"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
She eyes the bird that lands nearby, wary, but as Reave does not seem bothered by it she pretends that she is not either. Israfel shakes her head again, confirming that she has not tried water. She’s been in water, but in the shade of the forest. So that she could not even see her own reflection whenever she’s been wading in it. She knows she is golden, because she can look down and see her legs, but that’s the extent of it.
And now she is wondering whether her camouflage worked in the water or whether it was still just the shadows.
Curiosity is infectious.
She’s nervous but that does not feel like a good enough reason to not go, so she nods her head to the second question. Israfel takes a few steps after him. Once they pass where they had been before, it becomes the furthest she’s been from the forest. Israfel decides the feeling that is growing inside of her must be excitement, not nerves at all. The smile on her face is fleeting, though, because she is distracted by everything. Her gold eyes are wide and she’s careful to stick close to the new friend she has not even thought to ask the name of yet.
She doesn’t think to ask where they are going, because she’s sure she’ll find out soon enough and she does not want him to think that she doesn't trust him.
In so many ways, it’s easier to ignore his own doubts in favor of such reckless pursuit of something more interesting. Easier to launch himself headfirst into picking at the edges of everything this girl knows than it is to pick at his own. It’s why, in the face of something that could undoubtedly have been solved with much greater ease, he chose the harder way. The way that involved her serving as his vicarious distraction.
She could have said no, but she does not. And Reave is delighted. Delighted because he hopes this is only the beginning. Because one small waterfall could so easily morph into something more. A hunt for the dangerously elusive nuckelavee perhaps. Or comparing what shape the wraiths of the icy north might take for them that day. Or a heart-pounding encounter with the antlered bears as they dodged their flames.
The possibilities are simply endless.
He leads the way, as he so often does, picking his way towards the water with a confidence of one who often finds themselves on such spontaneous adventures. The large eagle follows, remaining low and visible now, scouting the way. When they arrive, he is already perched on a stony out-cropping, preening the feather’s of his wings with a familiar nonchalance.
Only when they reach the very edges of the water does Reave stop, turning to peer at Israfel with the familiarly impish grin already on his lips. He doesn’t wait for her however, instead plunging ahead of her, disappearing briefly under the pounding spray of the short waterfall. When he reappears, wheaten mane plastered to red and white skin, he looks at his golden companion expectantly, blue eyes slightly wicked. “Well come on then, nothing’s bitten me yet.”
She watches as he plunges into the water without hesitation - her young heart pounding wildly when he disappears. That short time frame feels too long and relief help fuels the smile that brightens her golden eyes when his soaked body reappears and she shakes her head at his choice of words, pointing out quietly “I’m not a big fan of that yet.”
But she follows him, because she trusts him. Because he seems to know so much more of the world than she does and Israfel doesn’t believe anyone would put themselves in harm's way. So if it is safe for him, it is safe for her.
She eyes the eagle that is perched nearby but slips into the water all the same. The surface of it shimmers with sunlight reflects off of her golden coat and she does not camouflage with the water. Israfel reaches out with her muzzle towards the waterfall but does not move under it the way he had, disappointment spreading through her as she becomes drenched with the spray. Should she apologize for not being powerful enough to camouflage into the water as well? She had hoped that she would, just so that she’d be a little more interesting for him.
Instead of apologizing, she changes the subject - but does not look at this new friend just in case she sees her own disappointment reflected in him. “Is there anything you can do? That's like my... shadow thing.”
Reave is far from disappointed. Despite her hesitant words, she had followed him into the water, wading deeper until she reaches the edge of the waterfall’s spray, golden skin gleaming wetly. She is almost too bright beneath the sunlight now, and his pupils narrow to slits as he watches her curiously, the ghost of his wicked grin still on the edges of his mouth.
He hadn’t truly imagined the water would change anything. It had been a fun thought, but in truth, it had been designed entirely to entice her away from the woods. A test, to see if she would be willing to do the unexpected. And she had. So Reave is not disappointed because her ability is not truly what had interested him in the first place. No, what lay beneath that, the endless fountain of untapped potential - that is what he had wanted to see more of.
His expressive features shift to something more speculative as he moves from the spray of the waterfall, drifting closer to her. Her question stirs something, and for a long moment, he ponders how to reply. “Yes… and no,” he begins slowly, drawing the words out as he stares at her. Deciding how much she might actually wish to know. “I could disappear, like you did.”
He steps forward, close enough to reach out and touch her now. Then he disappears, a simple twist of her sight, before reaching out to gently touch the bridge of her nose before withdrawing just as swiftly. When he reappears, there is laughter on his tongue and a gleam in his blue eye. “I could be in more than one place.” In a blink, there is another beside him, identical in every way. Then, a moment later, it becomes her, a perfect replica of gleaming gold. “And so much more.” He pauses, eyeing her closely, waiting. “Does that alarm you?”
