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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


    [open]  Sweet speak with a mean streak; any
    #1
    Warlight

     

    It hadn't taken her long to settle back into the rhythm of living, not with her new, plague-free body. 

    After emotional reunions with three of the most important individuals in her life, Warlight was starting to wonder if there was anyone on this island (not island anymore, she corrects herself for the eighth time) that she didn't know. 

    If the sun wasn't setting she would have followed her impulse and sought out some of the more long-term residents, or even hunted around for more of her family that could be lurking, but she decides it would be better to wait for dawn. Sneaking up on her new king or queen in the moonlight may not be the best way to introduce herself, and she decides instead to take the night to herself and visit a tempting spot that had caught her attention earlier. 

    After her return to the land of the living, the bay-splashed mare found that the cold seemed to sing into her bones in a way it never had before. In all her childhood years spent in Hyaline, she could barely remember ever being cold. But now, the mild autumn chill is threatening to send a shiver across her sleek body. 

    A few minutes at an easy canter bring her to a place where streams of water and lava intersect, and the antlered mare find a place where the stream is just hot enough not to burn her. With a sigh she sinks into the bubbling water, her tense muscles relaxing as it wraps itself around every part of her.

    — soul as sweet as blood red jam —

    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #2

    i have loved the stars too fondly

    The sky is splashed in the colors of the dying sun, today a brilliant red and orange and pink fire. It is his favorite time of day, this ushering in of the evening. He is a boy of the night, after all, though in a very literal and not so figurative way. He simply is made of the night sky and so, finds himself most content beneath it. He usually sleeps away half the day, if he can, and spends most of the night awake with the hooting owls and the shadows. Though he’s found that there are plenty of night owls in Beqanna, and often enough he finds something to do.

    Today he doesn’t leave Tephra though, feeling as though he hasn’t been around in quite some time. So he takes to wandering, calling to the stars to surround himself with the soft glow of their light, illuminating the path before him. In truth, he probably doesn’t need the extra light, but he has simply always enjoyed his star aura, a thing he can only have when they are in the sky above him. Though his glowing markings, and the moon above, are all the light he really needs in the wide open space of his home.

    He is moving rather aimlessly around when another catches his eye. She seems to be settling into a nearby river, close enough to the lava that he suspects it must be rather warm there. Truthfully, it could be ice, but the horse in question is a she and that’s usually enough motivation for the just-barely-stallion.

    Aedan makes his way over, nickering a hello though it’s not as if his glowing presence isn’t obvious anyway. “Got room for two?” he asks, giving her the option to tell him to get lost but hoping she’d let him stick around. It seemed like a pretty solid way to pass a few hours.

    to be fearful of the night

    aedan



    @[Warlight]

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

    #3
    Warlight

     

    As she had sought solitude in respect for the actual residents of the place she had crashed into and not because she needed it, the sight of a stranger is a welcome one. That the stranger is a stallion cloaked in starlight only heightens her interest.

    His greeting is polite and non-committed, which is a relief. Warlight knew enough about politics from her first life to know that three days spent here without introducing herself were dancing the line of impudence - more than enough to ruffle the feathers of some leaders. But there had been so much to do when she suddenly found herself tossed back into the world she never thought she would see again.

    If her loitering ended up getting her in trouble, it was something she was hoping she could smooth over once they found out she wanted to be a contributing member of society... and the whole "A magical entity brought me back to life and I chose Tephra to give some magical healing waterfall to, sorry about the volcano, hope that's alright with you." conversation would hopefully win her a few points. In this new life, she was going to try not going in horns first to every encounter. Maybe she'd make it longer than four years this time.

    "More than enough," she returns, shifting sideways even though there's plenty of hot water to go around. Her body language is inviting and her features relax, but she had never been one for hearty, warm smiles to strangers. And right now, she had too much on her mind to think of adding one for good effect.

    "I'm Warlight, but most call me Will."

    — soul as sweet as blood red jam —



    @[Aedan]
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #4

    i have loved the stars too fondly

    She seems pleasant enough, not full of beaming smiles but inviting all the same. He didn’t really have a preference when it came to polite manners. Vita was all smiles and adventure, and he loved that about her. His Queen was sunshine and rainbows, and maybe it was even a bit too much for him but probably only because she was older than him and he wasn’t sure what to make of it (maybe slightly because it was simply naive). Isilya wouldn’t care, probably, to find someone living in Tephra without an introduction. She’d just be excited to make a new friend. Aedan didn’t actually pay that much attention to politics other than on rare occasions, and so he had no reason to know that she doesn’t even technically live here yet.

