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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]  let me wrap my teeth around the world
    #1
    ABRUS
    Abrus had not meant to come here, but then so much of his life has been built around the unplanned that this was perhaps inevitable. Ideas and endeavours that inevitably go awry, best intentions becoming twisted. All he had intended was a little bit of space and time, and he had accidentally been granted plenty of each. He arrives in Beqanna with a thunderous crash, the splintering of an old cedar deep within the Forest providing the life and power needed to pull him through the portal he had created. It splits in half, almost perfectly, and each massive section collides with other trees and shrubs before landing so heavily on the ground that it trembles far off in each direction.

    And then silence follows.

    In the centre of where the tree had stood is now a mud splattered stallion. A raven works to detangle itself from his mane and the quiet indignant squawks that punctuate the process are the only thing that adds sound while the other animals nearby wait to see if the danger has passed. Abrus can sense their fear, and the weariness of that fear - as if too many cataclysmic events have happened to these creatures and their past generations.

    He had not intended to bring chaos to their day but he is far too weary to try to send out more power to sooth them. They will in their own time get back to skittering about in their usual late-afternoon routines, filling nearly every inch of this forest with life and movement.

    That has not quite happened yet when he takes a step forward, out of the small crater he had formed in the root ball of the cedar tree. What happens next feels unexpected, but if he had paid attention to just how drained he was it absolutely made sense. He stumbles and falls, crashing hard on his knees. The needles that compose the leaf litter here sting where they make contact with torn flesh and he groans in annoyance as he unsteadily gets back to his feet. His companion, the raven, flew free but chatters in annoyance nonetheless as she lands on one of the branches of the fallen tree. Abrus is far more concerned with his own annoyance over hers so he ignores her for now, choosing to spend his focus on just staying upright for a while before attempting to move.
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    #2
    Selija was swimming down the only water source when she stumbled upon the forest region, looking up and out of the water with her gills that breathed in the water. Her black eyes remain staring off, with her scales being bright once the sun or moon hits them.

    It was not the only reason she had gone up to look at the forest. Her gaze fell upon the thunderous crash that came out of the blue, which rumbled with the water she had swam.

    There was silence for that mere moment.

    She kept her gaze on him, curious as she had never seen such a being. It was more like her first time meeting a land creature. There was fear initially, but she was more curious than fearful after long observation. Who were they? How did they come to be?

    She then sees him crash to his knees, which causes her to gasp from the waterside as she is very limited on how to get on shore (or perhaps not).

    "Are you okay?!"

    There was no sense of why she would ask a stranger if they were okay when they fell, but she was full of worry for them. The clear look on her face makes her very vulnerable, but how can she feel afraid when someone is hurt? She can't overlook them.

    "Did you need water?! Or herbs?!"

    She kept going, not stopping as she went on to ask them.

    @Abrus Couldn't help myself xD
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    #3
    ABRUS
    Abrus is not alone - but he had not expected to be. This forest, like the one of the land he had just left, teems with life and it sings in his blood. From the larger creatures that brush aside the leaves as they move to the smaller, microscopic ones that live in the soil and help turn matter into energy.

    He is entertained by the idea that he might need outside assistance to help him, and a smirk grows across his expression. His eyes glow white as he borrows the sight of his raven, perched in a nearby tree. He hadn’t heard the sound of the river before, not this deep within the woods, and with all the firs and pines he can’t even get a good glimpse of her through the eyes of the forest.

    She is creature of water, though - that is obvious. Could she even come over here, if he did need help? Or perhaps she is amphibious and simply has not decided yet whether to walk on land.

    He doesn’t answer her question, instead asking something else with amusement - the glow of his eyes fading again and returning Abrus to the world of darkness he knows well. “Are you a healer then? Do you know much about the herbs of these woods?”

    His legs sting a little from the fall but, once he has energy again, this slight pain will be forgotten. The exhaustion bothers him more but there’s nothing to heal that beyond rest - reminding him that, despite his power, he is still at least partially mortal.


    @Selija
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    #4
    Selija looked at him, wishing she would take a step on land, but she didn't choose to do so as she would struggle then to get back to the water. With the rush of the water around her scales and gills, she would look back at him but swim down to find her herbs that her kin would use from the water other than land. Pulling onto a plantation within the water, she would return with it in her mouth. 

    She takes a bit of time, wondering, but she then chooses to swim up and jump onto the land with the water plantation still in her mouth. With partial fins at her hind legs, she would hold some at her front but still a bit hooved. She did not seem at all aware that she could be harmed or even affect her scales and gills, which would need water to maintain her skin condition. Her scales would glisten upon the sun's ray.

    "I do not know much of the herbs of the woods, but I know more of the herbs of the sea and water. I am no healer, but I know the basics of healing."

    She would then again look at him with her silver and black eyes while trying to balance herself on land still that she was always forbidden to go up to. She waited on him, wondering if he would want to try the herb of the water. Was there a difference in the use of land and water herbs?

    "I do not know if it is different, but I have only ever used water herbs. Forest herbs, I can try to find some, but I can't guarantee that I will know all about them. Can you tell me certain ones that I might be able to help find?"

