"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
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
She has decided to be a diplomat and yet she finds herself constantly within Nerinian borders (that is, if she counts her trip to Taiga as the border, since she didn’t venture any further on that day). Today she truly breaks free; spring is near and she finds herself restless. She is an adult, she is a diplomat for a queen who’s scowl may or may not make potential enemies by default, and she has responsibilities that she has placed upon herself - befriend and ally with others: recruit and find more lands to align with.
However, she does not feel up to visiting Taiga again today in hopes of not bumping into Reia; she does not feel like counting the hours she spends in the Field finding no-one, nor does she feel particularly attracted to visiting lands when Neverwhere does not yet have a message for them - other than introducing herself and even that, Eurwen would rather not do today.
So she roams into the common lands as an escape, a day of running away so that maybe tomorrow she can go at it again.
She welcomes the lack of horse-scents, the lack of talking in the distance, the lack of faced pulled into a smooth display so as not to betray emotion. She loathes that part of what most perceive as good diplomacy; having no feelings of themselves whatsoever, to only represent a land. As if the feelings of its inhabitants don’t count - but they count the most, to her. She’s just not like that, she thinks. She can be kind and have emotions and represent her land, she has decided.
The spotted mare watches night creatures scatter from their daytime hideouts, daylight-favouring critters doing the opposite. There’s something strange about the twilight zone, she thinks. Catching the gleam of the orange sunset, she decides she won’t be going home just now, today. She can spend the night here, where the water reflects the sun as much as her mane, the rose and orange colours not contrasting for a moment - hidden in plain light, as it were.
The river’s winding silver trail is Eyas guide. It points travelers north and sends them on their way through the heart of Hyaline. She’s been struggling painfully, step by step, to make it out of her overgrown resting place deep in the heart of the Forest and out to the River. Eyas felt like a fish struggling upstream the entire time. She had to stop so often in order to catch her breath that in the beginning she doubted if she’d see the water’s reflection at all, much less make it there before nightfall, but when the first bright star of the evening unveiled itself against a painter’s sky the emaciated pegasus mare could already smell the rushing stream.
The thought of a long drink after months of brittle dehydration was all the encouragement she needed. Eyas dug her cracked heels into the springy soil and pushed herself on, past the branches tugging on her wings and down a little deer path that led her to a high bank overlooking the River. She paused there, trembling on weak legs that struggled to support her thin frame, and looked out across the water illuminated by a dying sun. Flowing and bending over large stones, smooth and undisturbed farther out toward the deep middle, the entire scene was picturesque.
For a moment she forgot about her dying hunger and her impossible thirst. There was only the River to appreciate and it caught her breath. It’s been set ablaze, she thought poetically. The entire surface of the water was dancing with reflected light, streaming like a torch. It seemed alive, and Eyas took the time to appreciate it’s solitary beauty before looking away and down to her left and right, hoping to find a sandbar unencumbered by twisted roots. To her side there seemed to be a small place, so she gingerly picked her way down the steep bank on her toes.
When she glanced up again, there was another horse not far off as beautiful as Eyas was ugly. A mare, lonesome and somewhat pensive looking, out here all alone. Eyas was intrigued. She called out “Hello there,” and dragged her wings through the wet soil as she slowly approached. Her eyes glinted harshly - the most noticeable thing about her and the one indicator that she wasn’t seconds away from death - but a smile cracked her weather-torn lips and then she paused, hovering close to the lapping shoreline. “Mind if I join you?”
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
She is approached by a skeleton of a mare - a ghost of a beautiful woman, she sees: having been like that only just a year ago, she noticed how badly the woman is out of shape but also sees what she had been before, or what she could be. After all, she’d watched the process of healing up close - every time she looked in a clear puddle of water over the course of the last year or so.
She remembers Ori, instantly feeling like she should visit her, as a friend, not as a diplomat to Loess.
The mare still has a voice, and a look in her eyes saying she is not as lost as Eurwen was. Again she remembers her conversation - discussion - argument - with her friend and she decides to take on a similar mantle with the newcomer.
