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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


    I had a dream that we were dead {Estela}
    #1

    I had a dream that we were dead
    and we pretended that we still lived

    The day is stretching into evening, vibrant shades of pink and purple and navy streaking the sky, as the young stallion makes his way into the meadow. He has spent so much of his youth here, it feels almost like home. Certainly more so than the Dale. With his mother and father absent, and his twin having disappeared (off to discover the world), he is left at rather loose ends. These days, he spends far more time away, discovering much of Beqanna on his own.

    Some days it is lonely. Some days it is enthralling. Most days, it simply is.

    For a creature as odd and dichotomous as he, it is a rather staid and boring life (except for once, when he had met Violence. He still is not quite sure what to make of that incident). He is not necessarily happy, but neither is he unhappy. Instead he seems to exist in some sort of unpleasant stasis, his life simply waiting to happen.

    He is meandering through the snow-laden meadow slowly, mind lost in leaden thought, not paying attention to his surroundings. So at first he does not realize who he is seeing, despite his milky gaze lingering upon her for several long minutes. When recognition registers however, he cannot help the way his heart leaps in joy.

    He had not realized how much he had missed her in her absence until she is before him once again.

    Bursting into a trot, he plows through the snow unheedingly, focused only upon the red and white mare just there across the meadow. ”Estela!” he shouts, voice cutting exuberantly through the biting cold of the midwinter air. A lopsided grin tugs at his lips as he draws to a halt beside her.

    Jinn


    undead son of Tiphon and Elysteria

    @[Estela]
    Reply
    #2
    She wasn’t searching for him, but she was hoping they would cross paths. There is a part of her that has gone missing since their separation. A deep longing has ached in her heart, twisting through her mind as each long day passed by. For a while Estela was alone. In her solitude her mind returned to the Dale and to Jinn, wondering what he was doing and who he was with. Surely he would be a spectacle to his peers. How many emaciated children are there? They’re special, the archangel twins.

    With her eyes cast down to the grass she hardly notices the change in the breeze or the voices permeating the air around her. In her castaway she almost forgot how alive Beqanna was. The conversations grate against her ears uncomfortably, but she doesn’t move away. This is her world – her home – so why would she shy from it? Her tongue slips out from between her lips, scaling across them thoughtfully. Her next move in life is critical. Unfortunately, she lacks the immortality her parents possess and so her days are counted, limited. The urgency to engage herself is biting at her heels irritably. While she is still young she has the potential and ambition to be something more than just another face of the crowd (although it’s difficult for one such as her to be lost in a group).

    When her head lifts to stare into the treeline she is met by a voice she hasn’t heard in quite some time. Her name tumbles excitedly from her sibling’s lips as he romps through the fluffy layer of snow toward her. She glances down to where she had seen the grass, but it’s embraced by white.

    How long has she been out here? How did she not notice? Was she just imagining the grass?
    She sees small jades of green trying to surface, but they’re drowning like she is in her own sub consciousness.

    A smile is returned to her brother as he comes to her side. She feels his ribs drum against her own. ”You need to eat,” she humors, knowing well that all the food in the world wouldn’t give him a meatier appearance. Apparently Jinn shares a deathly appearance with their grandfather. Estela simply inherited the precarious claws. They are unseen for now, buried along with the grass by the frigid snow. A chill runs down her spine as she curls her toes then glances over to her brother’s blocky hooves. ”I’m shocked I didn’t hear you running with those things,” perhaps the last jab she will playfully say. With uncharacteristic tenderness Estela presses her lips to the arch of his neck. ”I’ve missed you, Jinn.” There is warmth in her voice where there is usually ice, but he is the only one that she cares for so deeply. It’s their relationship together, their time in the womb together, that she holds so dearly. In this chaotic world at least she has someone capable of anchoring her down.




    Estela
    lies are dripping off your face
    Reply
    #3

    I had a dream that we were dead
    and we pretended that we still lived

    It seems it will be his fate, to attract attention because of his awful, deathly appearance. He has yet to meet another who is not enamored or fascinated or fearful of the way his skin stretches so tautly over his bones, of the way his black and gold coat grows in dull patchy clumps, of the way his eyes gleam a dull, milky blue. Few know of the rest of it (the way his skin sometimes splits, rotting away from the inside). He erases the evidence before anyone ever notices, his gift of healing working only partially to mend the horror of his macabre appearance.

    But his sister, she knows more than anyone. They had shared a womb, had lived long months pressed against each other, sharing space and thought and peace. But she had left, taking a small piece of him with her. He had not even realized that piece was missing until she is here in front of him again, making him feel whole and complete once more.

    And he knows her, perhaps more than anyone else does. The cold assuredness she exudes is as much a part of her as the talons scratching at the earth beneath the snow. But never for him. For him she warms, showing a side of herself that no one ever sees (that he sometimes wonders if anyone else ever will see).

    A smile curves his golden lips as he presses against her in a brief embrace, the warmth of her teasing washing over him like a comfortable blanket. He laughs then, laughs in a way he has not done in a long time. ”Hmmm. Have you had your ears checked lately?” he quips back, tossing his head as he aims a gentle nip at the white-tipped lobe, more lip than tooth.

