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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


    [private]  I dreamed myself a bird who could cross the waves
    #1

    The world goes black and it does not immediately register with Anubias that something is amiss. He thinks it’s just something funny happening and tomorrow he’ll wake up in a patch of sunlight like he does every day. So he resolves to enjoy this while it lasts. Like a new game. He wishes his cousins were with him, it was the perfect setting for hide-and-seek.

    The forest felt too close, too dark, so the young colt finds his way to the river instead. The metallic sheen of his coat is dulled but still reflects just the barest hint of light out here. The thoughts of others drift in and out of his head but today he does not mind. It reminds him that he’s not alone out here.

    There is something following him, but he has not noticed yet.

    Anubias finds his way to the river and wanders along the bank, happy to have the sound to give him a direction to follow. He hums softly to himself to drown out the thoughts (even though they aren’t bothering him, he’s still looking forward to the day when he’s mastered his mind-reading enough to keep them out altogether). The small shape following him trails a little bit, sniffing the air curiously.

    It is no monster, but in the darkness - who can tell?



    @[Cheri]
    Reply
    #2

    The light that meets the dark

    Pappa Yan had naturally assumed that Cheri would be reunited with her twin, Reynard, as soon as Ama dropped him off in the playground. Cheri had assumed the same, since her father’s strict instruction had been to wait here until Reynard came. A couple of days at most, he’d said. Just two long days to wait and wander about for her brother to join her. Two days was easy for Cheri to navigate, and she spent the hours thinking of that strange stallion she’d met by the lonesome, moonlight rivershore and wondering when mother would come to bring Reynard and keep her company.

    And then, on that final day, the eclipse changed everything.

    Beqanna went dark and Cheri looked up at the sky with a strange sense of dread in her usually light heart, scared by the idea of her father and mother trapped somewhere on the mountainside. She had not found Reynard, but how could she in the dark? She had only the weak light shimmering off her white markings to guide her by, and the fear of being alone to keep her moving where the other foals went. How could she have known that they were moving in the opposite direction of where she was supposed to go?

    Cheri was scared. Scared and finally alone at the end of the third day. The last foal to keep her company had been relieved by his parent to be taken home, and the adult horse had only given Cheri a very sad but robust sorry as she dragged her colt away and into the dark. For the first few hours after that, Cheri had curled up into a small ball and listened to the noises in the dark with a pounding, fearful heart. All her life she’d known security and protection; how was she meant to deal with the surmounting challenges of this strange new world? A world where she was totally alone?

    That was when the other colt had passed her by. In the dark, Cheri was sure she couldn’t have been noticed since she was so tightly tucked away, but she had peeked into the near-black and watched him go so confidently that just before he disappeared again, she unraveled from her hiding spot and carefully trailed behind - terrified of being alone any longer. He made his way far past where she was supposed to stay, down toward the river where she’d met the sky-stallion and saved his life, and there he stopped. Cheri sniffed the air cautiously, marveling at his confidence despite what could be lurking out here, and then took a deep breath and pushed her worries aside.

    “Um… hello?” She called hesitantly, carefully picking her way down the bank and closer to the shore where he stood. “Hi.” Cheri smiled in the dark, just barely able to make out the lines of his body from that far away. Her little blanket marking glowed softly, encouraged by her inner hope.

    “Can I come stand with you?” She paused, waiting for his answer, afraid to admit how fearful she was of him saying, “no”.


    @[Anubias]
    @[The Monsters] Let's see what happens to her Tornado Creation!
    Reply
    #3
    @[Cheri] your tornado creation has mutated up into weather manipulation. (this is not being updated due to trait spaces - please submit an update when you decide what you want genetic, etc)
    Reply
    #4

    Through his humming, through his attempts to drown out the thoughts that are buzzing around his mind, Anubias becomes aware of a general sense of fear. He cannot understand it - it’s like no one has ever seen the night before! And it’s not so bad, really.

    A gentle greeting and an even gentler glow catch his attention, effectively silencing the thoughts he was accidentally overhearing. His humming helped, but talking to someone else was the best cure for it. It kept all his focus in one spot. So he greets this filly with enthusiasm. “Of course! Come on, if you stand here next to me you can just see a little of the sun’s light glinting off the water just there.” He’s not sure why he points this out, maybe just because it’s a precious enough thing that it must be shared. His green muzzle moves to show the spot where the water still glitters, even in this darkness.

