[private] Not All That Glitters is Gold[Jack and Phoebus]

[AuroraElis]

AuroraElis

At everyone's concurrence with the plan the peacock gowned mare heads east, Jack on one side, Phoebus on the other.  She expects there to be some awkwardness and so she tries to conjure up some conversation for the trek to the water border.  Her eye fixes on Jack as she tells him that Phoebus had been born in Tephra many years ago and that his father had died when he was very young.  That she had actually went to go find him when his father had returned from a diplomatic visit but couldn't find him anywhere.  When she returned, she found Rou had died and she had been looking for Phoebus ever since.  That that is why she was on the beach when Jack came across her.  She figured if she was on the beach she would find him one day, on his last day.  Of course, he never showed and now she knew why...

Her gaze then shifts to Phoebus with a smile as her stride continues.  To lighten the mood of the situation she jokes, "Well at least I found one missing child today." 

She wants to ask him where he has been all these years.  What he has done in his life and if he was happy.  She had missed so much of his life, and she wonders if she was partially to blame.  But she doesn't inquire further, not here, not now.  They would have time to catch up later.

Lowering her head slightly, her navy eyes turn to the saturated ground.  It had rained not too long ago, and the dirt was easily impressable.  They should be able to see tracks if anyone has been this way recently...

Not all that glitters is gold

@Jack in the Box 
@Phoebus 
There would be four sets of tracks if anyone wants to pick up on that part

[Phoebus]

Phoebus was not much of a conversationalist. 

Decades of solitude would do that to you. His ears shift uncomfortably as he walks beside his mother, eyes landing on Jack every once in a while but always quickly darting back to his mother. Phoebus listens as his mother explains what happened before his disappearance, and how she had waited on the beach for him. Death was inevitable for many, and the boy of fire could not help but feel his heart break as he realized how his mother had waited, how she had searched, how she had never forgotten him. Phoebus swallows the lump in his throat, simply nodding in agreement at his mother's recounting. 

"Well, at least I found one missing child today." Aurora jests, and Phoebus lets out an awkward chuckle. He still hadn't fully processed the fact that he had siblings, especially ones so young. He wanted to ask his mother about them, but instead he walks quietly beside her, eyes darting around as they came towards Pangea's eastern border. 

Phoebus's eyes look forward on the path, and he is quick to notice the hoof-prints in the freshly muddied dirt. He trots ahead of the group, noticing four sets of tracks - two smaller, like that of foals, and two larger. 

"Mom...Jack...look here." Phoebus lowers his armored head, flares his nostrils, and breathes in the scents deeply. The first smell he catches is rotten like decomposing flesh - he grimaces, heart racing. The two other scents are much like his own - smoke and cedar. The last scent is not as potent as the other three - it is a subtle mildew. "Zain had help." The boy of fire concurs, looking back towards his mother and Jack. 



@Jack in the Box 
@ AuroraElis

[Jack in the Box]

Jack walks beside Aurora, periodically glancing over to Phoebus, not sure if he can trust him. As far as stallions go, few can be trusted. Zain has proven that time and time again.

As they walk east, Jack listens intently to Aurora explaining Phoebus’ life story. How his father left and died when she tried to find him again. He can’t help but feel jealousy as she continues the story. Yes, sure Aurora is his now, but what if another stallion comes by and whisks her off her hooves.

The memory vividly plays in Jack’s mind, him lonely and sad walking along the beach when he saw her. He was captivated when he first met her and still is to this day. He wasn’t the smartest and was sheltered in his previous life, but he has learned the way of the “wild” horse. He can thank Aurora for everything he has improved.

As he reminisces, he turns his head and nuzzles into Aurora, smiling and thankful he found her, not knowing what his life would have been like otherwise. Without the twins or Amenadiel.

His ears flick towards Phoebus who has caught a scent, more like scents. When it is mentioned that Zain had help, Jack’s ears pin back, snorting angrily. “We need to find them!” He lowers his head, sniffing the ground as the smell of decomposing flesh fills his nostrils. The smell is overwhelming. He begins to trot off, head to the ground following the trail for a while before the trail suddenly stops. He paws angrily, whipping his head up. “That motherfucker!”

@Phoebus
@ AuroraElis

[AuroraElis]

AuroraElis

It isn't long into their travels east that a trail is picked up.  Phoebus is the first to discover the tracks in the soft soil.  She was no tracker, no hunter or no adventurer, so she takes his word that there are more than just three trails here.