”I don’t mind at all, but please eat and drink something while you do. You look like you’re falling apart.” She’d rather not have to add the navy-marked mare to her conscience, but she estimated it might be a little late for that. The least she could do was to try and force her to undo some of the damage.
”Don’t get me wrong, a year ago I looked like you.” A small smile follows. ”I’m Eurwen, by the way.”
-So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me-
At a full rest and with one white heel propped up for comfort, Eyas laughed quietly in the face of @[Eurwen]’s polite concern. The fawn-colored pegasus with smoky, ringlet-shaped dapples and black lips appreciated the gesture. Most of the horses she’d come across had always felt the need to explain something Eyas knew was pretty obvious. Yea, she looked freakishly ill. No shit. It was the kind of observation that deserved a knee-jerk reply like, if you think I look like I’m falling apart, just imagine how my organs feel, but for the sake of niceties (and because Eurwen takes an extra second or two explaining herself) Eyas just laughs the suggestion away and rests without immediately replying.
It would hurt twice as much if she gorged herself on the running water like she wanted to, so instead Eyas swallowed her brief grin and asked, “You did? Why was that?” before dropping her head to the lapping water and taking her first sip in weeks. Her body betrayed her earlier nonchalance, trembling while she gulped and heaved deep gusts of air between each swallow. Like a savage she plunged deeper, audibly gulping until she popped up again with a deep gasp, droplets of fiery crystals raining down from her chin and staining her chest where they fell against Eyas’ skin.
A moment later and cramps followed, rolling over her muscles and nearly visible under her dehydrated skin where they smarted painfully. Her dull, unkempt wings couldn’t hide how distended Eyas’ belly compared to before. She looked bloated but satisfied, and in the quiet aftermath of her long-awaited drink but before Eurwen might begin to feel awkward she says, “I’m Eyas. Nice to see you.”
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
There is little one can do when so dehydrated, so underfed - the body must get used to eating and drinking again, and that is why it had taken the spotted mare over a year till full recovery - in fact, that was only a recently-accomplished thing. The navy-marked mare, save for base color, which had at the time looked yellow as well, looked so much like Eurwen’s past self that honestly the knabstrup hybrid was already uncomfortable at seeing her - again, feelings of self-loathing surfaced, for how ever had she thought that hiding would bring anybody anything, would help anyone in any way?
Now, she watches Eyas bow down and for a moment she looks like she’s about to say something else - but the mare takes a few small sips, then a few gulps, and the rose-maned mare knows that the one before her has already learned that lesson, and needs no belated warning against cramps already there.
She latches on to the mare’s question, and gives her a wry smile. ”The short story is that I was being both a coward and an idiot, and it took years for someone to find me who would say that to my face.” The argument she and Oriash had had on the Mountain had not been about Eurwen’s state of being literally, but figuratively it was. Only when the antlered mare had pointed this out, Eurwen had somewhat come to her senses.
Eyas’ greeting doesn’t strike Eurwen as particularly odd, knowing just about nothing about her lineage. The spotted mare might have wondered about it if she had, but now she just gives a polite smile. ”Is it?” she muses aloud. She supposes some might think it nice to see her indeed, but then the question remains if that is because they think her pretty (not that she really considers this as more than just a coincidental idea) or because they like her as a person. Eyas however did not know her, and so, Wen can’t entirely be sure why Eyas thinks it is nice to see her.
She intends to find out though, some time.
She smiles a little at the buckskin-and-navy mare. Never would call her a skeleton - certainly she had thought the same of Eurwen last year. ”While I’m not sure if you’d believe me, I’d like to return the compliment.” The spotted mare smiles, seeing full well what Eyas would look like with some flesh on her bones. Besides, she has been pleasant company so far; as far as first impressions go, she seems like she would be a good friend.
