she lets it relax her. The sky would always be with her, even if her feet were on the ground.

    rae

    my soul is in the sky



    @[leliana] and any who would like to come greet her

    Use of mild power playing is allowed; no injuries without permission

    #2

    Jakub had spent his day running the length of Tephra, pushing his body to the bridge of capacity. His obsidian hide was soaked in sweat, his muscles twitched in exhaustion as he jumped over fallen trees and his hooves broke harden magma that still caked the ground in places.

    His eyes scanned the wispy clouds as he watched a form drop from the sky landing on Tephra's borders. His ears threatened to pin back as he pushed his body harder, the last time other winged beings dropped from the sky into Tephra it did not end well. As he continued to run in their direction, however, he noticed and respected the individual's patience as they waited instead of intruding on his homeland.

    The distance between them began to close and Jakub slowed to a trot, sweat foaming along his hide. His mane and tail were knotted by the hot summer breeze of his run, he must of looked quite the sight as he approached.

    Jakub's ear perked in curiosity and his midnight eyes glimmered as he took in the blonde and blue marked mare. Hello he said cautiously. He took a moment to catch his breath, he could feel his body becoming stronger over the last few months and his confidence with it - not that he lacked any before or shied away from the unknown. My name is Jakub, Alpha in Tephra. What brings you here on this lovely summer day? he asks curiously. She seemed friendly enough, if not a little nervous to be here. A smile graced his lips in greeting.

    JAKUB

    and out he came, holding his brothers heel


    @[leliana]
    @[Rae]
    Tephra inhabitant (Alpha)
    #3
    She has never quite understood the concept of running. It’s a thing she genuinely does not really do, though she is a capable fighter (living a nomadic life often leads to the need to be able to defend oneself) and certainly a more than capable flier. She does not need to work up a sweat to fly at breakneck speeds, her power giving her all she needs in order to do so, but she has trained herself to fly without aid almost as well as with. Of course, she cannot simply float in midair without her powers, cannot move like a hummingbird, but she can fly without it. It was a matter of pride, for her, to be able to outmatch just about anyone in the sky.

    The thought brings with it the image if Wolfbane, and she wonders at that. It’s a strange thing to associate a memory with another horse, but she recalls him and his ability to fly without the aid of any power. She’d had to try to keep up with him, which is a rare thing indeed. Of course, she could have cheated and simply used her magic to win outright, but it was far better to best him with her own prowess, though she’d barely managed to do so.

    Even at that, beat probably isn’t the right word, but it is how she likes to think of it. Somehow, she feels like he expects that’s exactly the way she thinks of it, though perhaps she’s just making that up. Strange too to even have expectations of what someone else might think, to pretend like she has ever bothered to get to know anyone but her twin so well. They had spent only an afternoon together, but she did feel as if she got to know him in the way she felt as if she got to know Leliana in their brief time together. The horses of Beqanna surprised her, it seemed, in ways she’d never found elsewhere.

    The thought helps her settle as she watches the sweaty, disheveled stallion approach. The concept of growing roots is still nerve wracking to the sky bound mare, but it’s appeal grows on her with every passing moment. The stallion is pleasant, asking what her business is here, and she supposes she managed to get the whole “stand at the border and have manners” thing right. Little did this stallion know she’s flown over this place a million times already, knows the ins and out of it as a bird might but certainly not as a horse might.

    “Leliana told me if I ever wanted a home to come here and ask for her. I thought I might be interested,” she said, the word home feeling strange and foreign on her tongue. “My name is Rae,” she adds, realizing it’s probably polite to introduce herself. She is not purposefully impolite, but rather when birds are you normal companions you simply forget such things as names. Birds don’t care much for names, or chatter about the weather, or anything that civilization might consider polite. It was still a learning curve.

    rae

    my soul is in the sky



    @[Jakub]

    Use of mild power playing is allowed; no injuries without permission

    #4

    He watched the woman curiously as she explained her reason for being here. He watched the way her body seemed to familiarize itself with the idea of a home. When he had first come to Beqanna he had just gotten forced from his home by his father. He'd be lying if he said a home was exactly what he was looking for when Magnus approached him in the field, but he had convinced him to follow.