    @Abrus
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    #5
    ABRUS
    She leaves, and Abrus forgets her for those moments. He closes his eyes, focusing on himself (though since he is already blind, this is largely just an instinctual action). The exhaustion is expansive, and he is aware that he could sleep for a few days. Perhaps he will - if he cannot find the energy to move from this spot, he will stay here and sleep for as long as it takes. His companion can watch over him. This land is still so unknown to him - and even if there were only mundane threats, in his current condition they could do more damage than they would normally.

    Abrus is surprised when she returns, and even more surprised to find that she brought some sort of plant with her. He can hear her emerge from the water, and place something upon the ground - his ears twitching as they track her. There is not a single part of him that feels compelled to try it, though. It had been a waste of her time.

    When she asks if he’ll tell her the herbs of the land he shakes his head. “I could, but I won’t.”

    It does not occur to him to explain why, or why he does not need the herbs at all. They were still within their first meeting, after all. He did not owe her such things.

    So he changes the subject. “Are there a lot of sea-dwellers here in this world, ones like you?”


    @Selija
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    #6
    She seemed a little sad to know that there wasn't anything he would tell her, but she would respect his choice. After all, he came crashing down right in front of her, so the least she could do was follow up. She would then struggle a little to go back to the water, letting the front of her legs take her back to the water with the look of her scales damaged by the land she went on. 

    "Like me?"

    She starts to think a bit, she didn't really have many others that she spoke to other than her people in the water, but she didn't want to go too far into depth with it. That would be almost like a waste of time, a bit from her point of view.

    "There are my family and all, but I haven't actually met any who is not from my family. I haven't really met many strangers, though. It would be rare for me actually to find them. Are you curious about my kin?"

    @Abrus
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    #7
    ABRUS
    Abrus listens to the sound of the mare work her way back to the water - it sounds like an awkward endeavour, but she gets there eventually and must feel happier for it.

    When she asks if he is curious about her kin, he shakes his head. “I only wanted to know if this world was populated by fish like you.” It figures that the first stranger he’d meet in this new world was someone who knew as little about it as himself - but it was hardly something that would leave him sour. As soon as his strength recovered he’d be able to travel and learn things for himself, meet others and learn - figure out if there was a place to carve for himself here.

    It is good news if they aren’t all aquatic though - it would be very boring for him, when his magic is tied to the earth and the woods. He would eventually be able to build up the strength for another jump between worlds - but why bother if he did not have to, and it was still far too early in his stay here to be thinking of moving on.

    His raven companion begins to preen herself, and Abrus opts to change the subject once more. There’s a rather pointed curiosity in his voice, like he’s searching for a wound in her. Might as well try to get something interesting out of this interaction. “Does it ever bother you, being bound only to the water?”

    He supposes a fish does not know any better, but it’s likely this aquatic mare is a little more evolved than a trout - she can emerge on land, at least a little bit, and see that there’s an entire world on the surface she can only brush against and never fully experience.
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    #8
    She would keep herself quite aware of herself and her surroundings but not at all ashamed for the awkward moment that had occurred earlier. She didn’t seem like one for letting it be awkward but just a silly moment. 

    She would be rather curious about him still, but bound by water as she wouldn’t mind trying to still be able to get up and out of it. She would rather enjoy it when she knew water was her kin’s need. “Yeah… I kind of wish that I can just explore more out there to be all honest with you. I want to be able to see more out on the land if I could.” 

    She wouldn’t be afraid or bothered to be honest and truthful about it since it was true that she wanted to know more of the land than just the sea. “The sea has always been something that I’ve lived in. I’ve always wanted to know more of what lies beyond the land.”

    @Abrus
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    #9
    ABRUS
    Abrus listens patiently to her response, only slightly distracted by his exhaustion and the woods surrounding him. He isn’t sure why he asked, but he may as well since cannot yet move. He closes his eyes, though this is really just a formality - the world doesn’t get any darker for him. Sleep is closeby adn the terrible annoyance of it is that he needs it in order to have the energy to protect himself while he sleeps. The raven will keep an eye out, and he supposes all else will just have to be a risk he takes.

    “Truly unfortunate for you, isn’t it?” He remarks, without pity. There didn’t seem to be any point to longing for something you could not attain. Unless there was some magical wish-granter below the sea that might help her. Or a friendly magician.

    But even if he had the energy to help her out, even temporarily, he wouldn’t. She belonged in the sea just like the trout and the crayfish. Just like how the worms belonged in the soil. Everyone had their place. So perhaps she was more evolved - and she’d only be unhappier for it.



    @Selija
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    #10
    She would take the time to think, but there would be only a glisten of a smile and gaze back. There would be some time to think, but not like she could fight the fate how she came to be and such. Surrounding by the water once more, it was all that was the only thing that was surrounding her and helping her in most cases. She would pop back up to the water and look back at him from a distance and wave a fin at the raven as if to keep them known that they are not alone. 

    "Although it is unfortunate, it is something that would one day perhaps be useful in its own way. Would there be something that you wish to know more about or even explore about? Even though I do not have much ability or much help, I do not mind in the least. Even a talking and traveling buddy if you ever plan to do so. Maybe until there no longer lingers water for me."

    She would keep herself with patience and never once did she ever lose her patience. If she did then there was perhaps a reason to lose that temper of hers, but can she really turn away from being that a once in a lifetime to see. 

    @Abrus
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