    Her more subdued greeting is refreshing, he finds, as he steps into the warm water and settles down a polite but reasonable distance away from her. “Do you prefer Warlight or Will?” he asks, finding this more useful than merely knowing what others like to call her. “I’m Aedan,” he offers, a name for a name being only fair.

    The water gurgles slowly around them, warming his bones in a way that night air had not. He lets most of the star aura go, keeping only enough to illuminate them just slightly. It was romantic, in some other situation. Tonight it felt merely like strangers who did not want to go to sleep. “Are you new here, or have I just missed you before?” The question is merely that, a question. He’s not accusing, he doesn’t really care what the answer is, but rather is just trying to come up with something to start a conversation. It’s not his strong suit.

    to be fearful of the night

    aedan



    @[Warlight]

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

    #5
    Warlight

     

    It does not pass her notice how quickly they settle into a comfortable companionship, each seemingly content to pass the night, or at least a part of it, in the company of a stranger. Her blue-black gaze rests easily on him as he speaks, and she takes her time, listening, enjoying the slow, warm movement of the water and the distant frog-songs.

    "Will, I think," she muses, uncharacteristically. "My little brother gave me the name when we were young, and it stuck."

    He continues with the conversation, and she is content to accept the distraction his questions provide her.  She enjoyed the give and take of a first meeting, she liked the possibilities, and she would far rather spend the night with his thoughts than hers.

    "This is not my first time in Tephra, but I doubt you have seen me before." Most likely, he wouldn't recognize her even if he had seen the balding, malnourished filly she had been last she was in Tephra. And if he had, it wasn't an image she was eager to call to mind for either of them.  So she doesn't elaborate, but before the silence has time to settle, her freckled lips finally pull into something close to a smile.

    "So," she begins, sinking a little deeper and letting the water swirl over her neck and shoulders as her inky-black mane lifts to float around her.

    "You must be a proud Tephra Man then, a staunch defender of the Volcano." Inwardly she half cringes, half laughs, aware but not too concerned that the starlight and lack of sleep are loosening her tongue.

    "Do you serve her with your strength or words?"

    — soul as sweet as blood red jam —

    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #6

    i have loved the stars too fondly

    “Will it is, then. I have siblings but I’ve never actually met them. Also I’m not sure my name lends to good nicknames,” he offers, partly because she is strangely easy to talk to and partly because it doesn’t bother him to not really know his family. It might have been nice, but in the end he wasn’t the type to cry over spilt milk. He’d made his own fun, and his own friends, and his own life easily enough. He supposes that’s a perk of being him, outgoing and easygoing both, adventurous and carefree.

    Her response to his question though is interesting, a bit puzzling, because it could imply she wasn’t around much or he wasn’t around much, or maybe both. He assumes she means the former, that she wasn’t around much, though he also knows that there are horses here that lived in other lifetimes. Was she one of those, then? He’s never really thought much about what it means for the doors of death to be wide open, and yet they are, and it is possible he’s speaking with someone who lived in a time he cannot even fathom. He does not push the topic though, thinking if that were the case it may not be the sort of thing she wants to discuss with a stranger.

    Instead he lets himself relax into the warm water, appreciating his home in this moment, as a chuckle escapes him at her words. “I may disappoint you, I fear. I was born here and just never left, and have gone on diplomatic mission but otherwise have been vaguely useless. I’d say I am the spoiled rotten prince with too much time on his hands, except the prince part is untrue. The rest is true, though.” He’ll admit it, anyway. The idea of actually fighting for Tephra had never actually crossed his mind, given that no one had told him it was an option, and he does find it somewhat intriguing. Though being a free adventurer wasn’t a bad gig.

    to be fearful of the night

    aedan

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

    #7
    Warlight

     

    Tensing ever so slightly, Will watches a question flicker across his handsome face; her vague response seems to hardly satisfy him. But he is generous and swallows it down, and she is grateful. The night is long and the subject may come up again, but it is far too early to speak of death when she had only just shaken it.

    Of course, his statement that his name is no good for nicknames comes as a challenge, and her lips begin to move as she murmurs a handful of variations under her breath.