    Since arriving here he had grown into many things, the easiest of those things was accepting Tephra as his new home. Magnus and Leliana were two of the driving factors that made it so easy. Then he began to care for the residence and everything had fallen into place.

    Any friend of Leliana's is a friend of mine. Tephra is strong but accepting, and so are her people I have a feeling you would fit right in. he said nodding his head and offering his muzzle, the sulfuric smell clinging strong to his morning work out. My name is Jakub, Alpha in Tephra. It is a good day to meet you Rae. If you would like we could take a walk while we wait for Leliana. he offered.

    JAKUB

    and out he came, holding his brothers heel


    @[Rae]
    Tephra inhabitant (Alpha)
    #5

    It feels like entire worlds have passed since the last time that Leliana saw Rae.

    She had run across the mare when she had been nearly blinded by her newfound gifts; they have flowed through her like magma, overtaking all other sensibilities within her. She had felt them stretch within her chest, growing so far that her earthly body nearly shattered with it. It was impossible to try and describe those moments—that second—when she felt it snap into her body and the hours, days after.

    And it was only a few that saw her grapple with it.

    Rae was one of them.

    Tephra too has changed since Leliana had first extended her greeting and although her gift can be spotted working its way through the land—small groups of flowers bunching together, grass blanketing areas that had previously been just ash—she still has a long way to go. The thought causes her mouth to drop just slightly in the corner, a frown that doesn’t quite make it to her eyes, but she brushes it off.

    Instead, her attention moves toward the border. She can feel the presence of that sky bound mare, along with one of her most trusted Tephrans, and the smile that curves the edges of her lips is gentle. Without hesitating, Leliana flares open her wings, taking on the form of giant eagle, ribbons of water streaming behind her as she arcs across the land. It falls like soft rain across her kingdom, nourishing the plants.

    She dives gracefully and lands as herself, drawing herself up to her full height to regard them both.

    This time, her eyes are hazel, calm as they watch the duo.

    “Rae,” she says simply, that same ghost of a smile shadowing her crimson lips, turning her attention to the Alpha and nodding, “Jakub.” For a second she is quiet before angling her head once more to the mare, studying her for a second and then taking a step back. “I’m glad to see you again.”

    And she motions her forward, welcoming her in the only way she knew how.

    it's only you and me there until the darkness calls
    let's face the dawn together; we'll brave whatever comes



    @[Rae] + @[Jakub]
    [Image: avatar-1975.gif]
    the heaviness in my heart belongs to gravity
    #6
    He describes Tephra as strong and accepting, and she finds that a true enough description from the little she knows. The stallion in front of her seems to fit right in to the description that he offers of his homeland, and she can see how Leliana fits into such a description as well. How strange, to be so easily accepted by the horses she has spent so much time simply watching, rather than joining. He asks no questions though, not really, and simply offers his home and her in a way that baffles and astounds her all at once.

    Rae is about to reply that a walk would be nice when Leliana joins them. Rae can’t sense her in the way she can sense the birds in the sky above them, or the slight winter breeze that tugs ever so lightly at her hair, but she is not unaware of the eagle that becomes a horse to land in front of them. Leliana is and is not the mare Rae had met near the river that day. Worlds don’t flicker through her eyes, they don’t brim with magna and galaxies. Today they are the colors of the land she calls home, a simple and beautiful hazel.

    Rae smiles, offering the other mare a nod. Her greeting is warm and welcoming, and the door is figuratively opened to her. “Thanks for the invite,” she says in return, stepping into the land and finding that it doesn’t leap up and chain her to the ground. It wouldn’t, of course, but the idea of home had always felt like shackles, but why she couldn’t say. It was anything but shackles, a thing it had taken her far too long to learn.

    “I would love a walk,” she says, flitting her attention back to Jakub for a moment. Strange, to say she would love a walk. Truly, she would love to go flying, but his lack of wings would make such a thing difficult. Besides, the whole point of a home was to keep her feet on the ground sometimes, to become part of something more than herself, to have friends other than the birds and to talk to someone other than the wind. So her feet stay on the ground, and she’ll learn what it’s like to see the land from within it and not above it.

    rae

    my soul is in the sky



    @[Jakub] & @[leliana]

    Use of mild power playing is allowed; no injuries without permission

    #7

    He had wondered more than once what they must look like on Beqanna from the freedom of the sky. It was an ability he admired but had never lusted after. He found solidarity in the ground beneath his hooves. He had fallen in love with the way the ground of Tephra molded beneath his weight where the land had been untouched and he appreciated the beauty of the growth breaking from the ground where the lava had laid to rest.