    His grin dances too like the sunlight on the water when he turns back to the glowing girl. “I’m Anubias.” He says next, as though they’re meeting on any normal day. “What’s you-” But he doesn’t finish the sentence before he feels the surprising sensation of something crawling up one of his hind legs. He starts forward a step, eyes wide, and his small hoof splashes in the dark, cold water of the river. He twists around and sees a wide, soft red face that tilts to the side as the animal sits on Anubias’ haunches, a striped tail draping over his side and tickling the skin there.

    By sheer luck Anubias has not come across any monsters before, so that does not even flicker into his mind as a possibility. It just looks like a lost animal of some kind. The colt calms down almost immediately at this idea and speaks as he turns back to the filly - hoping he hadn’t embarrassed himself too much. “Huh. This guy a friend of yours by any chance?”



    @[Cheri]

    and also @[The Monsters] do your thing with Anubias' mind reading please!
    Reply
    #5
    @[Anubias] your mind reading is safe... for now (nothing happens).
    Reply
    #6

    The light that meets the dark

    To have the stalwart bravery of a lion and not that of a little black lamb; Cheri would certainly be happier, she thinks. Less afraid of this dark and the uncertainty it brought along with it, scaring her. But she was a sheltered thing, growing up with the love and security of a sire who watched over their small family herd and ingrained himself lovingly into his children’s lives, and until now Cheri hadn’t a reason or worry in her small head to be scared about. Now, standing on the precipice of either being accepted or left alone to fend for herself, she’s unsure if her upbringing was beneficial at all. The love and security offered to her since birth was a poor reflection of the reality outside Taiga, and since the Eclipse Cheri had learned that truth the hard way.

    Perhaps, then, she’s just the lucky sort. A rare entity whose woolgathering had produced kindness in her limited interactions with horses that weren’t directly related to her. Maybe someday all of the bad luck she’d avoided would come crashing over her full-force, but today (tonight?) is not that day.

    “Thank you.” Cheri sighed properly, trotting down the bank to join the colt at his side. From this close she could see the way his skin had an odd sheen to it, not flat and svelte like her own. It… shimmered. She looked away and out across the water, ears perked and eyes scanning the trembling surface of the River for the faint wisps of light he’d mentioned before. “Yes,” She smiled, the emotion clear in her voice, “I see it. Just there.” Cheri bobbed her head.

    For some reason, the glint of light playing dully over the surface of black water gave her hope for its eventual return.

    The colt introduced himself, pulling her attention away and back towards him, and Cheri is poised to answer the question he’s forming when something interrupts Anubias and makes him startle forward. His companion, the little glowing filly, skirts to the side and stands rigidly at attention for a minute, snorting and tossing her head in preparation for flight. One of her hooves is lifted; the other three are spread apart from one another. But Anubias doesn’t fleer in terror - instead, he pauses and waits, giving Cheri the opportunity to watch as something scurried up and onto his back.

    “No way. Nuh uh. Not mine.” The filly shakes her head, feeling a tingle of dread shivering down her spine. She was happy that whatever the creature was, it hadn’t decided to scurry up her butt. She definitely would’ve screamed. “What is it?” She whispered, lowering the leg poised for flight and shuffling closer to Anubias curiously, forgetting all about name exchanges in the moment.


    @[Anubias]
    Reply
    #7

    Later, Anubias will have the presence of mind that neither he - nor his new fuzzy friend - were successful at scaring the filly off when he spooked. He certainly would not have blamed her if she did - but he would have been sad to have missed out on a new friend, and to be forced to solve this puzzle all on his own.

    She shuffles closer again and this helps to completely settle Anubias’ startled heart. He would have been able to pull a topic of conversation out of thin air but he supposed that this mystery presenting itself wasn’t the worst.

    Confirming that the creature didn’t belong to the filly was one step down. And to her question, Anubias can only shrug. “I have no idea.” He had certainly never seen a creature like it before and it seemed completely harmless as it settled in on his back and alternated blinking its small eyes at each of the green youths.