@[Eyas] not entirely sure if all of these sentences make sense, it’s a little late here atm (:
-So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me-
Both a coward and an idiot? Well damn. This would be the first time Eyas had ever heard another horse willingly put themselves down. Usually Beqanna folk kept to their own interests, but a common thread among most was their pride. Eyas had seen clever types, powerful horses who could command the elements or change their shape, and some of the most beautiful creatures she’d ever imagined. Whatever strength they had in themselves, the equines of Beqanna tended to be quick-latches. They clung tightly to their best and brightest gifts, consumed by vanity.
But not @[Eurwen]. Eyas smiled a ghostly-looking grin, content with keeping her tongue in her mouth while the rosy-golden mare dissected a bit more of the stranger who’d just lapped up water like a beaten dog. The pegasus nodded briefly - It was nice to see another, and likewise to be seen. She felt energized by their conversation, even if it was a bit ‘so-so’ compared to other conversations Eyas had had before this one. Behind the gilded beauty and Eurwen’s musical voice there was a deeper story; there was always a deeper story, and Eyas felt the same draw she always felt when confronted with a new tale.
“I haven’t got a reason not to believe you,” The thin little buckskin pony drawled, a bit lazy with her speech now that the exhaustion of her very short journey had come to settle between her shoulders, “I’m flattered.” She pursed her mouth comically into a sultry pout. On her haggard and dirty face it looked about as seductive as you might think. Eyas dropped the act a moment later and swung her head back towards one shoulder, where some particularly irritating feathers needed a bit of pruning, and asked, “Sorry if I’m being a bit ‘nosey’,” hoping that such an excellent pun on Eurwen’s scent wouldn’t go to waste, “but have you got any news on the whole debacle between Nerine and Loess? Bit of nasty business, that. You know how it goes, though - ”
She finished and looked up again, back to where Eurwen’s brilliant colors were beginning to fade away with the last rays of sunlight. “Gossip spreads quick through the outer colonies and lately I’ve been… keeping to myself. I haven’t had a chance to catch up on the buzz of things.”
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
Their conversation might be a little awkward, but the spotted mare doesn’t mind at all. Eyas made good company, even in silence- perhaps a trait the rose marked mare appreciated even more. She has no idea of the understanding of the world that the navy-marked buckskin has, but still, she can perhaps feel it in their ambience.
As Eyas makes her pouty face, Eurwen starts into a girlish giggle. As well as she meant the compliment, Eyas still manages to make a joke out of it and since it’s the kind of jokes she grew up with, well, she had to break sometime.
As the mare asks about the ‘debacle’, the spotted mare grows a little more serious, the smile still lingering on her lips. ”It’s such a mess, I wonder who didn’t get confused by it. Loess seems to want Taiga, for some reason. Nerine of course opposites such an expansion that had no real reason other than expansion in the first place.” She doesn’t know why Loess never offered anything in return, as good diplomacy goes; or why Lepishad once thought that it had only flourished because she led it - half of the Taigans at the time were her family, and the others had already been there, recruited by Aten - but honestly the fact that someone had the audacity to just waltz in and take, was perhaps what went against Eurwen’s nature the most.
Somehow she had the feeling that Eyas knew more about it than she let on, and yet, was equally tired of it as Eurwen. So, the rose-spotted mare smiles at her. ”I feel like it’s not something that’s gonna get resolved soon. I often wonder why the residents don’t get a say in it. Just vote and be done.” she shakes her head. If everything in life were that simple.
-So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me-
hoping for information was one thing, but happening across a veritable wealth of it was another, and Eyas couldn’t have been more tickled to see the serious haze overtake @[Eurwen]’s expression. Yes; she already knew everything the fae-like mare by the river was telling her, but what was important now was the perspective of that telling. What must it all have been like from the outside? Her family marched into a territory that wasn’t theirs to march into, and upset a quiet peace in favor of tyranny. And that was only the beginning.
“I mean nobody can blame ‘em, yea.” Eyas agreed pleasantly enough at the right moment, following the remark about Nerine’s resistance with something poetic like, “Greed is a pitfall disguised in many ways.” Before Eurwen continued. The dragon’s daughter was northern-born and bred; it really didn’t surprise Eyas to hear her express sympathetic ties. Maybe a bit sided, given the present company was a complete and total stranger, but the spotted beauty had said it herself: she had no inclination as to why it had happened in the first place.