    He eyed the pegasus wings in fascination as he waited for her answer, but his attention was pulled to the sky by the arrival of an eagle made its descent to where they rested. A thoughtful smile rested on his lips as he watched Leliana morph and stand with them. My Queen. he nodded as she greeted them and then proceeded to welcome the new pegasus, who was not so new to her.

    He watched the women acknowledge each other and then Rae's tentative step into Tephra. Jakub had always admired the way Leliana made others feel welcomed and at ease. He knew that she, like every other horse in Beqanna, had a past of things that haunted her but all made her who she was.

    He could tell the two had formed an understanding of each other. His attention was pulled away from his red queen when the pegasus accepted his offer for taking a walk. He turned his smile towards the blue and golden overo while poising his question towards his queen. Will you be joining us, Leliana? Your presence would be greatly appreciated I am sure.

    Though he was sure the lady and himself would be friends, he guessed the overo wouldn't mind a face she had met before in a land that was foreign.

    JAKUB

    and out he came, holding his brothers heel


    @[leliana]
    @[Rae]
    Tephra inhabitant (Alpha)
    #8

    Leliana has worn the figurative crown for months now—Queen of the Ashes for most of it, although she prefers to not dwell on such heartache—and still, it feels strange to be the one welcoming others in. When she was a girl, she ran through this land with her sister as orphans under their Uncle’s watchful eye. They were wild and free and mostly left alone. To serve as its Queen now is more than she can fathom.

    Still, it gives her opportunities such as this and she finds she cannot regret it.

    “I will,” she says simply, her gaze flickering to Rae ever so briefly as the red wings by her side shuffle as almost in secret regret. Not that she does not love spending time with her Alpha—she does—but there is something thrilling about the idea of taking to the sky with a partner. She cannot remember the last time that she had flown next to someone other than her sister and the idea exhilarates her.

    But, still, she knows it is best to stay earthbound for now and so, instead, she dips her head, her lips curving into the most gentle of smiles as she begins to make her way further inland. She walks in a comfortable silence for a few steps before she breaks it herself, her voice as deep and calm as the rivers most placid point. “There is much to learn about Tephra, but you will find that she adapts to you. Should you simply want a place to rest, she can be that. Should you want to become part of its family, she can be that. And,” her gaze is light when it looks toward Rae, “should you seek purpose in her ranks, there is the opportunity for such things, as well.” Leliana does not dwell on such things though.

    She has little desire to recruit and force their ideals on others.

    Tephra remained open and proud and strong—for whatever others needed of them.

    So Leliana steers the conversation elsewhere, feeling that faint tug of magic in her bones as they walk, flowers beginning to blossom beneath her, leaving a weaving trail of them in her wake.

    “This place has roots in the Jungle,” she comments, remembering Rae’s mentioning of it during their first encounter. “One of her founders, Magnus, is a son of the Jungle and he embedded some of its spirit here.”

    Leliana never knew the Jungle or the Amazon, but she has heard stories.

    How different her life may have been had she been born into her family’s home of vine and root.

    How different she may have been.

    it's only you and me there until the darkness calls
    let's face the dawn together; we'll brave whatever comes



    @[Rae] + @[Jakub]
    [Image: avatar-1975.gif]
    the heaviness in my heart belongs to gravity
    #9
    It is strange to her to see the world from the ground. Not that she has never done so before, but never with the intent to stay, to make this place her home. The world from above is beautiful and endless, her sight far less limited than here. Above, she can see for miles on a clear day, could watch the war as it unfolded as if reading about it in a book. Here, everything is so close, and she can see only the lush greenery that grows around them, the lava that covers parts of the ground, the volcano in the distance. There is so much more beyond that she cannot see, and it makes her feel so small, then. Rae isn’t a fool, she doesn’t believe herself larger than life, but the sky is simply so big and now, here…Well, it would take some getting used to.