    He is deep in thought for another moment before an idea comes to him and he turns to the girl. “Maybe it’s a companion! My mom has one but her’s is a dragon and I thought mine would be something cool like that too.” The creature tilts its fuzzy head at this remark and Anubias belatedly wonders if it can understand him - and if it was feeling a little insulted. So he is quick to add in - “But I guess this is okay too.”

    This seems to satisfy the creature who settles in and closes its eyes in seeming contentment. There’s no other word for it - Anubias is baffled. But! He’s not going to let his present company goes to waste. So in his easy way he asks another question and hopes she doesn't mind. “Well. If it is a companion -” And now that he says it, he’s starting to think that really is the case “- what do you think I should name it?”



    @[Cheri]

    and @[The Monsters] hello it's me again. Do your thing with Anubias' mind reading please!
    Reply
    #8
    @[Anubias] your mind reading has mutated into dream manipulation. you're welcome.
    Reply
    #9

    The light that meets the dark

    This was absolutely fascinating.
    Cheri knew she should probably be worried about more obvious things, like how she planned on getting home again, but for the life of her she couldn’t think about a problem like that when something so unusual was happening right before her eyes. This was out of the realm of her knowledge; she’d never contemplated the bond between companions of different species, though she’d briefly heard them mentioned. Something about a previous Taiga king… or whatever, having a companion animal?

    Was that this, then? Was this how that worked?

    Her mind reeled, sloshing full of ideas and questions Anubias probably couldn’t answer, but Cheri stared and smiled with electric excitement every time the strange creature moved or blinked, which it did consistently after having found a quiet spot on Anubias’ rump. Typical of her, she wanted to croon over it. A fawning remark of “How cute!” Was just forming itself on her tongue when suddenly the colt spoke, apparently reading Cheri’s mind.

    “That’s what I was thinking! Companion animal!” She squealed as quietly as she could manage, afraid that her pitch might disturb the little creature. “Oh but it’s so adorable… look at it!” She laughed, forgetting the world and its manifold problems for a moment. The little thing was animated, glaring up at Anubias while he stumbled over a makeshift apology. Cheri, though her mind was full of adoration for the animal who’d nearly made her jump out of her skin seconds before, stifled a laugh.

    “Well… that’s a question, isn’t it?” Cheri sighed, finally tearing her eyes away from the small thing so that she could study the friendly colt again. Her mood had altered so drastically that she felt no reason to be afraid anymore; every ounce of terror had fled her limbs. She was easygoing and happy, delighted to be asked such an important thing. “I go for the obvious: my choice would be on the name Creature.” She grinned, shrugging the pale green wings that attached to her shoulders.

    Somehow, she knew the idea would fall flat. That’s how it was meant to be anyways. What she knew of companions and their roles was bare: only, she knew that the bond between themselves and their chosen horse was something sacred. If Anubias really wanted to name it, the final say would come from his mouth or the animal’s approval.


    @[Anubias]
    Reply
    #10

    When a compliment is received from the filly, a tiny pink tongue sticks out from the red creature towards Anubias. Someone knew the right thing to say and it certainly wasn’t him!

    There’s something incredibly comforting and normal about this interaction - it’s something that could just as easily have been happening under some bright sunshine. Anubias’ belief that this darkness is not so terrible solidifies as he watches his friend mull over his question about a name - and he lights up with a grin at her suggestion.

    “Creature! Well, that’s certainly accurate.” He turns his head to the fuzzy creature where it lies on his back, opening one eye to again regard the pair of green youths with a curious gaze. “What do you think?” The animal tilts its wide face a little to the side… which isn’t a no, but not a yes either. Anubias tilts his head in the same direction, feeling something pass between him and the… creature. A silent agreement that they weren’t about to hurt the feelings of their new friend.

    For as long as they were in the company of this friend, his companion would be called Creature and that was going to be that. The little beast gifts a small nod before closing its eyes again, settling in and preparing to ignore the youths now that this matter is taken care of - and Anubias turns to the filly with a triumphant grin. “I think we like it!”

    And then another thought, thankfully, comes along on the tail end of that one and he brightens a little further - his pale green eyes sparkling in the low light. Speaking of names, though - I never did get yours.”




    @[Cheri]
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