She didn’t really know the whole tale, from front to end.
Fair to say that Eyas was closer to that knowledge than the mare she’d found out here, alone in the wilderness, but even then she still sided with Eurwen’s opinion anyway. Her thoughts were still similar - the audacity and all. Unforgivable. So there was that at least, and the fact that Eurwen was close to figuring out these questions were more than the casual, curious inclinations of a random passerby without Eyas’s help at all.
“Oh, well,” She huffed casually, “you know how those mythical types love to play their games the long way. Only some of us don’t always have that leisure time.” She shook her head a bit, kind of wistful and remorseful as Eyas shuffled carefully into the water. Clouds of brown silt and caked on mud broke free from her legs, washed away by the swift-flowing current. The deeper she sank the heavier the cloud became, until her shoulders and hips were nearly under but not quite. Her wings were sodden and submerged, but they stayed aloft and steadied her against the onslaught of the River’s tug. “Personally, I think our world’s just lacking a few heroes now, don’t you?” Eyas turned in the churning water to face the shore again.
It was getting too dark to clearly make out Eurwen’s coat color, but the faint outline of her body still seemed to flicker on the banks. “I can sense you like to stand up for the little guy - or gal, so be it. Why not you? I certainly pegged you for one at first glance.”
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
If their conversation turned from awkward to weird to suspicious, Eurwen would be late to notice it. Nevertheless, she hums softly in agreement to Eyas' remark. Indeed, greed is a pitfall; one she had seen many times before. Sometimes through her own eyes, sometimes watching from the sidelines. The spotted mare would rather let go of the subject, however, Eyas' words strike home when she tells her that some like to play the long game. Nodding slowly, she mulls over it in her head - then stores it for later. It is something she will take to heart; sometimes it seems that people have ulterior motives that the rest of the world can't see - that doesn't mean they're not there. Some like to play the long game, indeed.
She wonders if she should include herself in those. But does she have a clear plan for the future? She wouldn't dare to think she would be able to achieve that influence- or want to, in the first place.
That is, perhaps, why the buckskin mare's question nags at her so much. "Me?" A small chuckle escapes her. "What makes you think that?" She'd always thought of herself as just a small stick in the wild currents of life - maybe with enough sticks, a beaver would build a dam and change the course of the river, but surely she was not the beaver in this story. Every little act of kindness helped, of course, but to organize anything on a scale beyond one-on-one? She couldn't see herself doing it.
At least, not now... she hesitantly looks to Eyas. She might stick up for her, but just because she knew how to get back from where Eyas was right now, physically. "Who are you, really? Beyond your name."
-So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me-
Ah; if only she could use her powers to reflect the truth! Eyas could turn the mirror against the thousands of eyes that’d looked down on her, showing each one what they refused to see, but she chose not to. Even when confronted with the obvious it seemed like the majority of horses refused to believe what was right in front of their faces. @[Eurwen] wonders why her? But Eyas would argue, why not her? What makes Eurwen so sure that she’s not the beaver?
If only she had a wish for every beaver she’d ever come across that believed themselves to be the stick… then Eyas would never want for anything.
The pegasus mare shrugs; she’s unwilling to explain herself or her reasoning behind thinking Eurwen was a hero-type. It seemed pointless, given that Eurwen had already decidedly made up her mind on the matter. No need to reflect what the spotted Nerinian already knew: that she was brave, capable of enduring hardships while maintaining her morals, and most importantly strong-at-heart. Eyas may have only glimpsed the other mare’s memories through her sight, but she’d glimpsed enough to know Eurwen had endured many trials and come out stronger on the other end.
“I’m a northerner - like you.” Eyas smiles in the dark, knowing it’ll be hidden. But she also knows that won’t be enough to satiate Eurwen’s curiosity, so she gives a bit more. “I’m Lepis and Wolfbane’s second-born daughter.” The ragged mare sighs out across the water, loud enough for Eurwen to hear.