    Jakub greets Leliana as Queen, and Rae finds that she is not particularly surprised by the title. It fit her, fit the way she carried herself, fit the way she so easily invited Rae into their home. She has met Queens in her life, of course, though had never seen one quite as she had seen Leliana, on the cusp of a change that Rae didn’t quite grasp but could feel the edges of, at least. She has seen Kings and Queens rise and fall, and in this, she wonders what the future for her friend will be, and finds herself already hoping it will be a peaceful change.

    Leliana agrees to join them in their walk, and Rae doesn’t miss the way she shuffles her wings slightly. She offers the mare a sideways grin as she falls into step with her new companions. Leliana breaks the silence after the moment, though Rae has to pull her attention from the landscape around her. She knew it, from above, but to be in it feels so different, so new, and it’s like learning the place all over again. There’s so much she doesn’t know, like the way the land dips and rises, the way the lava feels beneath her sky-bright hooves.

    Her ears flick to the other mare, noting how she refers to the land as a ‘she’ and finding this strange and interesting. A land could be that important, that much, to be made equal? Leliana explains the options of living here, and they feel finite and yet limitless, though Rae finds her mind catching on the word purpose. She cares little for ranks and title, but a purpose might help her settle, might give her the reason to stay that she seeks.

    Leliana doesn’t linger there though, and Rae moves along with the conversation for now, watching the flowers that bloom beneath the Queen’s feet. The topic turns to some history, and Rae doesn’t miss how Leliana connects this place with Rae’s own roots. She’s not entirely sure how a spirit of one land could be given to another, but then again, she doesn’t pretend to fully understand magic. She smiles though, grateful to the mare for the tidbit. “It is arguably warm enough here to have roots in the Jungle,” she says with a playful grin. It is not a complaint, but the land is definitely warm and humid as the Jungle once must have been, at least in some small part.

    “May I ask how you each came to live here?” she asks, the deeper root a curiosity of how someone knows that one particular land is the place for them. It’s not as if they tried and tasted them all. Did they just come, as she came? Perhaps it was that simple. Yet, having been born when she was born, Rae didn’t yet trust the permanence of a land. Then again, it was hard to say the sky was permanent at all, and so maybe she expected something that was simply impossible.

    rae

    my soul is in the sky



    @[Jakub] and @[leliana]

    Use of mild power playing is allowed; no injuries without permission

    #10

    He trails slightly behind the duo, a small smile tracing his mouth. He had not seen Leliana at work welcoming others into Tephra, but as he watched he could tell she was ment to be right where she was. Her queen.

    He listened as she talked of Tephra and how she was always whatever that individual needed and he couldn't agree more. Even when he wasn't sure himself, she had been exactly what he needed.

    He watched in appreciation the trail of flowers left in Lelian's wake. The colors vibrant against the ashened ground. Her gift had always been to heal and even with the power she had now she still chose to heal her land.

    His attention was caught once again when Rae began to talk. He chuckled as he slowly pulled up beside them. Her comment about the heat and asked how they came to live here brought him back to the day he had arrived in Beqanna. The day I arrived in Beqanna I was approached by Magnus and he asked me what I wanted. At the time it was simple, I wanted to be someone worth remembering. He offered to teach me if I returned to Tephra with him. It was summer, in the middle of a field, I told him I'd go anywhere if it was out of the blasted sun. he laughed at the thought. Let just say it was definately not the heat that called me here. But I wouldn't trade her for anything. his blue eyes trailed between Rae and Leliana. He had caught the way Rae had hesitated when she took her first step into Tephra and the way Leliana shuffled her wings as if aching to take to the sky. Maybe, he thought, it was best if the two could bond on a level he could never reach.

    His ears swiveled towards the beach and the smells of Ischia that wafted on the subtle breeze, he would take to the waters and visit another. Leliana knew what she was doing. I think I will take my leave now. I feel as if you women might be more comfortable somewhere else. he said in a smooth, teasing voice as his eyes flicked to the sky and back to Rae It was a pleasure meeting you, and I do hope you find what you are looking for. Tephra would be all the better with you here.

    JAKUB

    and out he came, holding his brothers heel


    @[leliana]
    @[Rae]
    Tephra inhabitant (Alpha)




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