    "Aie... Dan... Den." On the last, she smiles. "Den isn't so bad," she suggests. "A den is cozy and comfortable... but it's also dark, and can be dangerous for those who shouldn't cross it" It seemed a fitting name, and whether he agrees or not she tucks it away for future use.

    His honesty on the next topic causes a chuckle to rumble across her body. Her shoulders, wet and black, lifting and falling ever so slightly, and her antlered skull does a little dip.

    "Diplomacy is overrated anyway." She makes her bold statement as if she had a real knowledge of the subject - a tell that she too had grown up a bit spoiled and a bit royal. "By the time you get back home the world's been flipped upside down and your words are wind. I think, in most cases, it's better to expend energy on recruiting and greeting. Keep the kingdom healthy and let the others fight among themselves."

    That he never asked for her opinion never crosses her mind, as one of a mess of siblings she had no fear of confrontation. If he counters or agrees, she would be equally happy. But another piece of information has captured her attention, causing her thoughts to transition. 

    "So you are as young as you look then? You never know with all these immortals.. what are you, four? Five?" Will's appraising gaze makes its way deliberately across the visible parts of the stallion's body. 

    "Tell me what it is that's kept you anchored here for all those years..." Her voice loses its know-it-all edge with this, replaced by genuine curiosity. She wonders too, with a hint of shame that never makes it to her face, if he had a mate, a family, if Tephra alone was enough to keep him here.

    If it would be enough for her in the coming years. 

    — soul as sweet as blood red jam —

    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #8

    aedan --

    He just laughs, unable to help it. “Cool, so I’m a home for bears now,” he says, sounding completely unbothered by what is a rather terrible nickname. That said, he wouldn’t stop her from using it if she chose to, because that would involve caring a vast amount more than he actually cares. Call him ‘dude’ for all he really cares, it doesn’t bother him. He very much does fit the spoiled youngest prince vibe, even if he’s not actually a prince. What a shame, he wouldn’t have minded having a bunch of girls trailing him just because of a title.

    Yea, he really wasn’t above that.

    She offers her own opinion on diplomacy, and he listens, curious. It doesn’t cross his mind that he hasn’t asked, just assuming this is how conversations worked. He didn’t want to ask for every piece of it, but would prefer that the topics simply flowed between the two of them, offering information freely as they cared to. It was vastly easier than constantly thinking to ask someone what they thought. ”You are probably right. Granted I haven’t really done any recruiting and only the occasional greeting. Again, useless is my speciality.”

    The topic shifts, asking if he’s actually as young as he looks. He nods. ”Yep, four, I guess. I don’t keep that great of count.” He is grown, he knows, but he really doesn’t feel like it. He still feels too young, too carefree, to be tethered by any sort of responsibility. She keeps going, and it feels like she’s been digging all this time for something specific that she keeps inching closer toward revealing. He studies her for a minute, eyes serious (though perhaps it’s hard to tell, given their strange pupil-less white), before responding.

    ”If you are trying to figure out what’s good about Tephra, what’s worth staying for, I can’t answer that for you. Not really. It’s home. It feels like home. I’ve never really thought about leaving though for the right reason I probably would. You gotta find your own reason, you know?” It’s as deep, and as honest, as he could get.


    @[Warlight]

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

    #9
    Warlight

     

    "I'm not a poet," she laughs. "Although I think the starlight lead me into thinking maybe I could be."

    He continues, the conversation moving on and she is enjoying learning more about him. She understands his lack of true attachment to Tephra, she had never felt the kind of connection to any of her homes that her mothers' had felt for Hyaline. But she had always wanted to. She had wanted to feel it for Tephra. His response is a deep enough answer for her, all correctly wrapped up with the fact that she, truly, had already known.

    "...You gotta find your own reason, you know?"

    The words hang between them fr a breath as she realizes this, and then she gives a deep sigh which turns in to a sort of laugh at the end.

    "Well, I'm a fighter." She says, shifting the topic. That the majority of her battles had taken place on another plane she didn't believe was relevant information. "So if you ever feel like changing that, if you want to be a tiny bit useful, find me and we'll find out if you have any fight in you." 

    "It would be fun," pushing her limits and feeling the blood rush of a challenge had always been the epitome of fun for her, "and if I'm a little out of shape I would rather find that out with you than if Tephra needs some help."

    — soul as sweet as blood red jam —




    Sorry this is so so late!! Let me know if you ever want a slow posting mock Big Grin
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]




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