She stops beside him, worry in her deep navy eyes.  Their father said he would come back for them one day, and the coincidence of both Jack and her being gone that morning when he did return, was too much.  She snorts, "He planned this!  He's been watching us this whole time."  Her finely featured face shakes slowly in disbelief.  They had thought they were safe here, but nowhere was safe from Zain.

Tears moisten her eyes as she thinks of the worst.  Were they hurt?  Were they scared?  Or worse, dead?  Her heart could not bear to out live another child.  Diavoli had been a hard enough and she didn't even get a chance to know him.  Not even her healing magic could save the underdeveloped foal.  In her grieving thoughts she leans against Phoebus, not caring he was covered in burning plates. His warmth was soothing, even if it did burn slightly.

Soon Jack is worked up into a fit of anger.  Her immediate thoughts go to just months before when his rage had been so out of control.  She is about to reach her muzzle to him in attempt to calm him, but he takes off at a trot for some distance before stopping and shouting something into the air.

Her gaze shifts to her son before she lunges forward into a canter, soon coming to a stand near Jack, "What is it, Jack?"  Her eyes search his face for answers; the babbling water of the Dale boundary sits not more than a few yards away.

Not all that glitters is gold

[Jack in the Box]

Anger turns to sadness as Jack feels like he has failed the twins to keep them safe. He lowers his head, sighing sadly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep them safe from… him… Of course he has henchmen doing his bidding for him. No telling what they could do…” he stops, not wanting to even consider the possibilities of danger the twins could be in. A shudder runs through his body as a chill rips through the air.

He looks at his reflection in the shimmering waters below as he collects his thoughts and calms down, taking a few deep breaths. “He just makes me so mad. And it scares me that Escence thinks he’s so great. Vic I’m sure is worried and scared. He knows what..who Zain is. It makes me mad that he is always watching us, where we are never safe,”

He reaches his muzzle towards Aurora’s neck, the smell of her always calms him down. “Let’s keep going, we don’t want to waste daylight. It will be much harder in the dark,” He continues onward, keeping an eye out for any sign of the twins. They arrive at the border of Pangea, not long before sundown. “Let’s find a place to settle in before we continue. A place we can meet back up if we all get separated,”

@ AuroraElis @Phoebus

[Phoebus]

Phoebus lets out a heavy sigh as he watches his mother's eyes well with tears. When she leans upon him, he moves his head to nuzzle her cheek. His heart swells feeling his mother's delicate touch again, and he can't help but acknowledge that the last time they had embraced, he was much shorter than her. She had wrapped her neck around him, pulled him to her chest, probably over something silly - now it was he that comforted her. "He's smart, but we're not to be underestimated. We will find him, and the twins." Phoebus reassures as Aurora pulls away from his warmth, cantering towards a furious Jack. Phoebus isn't much for dramatics, but he understands Jack's rage. It is a feeling he knows all too well - the anger that boils up inside him when you're just too late, when you're helpless and hopeless. He doesn't know Jack well, but he empathizes with him.

He makes no rush to follow them, allowing his mother and Jack to have their time to process what has happened. However, he does allow himself to point his ear forward, listening in on their conversation. He knew he'd been gone for so long...all he wanted to do was help his mother and make up for what he had put her through. 

Phoebus takes note of Jack's words. It seemed that the colt - his brother - was smart enough to realize this Zain character was not to be trusted. Perhaps he would be smart enough to protect his - their - sister. Phoebus does let out a sarcastic snort at the idea that anywhere in this land was safe. Everything here was fickle, and to be naive enough to think imaginary borders kept horses safe was laughable. Phoebus doesn't say anything though, only nods at Jack's suggestion of moving towards the Pangean border. 

Night falls upon them quickly, but they reach the border before the stars fully overtake the night sky. Phoebus wants to proceed, his armor illuminating their pathway, but he stops when Jack mentions finding a common meeting ground. The boy of fire looks to the worn pathway, then back to his mother and Jack. There wasn't much around but rocks and Phoebus was getting antsy. The longer they waited, the further Zain could take the twins away. Phoebus looks around until he finds a single, lonely dogwood about a yard off the pathway. "There," He says, moving towards it. "The only tree for miles, I'd think. We can meet here if something happens." 


@ AuroraElis 
@Jack in the Box