"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
On the surface, his story is like so many others - born in Beqanna, wander around for a time, but feel the inevitable pull brings him back. Which he doesn’t mind - it’s not like Viridis has accomplished anything anywhere else. One place to eat grass and glare at the snow is just as good as any other. He didn’t become a king in another land, didn’t fall in love with anyone, felt no heartbreak. He just existed in various places and now he was existing here, in the Forest.
Winter is beginning to release its strangling hold on the world and signs of spring are all around. The cold has never been a favourite of Viridis’, he’d done his best to follow the sun and avoid winter altogether. So of course, naturally, he arrived back in Beqanna when there were still pockets of snow here and there as if taunting him.
He sidesteps a pile and snorts at it for good measure. A squirrel in a branch nearby chitters at him when his side-stepping brings him too close to the squirrel’s tree - and Viridis opens his mouth to sass it back but a chittering noise comes out of his mouth instead of anything even remotely horse-like.
The stallion pauses and blinks his amber eyes a few times, looking just as confused as the squirrel. And then the squirrel promptly leaves - presumably deciding it wasn’t worth getting territorial with a weird horse that could speak squirrel - leaving behind Viridis as he tries to figure out exactly what just happened.
Brilliance was not usually alone, as she chose to spend most of her time in the quiet corners of Beqanna with her family. Koltan and Starlett were content to stay away from most of the activity in Beqanna, opting instead to raise their youngest twin daughters in a place that was secluded and tranquil. Because of this Brilliance was fairly naive, having never encountered anything especially dark. She did not see any reason to fear venturing off alone, and so when she embarks off to explore a different section of the forest, alone, it is without any kind of hesitation.
She drifts through the forest, her white face tilted up towards the sky. The sun tries its best to strain past the forest's canopy, and it glints off the golden surface of her horn, and catches the gilded strands that lay scattered in her white mane. She stares at the top of the trees, trying to find the cold blue sky that hardly manages to peek from behind them. The evergreen trees stood tall and unwavering, while the bare branches of the scattering of deciduous trees were just beginning show promise of budding new leaves. She didn't really mind winter, but she could not deny that she was excited for spring. There was nothing quite like a meadow come alive with all the colors of the wildflowers, or the way the sun would reflect off the dewdrops that laced the tops of the grass.
She pauses to stare at an especially tall evergreen tree, tipping her head back as her bright blue eyes sweep up the length of it, squinting to peer through the canopy. It was very tall, and she found herself incredibly curious about what Beqanna looked like from the top of it. Could she see the magical mountain from here if she were to scale to the top of it?
She is just about to shift when she hears a very distinctive sound coming from a nearby branch. Tilting her head curiously, because there was always something she found to be very amusing about the arguments that took place between native squirrels, she follows the sound, just in time to see the surprised look on the stallion's face by the words he spoke. It startles a laugh from her, her blue eyes bright and glittering with her amusement as she draws nearer to him and offers sympathetically, “I always surprise myself when I accidentally speak squirrel as a horse, too. But at least you were actually talking to a squirrel. My sister just looks at me like I'm crazy when I do it to her.” It has not occurred to her, not even for a moment, that the look of alarm he wore was because he had no idea what he had just done. And so she continues on, amicable and oblivious when she says, “My name is Brilliance.”
As pleasant as the laughter may have been when it follows the chittering exchange of squirrel-speak, Viridis experiences a hot rush of embarrassment upon hearing it. It was confusing enough to discover he could speak squirrel - but having it overheard? It certainly doesn’t help that the mare in question, as she draws closer, is gold and white and looks like she was woven from a warm summer day.
She comes closer instead of running away, and just as he’s wondering if he should be the one to run - she speaks and it soothes away the embarrassment so that it only a small tug in the pit of his stomach.
Her antidote about speaking to her sister in squirrel is what finally brings out a smile in his amber eyes and causes him to relax enough to find some sense and reply. “Well, then I’m glad the only other horse who can sympathize is the one who overheard me.” He says with an easy smile. His eyes drift to where the squirrel had been for a moment. “I actually didn’t even know that I could speak squirrel at all.” Viridis admits, and he wonders whether he could shift into a squirrel too like how Brilliance has alluded to.
Was that what felt different? Like when a corner of your mind tickles when you almost remember something but cannot quite place it.
“I’m Viridis, and it’s very nice to meet you Brilliance.” He is thinking about how her name matches her perfectly and is grateful when he opens his mouth and those words do not slip out instead of the question he intends. “How did you find out you could shift into a squirrel?”
She does not catch his flash of embarrassment, mostly because she had not found anything with the situation to be out of the ordinary. It would never occur to her to be embarrassed for speaking another language, but she supposes she was just used to it. She had discovered her shifting at a very young age, and it was simply a part of her. Having not spent much time outside of her family, she wasn’t actually sure how shifting was perceived by the general public. It wasn’t terribly uncommon in Beqanna, this she knew, but it was far more common to shift into a predator.
She isn't sure if she would like that; she was not made to be sharp or cruel.
She was delicate and small, and it seemed far more fitting that she could shift into something that matched that.
She prefers being able to scale the tops of the trees to stare at the stars than to slink the forests in search of a kill.
There is a quiet laugh at what he says, her blue eyes bright with surprise when she asks with a tip of her pale head, “So, you just woke up one day and were able to talk to squirrels? Beqanna is a strange place, so I guess that isn’t too unbelievable.” Her gaze diverts up to the branches again, to the space where the squirrel had disappeared to, and she tells him sympathetically. “The native squirrels don't really like us. They can tell we aren't really one of them, but they warm up eventually.” Her face twists into a small frown before she adds thoughtfully, “As long as you’re a natural squirrel color. One time I was pink and they really didn’t like that.” She assumes all the cold shoulders she received were just because they were jealous, and she can’t blame them. She didmake a pretty fantastic pink squirrel.
“I think I've always known,” she says with a light shrug. “I’ve been able to do it since I was really young, even though no one else in my family can.” She looks at him curiously, a slow smile forming on her lips. “Want to try?”
It’s already not lost on Viridis how fortunate he feels that Brilliance is the one who found him, who overheard him talking squirrel. It would be easy for someone else to make fun, to note his embarrassment, but if she notices it she makes no sign and it is a kindness he appreciates.
He had not known what to expect - returning to the land of his birth - but if it’s an environment that can foster someone like this white and gold mare, surely it cannot be so bad.
Her anecdote about being a pink squirrel and being shunned by the native squirrels makes him chuckle - the imagery alone of black, grey, and red squirrels scattering when someone brighter than them comes onto the scene. “They were probably just jealous.” He unknowingly echoes her thoughts as a smile spreads at the idea of a pink squirrel. Well, she’d definitely stand out.
When she asks if he wants to try, Viridis’ smile brightens and he nods with what he hopes isn’t too much enthusiasm. Although he is not terribly old, this prospect of something new infuses him with a youthful sort of excitement. It has been a long time since he has been a pupil and since he has stepped out of his comfort zone. And his comfort zone exclusively involves having four hooves on the ground. “Yeah, yeah I do want to try.” The hesitation shows up then and he focuses on her more intently, determined to be a good student. “How… how does it work?”