Israfel had been expecting disappointment, maybe even to hear the sound of her new friend leaving the water and seeking more interesting company. She doesn’t know where these expectations come from, doesn’t have any poor experiences to draw on to create them. She doesn’t have any experiences at all to shape her views of the world.
Whatever the reason her thoughts assume the worst, she’s glad when he drifts closer instead of further away - when he answers her question and her golden eyes finally slide to him. He disappears, earning a quiet delighted laugh that turns a little breathless when she feels the soft touch against the bridge of her nose. Israfel’s golden eyes shine with glee when he reappears. She barely has a chance to think about how thrilled she is to have this thing in common with him before he keeps going.
And those golden eyes widen in surprise when there are two of him - her head turning between them and she jumps a little when the duplicate becomes her. Israfel takes in her golden duplicate - wondering if she’s really that pretty or if he had perfected some things.
He asks if it alarms her and she’s quiet for a moment before admitting. “A little.” but then she is quick to add “Not enough to want to go back, though.”
And then, with a smile, an eager question of her own as her golden gaze locks on his blue eyes “What else?” She doesn’t care what he answers with - whether it is more of what he can do, or more of what exists in the world. She’s hungry for it all now - eager to ignore the rapid pace of her heart as she strays so far from what she knows. But the exhilaration is as addicting as it is frightening and Israfel does not believe she’ll be able to go back at all. Not now that she’s been drawn out.
It is the delight in her laugh, in her gilded eyes that draws him in. Reave had known happiness before, but this is something entirely different. There is a sweetness, an innocence he’s not certain he has ever had. His life had been born on a harsh reality while hers had only known what youth should know.
It’s hard to say whether he is drawn to it because it is something he has never truly had or if it is because he merely wishes to see how long it would last in the face of reality. Whatever the case, he finds himself wishing for more, a deep and hungry appetite so different from her hunger for exploration.
Her reply pleases him a great deal more than he could say. Favoring her with an impish delight and slightly crooked smile, he washes the visions away until it is just the two of them in the water facing one another. He can see her desire for more written all around her, and he very much wants to give her that. Though perhaps not in a way she had anticipated.
In a way, it makes the game all the more enticing.
He steps closer, the water rippling away from him as he moves. His blue eyes are fixed on her, curiously intent as he considers her question. When he is finally close enough for his muzzle to hover a bare hair's-breadth from her cheek, he murmurs evocatively, “If you want to know what else, you’ll have to come with me to find out.”
Israfel feels as though she’s done something right when she sees his crooked smile, his face drawing her attention away from her duplicate even before it disappears. She can feel something building within her, something so utterly different than anything else she’s ever experienced before. This golden girl is caught in a way that she does not wish to wiggle free from. She is happy to be hooked, thrilled at how this day has turned out to be so much more than she had originally thought it would.
There will be no curling back into the shadows for her when the sun goes down, she hopes. She wants to be given the chance to follow him, to see everything that she possibly can with wide eager eyes before she is forced to sleep again and rest before the next thrilling day.
A pleasant chill runs down her spine when he moves closer and her eyes don’t dare stray from him, watching every movement and that feeling of delight intensifies when she can feel the breath of his words against her golden cheek. There is still that fear but it feels so small now and it has no chance at holding her back.
In a move that is bold for her, she tilts her head just enough that she can feel the press of his muzzle against that same cheek as she says in a breathless, excited voice “Lead the way.” and then adding once she's moved so she can look into his blue eyes once more - “I’m Israfel.”
As Reave peers at her with wicked blue eyes, he feels as though he has found someone who would share in adventure with him. More, as though she would be a true companion, her delight and wonder feeding his need for more. In so many ways, her discovery of even the things he already knows is nearly as satisfying as the very first time he had discovered it.
The pull of her emotions as they wrap themselves around these new memories is intoxicating. A drug, and he is the addict. But would he know when to stop?
Her lips against the red of his cheek send a shiver down his own spine to match hers. His eyes gleam as delight tugs at the corners of his mouth. He doesn’t move until she does, allowing his touch to linger as she moves away, golden eyes lifting to clash with blue. As she introduces herself, he studies her, placing the syllables of her name into every line of this memory. The moment etching itself into the space they now stand for all eternity. Only those like he would ever see it, but it would be enough.
When he finally does speak, it is to echo her introduction. “I’m Reave.”
Then, abruptly, he surges forward, brushing past her with a toss of his head to indicate she should follow. Stepping from the water, he pauses to look at her, a strange expression on his features. Then, so quickly one could almost believe they imagined it, it clears and he is grinning. Once she has joined him, he turns north and begins walking. Behind them, Rune launches into the sky, disappearing to circle far overhead. Tossing a glance at her, grin still toying with his lips, he asks, “How do you feel about cliffs?” Pause. “And birds?”
