12-05-2020, 11:23 PM
stifled the choice and the air in my lungs;
better not to breathe than to breathe a lie
The sound of hooves against rock disturbs the serene quiet that had settled over the landscape in following the hawk’s call. One dark-lined ear twists back to listen to the steps, but Tiercel makes no move to greet the approaching stranger. He doubts anyone in Loess would recognize him. He had spent the majority of his childhood alone or with his siblings; there were not many times he can remember socializing with his mother’s subjects.
It isn’t until the feminine voice reaches his ears that Tiercel turns his attention toward the stranger. She stands out against the dusty red of this border of Loess like a fish out of water. While the world around her is angular and colored in muted shades of natural Earth, she is curved and painted in the blues and purples of the ocean. He is curious at first, but the edges of his face harden when he notices the feathers comfortably folded against her sides. Out of all the children Lepis and Wolfbane had, Tiercel has been cursed with empty shoulders. His family never failed to remind him of this important fact, as they all fluttered to and fro in the skies.
Unknowingly, she has struck a nerve simply with her appearance. When she mentions his mother, Oceane digs the knife into his back a little deeper. Anger rises in the back of his throat and spills from him, potentially infecting the shimmering mare if she has not felt the force of another’s emotions within her own soul. A muscle in his jaw twitches, and suddenly the emotion is swept away cleanly. Tiercel gathers it within his bones and forces himself to connect his cerulean gaze with hers.
“Tiercel.” His voice is a smooth tenor, but there is an edge to his words. “I am related to Lepis, but I don’t consider her my mother anymore.” He ignores the memories of her frantic eyes on that fateful day, the way she had shouted his name while he fell into a wall of thorns and snares. Guilt has created something tormented and raging in the years since Gale’s death — someone who severed family ties in the transition from one home to the next.
It isn’t until the feminine voice reaches his ears that Tiercel turns his attention toward the stranger. She stands out against the dusty red of this border of Loess like a fish out of water. While the world around her is angular and colored in muted shades of natural Earth, she is curved and painted in the blues and purples of the ocean. He is curious at first, but the edges of his face harden when he notices the feathers comfortably folded against her sides. Out of all the children Lepis and Wolfbane had, Tiercel has been cursed with empty shoulders. His family never failed to remind him of this important fact, as they all fluttered to and fro in the skies.
Unknowingly, she has struck a nerve simply with her appearance. When she mentions his mother, Oceane digs the knife into his back a little deeper. Anger rises in the back of his throat and spills from him, potentially infecting the shimmering mare if she has not felt the force of another’s emotions within her own soul. A muscle in his jaw twitches, and suddenly the emotion is swept away cleanly. Tiercel gathers it within his bones and forces himself to connect his cerulean gaze with hers.
“Tiercel.” His voice is a smooth tenor, but there is an edge to his words. “I am related to Lepis, but I don’t consider her my mother anymore.” He ignores the memories of her frantic eyes on that fateful day, the way she had shouted his name while he fell into a wall of thorns and snares. Guilt has created something tormented and raging in the years since Gale’s death — someone who severed family ties in the transition from one home to the next.
tiercel.
@[Oceane]