    His heart warms at her confession. Pressing his muzzle into her neck briefly, he echoes the words back to her with heartfelt sincerity. ”I missed you too.” He pauses for a moment before uttering the next words, almost afraid to hear the answer. ”Please tell me you’re staying.”

    Jinn


    undead son of Tiphon and Elysteria
    Reply
    #4
    Her chest expands in adoration for her brother. Without even trying he brings an exuberant joy to her life that she hasn’t been able to find anywhere else. She loves him more than she does their parents, or even herself. Having him pressed against her side envelopes her in a warm love that no one but he will see; after all, who could ever love monsters like them? They have only each other in this horrid world.

    A lofty hum is breathed into the coolness around them as Jinn’s lips find her porcelain-tipped ears. She leans her head more into him to savor the contact, not minding the meager nip that punctuates the moment. Fortunately, neither of them inherited their grandfather’s carnivorous teeth otherwise playful gestures could easily have turned bloody. Even if their touches were painful Estela could never – would never – shy away from her brother’s adoration.

    ”Jinn,” she whispers sweetly as their eyes meet, ”I’m sorry I left.” She doesn’t know why it happened or even where she was. It was an eternal void filled with emptiness (maybe she became lost in her own soul as it suffered the separation from her brother). She felt nothing and knew not was happening. At times she wonders if it was just the dream of a night’s rest but then realizes how much she has grown since last feeling the kiss of the Dalean breeze against her skin. They aren’t gangly foals anymore but they aren’t sleek, refined adults either. It’s when she looks at Jinn that she realizes how long they were apart, how long her heart was ripping. ”I won’t leave you again,” a honeyed kiss is pressed into his neck, tender like that of a lover. ”Who have you met while I’ve been gone?” A fire flickers in the pupils of her gold-flecked eyes, hidden from his view. No one is good enough for him. No one can truly understand him. ”Do you visit the Dale?” There is less sharpness in her tone when she mentions their birth home, derailing her bout of jealousy at the prospect of Jinn somehow replacing her with someone else.



    Estela
    lies are dripping off your face
    Reply
    #5

    I had a dream that we were dead
    and we pretended that we still lived

    Relief floods him at her acquiescence, the release of a tension he had not even realized he was holding. He would never stop her from going, would never stop her from being true to herself, but her disappearance had affected him far more than he cares to admit.

    He had felt lost, alone. It is a way he never wishes to feel again.

    His smile then is true, brightly genuine in a way that fills space with warmth and light. Though, in truth, the light is more than a metaphor in that moment. His ragged skin glows briefly, the happiness her words inspire causing his gift (his odd ability, the one so contradictory to his ghastly appearance) to bubble to the surface.

    He leans into the soft kiss, savoring her touch, her promise.

    Her next question brings him abruptly back to reality, not because of the sharpness of the jealousy flavoring the words, but because of the memories it brings to the fore. It causes him to hesitate a moment (perhaps a moment too long). ”Yes.”

    Violence. He doesn't say her name aloud, as though it might call her from the shadows.

    Fortunately Estela provides the perfect distraction with her question of the Dale. He nods, recalling how empty it had felt last time. ”Mother and Father are gone. Ramiel is there, but much too busy with his new family to take much notice of anything else.”

    Jinn


    undead son of Tiphon and Elysteria
    Reply
    #6
    Estela notices how her brother leans into her tender kiss and how his relief is expressed through light. A smile stretches across her lips, softening her often-sharp edges. All she ever really wants is just them, together, as twins should be. Perhaps that’s why her body turns rigid when he admits to having met someone. Will that be someone to replace her? To take his mind off a sister that he doesn’t need? Her snarl is hidden from him, buried into his mane for a moment before she composes herself enough to ask, ”Who?” A pause as she tries to swallow past the lump in her throat, ”That’s wonderful to hear.” A lie, but she can’t bring herself to admit her jealousy just yet.

    The mentioning of their parents distracts her, even just for the moment, and she nods her head slowly in response. ”I should probably try visiting since they are family,” but they aren’t as close to her heart as Jinn. They don’t mean quite as much, but they still matter to her. Ramiel is a brother and his children are her nieces and nephews. They are still connected by blood, forever.

    But Estela’s mind doesn’t linger on their Dalean family for long. It’s still flickering back to Jinn’s admission to having met someone, back to her own jealousy. With her cheek gingerly pressed against his neck Estela croons to him ever sweetly. ”My brother,” she breathes loftily, ”be careful. No one understands you like our family. No one understands me like our family.” She tries to veer his mind, tries to make him think more bitterly and not be quite so intrigued by this stranger. ”This world wants to use us, to control us. Don’t let anyone do that to you. There are liars around us and manipulators.” A pause as her muzzle drifts slowly toward his poll. ”No one could ever love us. We are monsters, Jinn,” it hurts to admit that truth, but she hopes that what she says will hurt Jinn more. She hopes that he will second-guess this somebody and realize that comfort will only be found at the side of his sister.

    Estela can only hope to keep her brother to herself.



    Estela
    lies are dripping off your face



    @[insane]
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