"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
This is home now. What is other desolation to others is my heart song. Here is where I am meant to be, I feel sure of it. The golden granules of sand have accepted me as their own, swirling delicately around my legs at all times, caressing my dark flesh with the patience of a lover. They trail behind me always, waiting for my command. I have come to think of them as millions upon millions of tiny, loyal friends. But like me, my friends are not to be underestimated. Size is never a true guarantee of power, and I personify that. When I am calm, the sands around me remain so as well. But when there is vengeance in my heart, then they respond ten fold. They can rise from the ground in an instant, a swirling hot mass of flying sand, enough to pierce the skin and blind the eyes. Thankfully, my heart remains pure. Here I’ve no reason for anger, not when everyone around me as been so kind to an orphan. Here I feel accepted and wanted, a part of something much bigger than myself. I feel needed.
I make my way slowly across the desert, water droplets clinging to my black muzzle from a recent visit to the oasis. Whether it is by Cam’s magic or naturally so, it seems the water here is colder than any other I’ve ever drank. Maybe it just tastes that way because it is so arid here. As always the sand follows behind, drawn to me like a magnet to steel. I don’t mind, and flick my tail lazily in their general direction. I have grown since my arrival, now a 3 year old. I am a bright coppery red, with a tangled silver mane and tail. The black of my legs goes barely above my ankles, and one could even miss it if they weren’t looking closely. Despite the lack of vegetation here, I am sleek and shiny with good health. Clearly it doesn’t take long to adapt to a place, if said place is where your heart truly lies. I am convinced my heart truly belongs here. Whether it was by chance or intuition that my mother left me here I do not know, but I suppose I must be thankful either way. For now I am wanted and accepted, and possibly even useful under the right circumstances. I am no longer a lead weight that had to be dragged around. My feet carry me even as my mind wanders in a different direction, and soon I find myself under the leafy boughs of a palm. I lean against it and scratch a particularly itchy spot on my withers, content with the world for the moment. As I doze, the sands go still around my feet, content as well.
Size is definitely not an indication of power! Look at Ima. The little golden queen had oodles of it running through her veins, and yet she was tiny. Zilpah herself actually has a fair amount of power, she simply prefers not to use it for ill (nevermind the fact that it isn’t really up to her to command her friends to do anything). Friends don’t do that.
She’s tried to be a good adoptive mother to Sawflesh; she tried to teach her the ins and outs of the Desert, the good things and the bad. She tried to teach her where to find shade and how to avoid the poisonous critters. She tried to teach her that everyone could be nice (and should be!), but that not everyone is nice. She tried to bring the girl around her family - around Yael and Gaza - and tried to impose fatherhood on Zale. She tried to do everything that Ima had done for her, but in childhood seems so long ago (despite her persistent innocence), and Ima had been Queen then, often more Queen than mother.
The winged bay mare returns from a trip to the Field, circling high above the sands to find the ones she’s seeking. When Zilpah does find the lovely red girl she’s come to love, she swoops down on her red hawk wings,glad that she’s chosen a spot under some shade, ‘cause it was really freaking hot out under that sun. A genuine smile floods her face and the moment she’s stable on the sand, she folds her wings in and bounds over to Sawflesh. “Wake up sleepyhead! It’s a beautiful day! What do you want to do?”
The world was their oyster. They just had to take advantage of it.
Zale has tried. He’s not sure he’s much of a father figure, really, a strange boy (stallion, but he still seems a boy sometimes) made of stars and star dust. But he’s there when they call, he’s always there in the distance watching, and he tries to teach what he can. What little he knows of the world. In truth, he’s never spent much time in it. No, that’s not true. He’s been through quests and lived with magic and has lived in the Deserts for quite some time. But he’s never gone on diplomatic missions to other kingdoms or sought any sort of power or prestige. The boy has been content with his life thus far, and so he keeps on with it.
It’s been some time since he’s seen his girls though. Small and beautiful, each of them, in their own way. It’s been long enough that he’s got a surprise for them, and he’s been lurking about waiting for the two of them to be together. He doesn’t approach though, but rather finds a spot just far enough away that they aren’t likely to notice him off in the distance (even with his coloring).
He smiles slightly as the lilies begin to grow. They won’t last long in the Desert, under the hot sun and without enough water, but they will last long enough to serve a purpose today. They start out just around him, but begin to spread out all around becoming a field of colors. He grows everything he can think of – yellow and white and orange and purple, multicolor as well. It doesn’t take long before the lilies stretch out all around him, and almost as far as he can see. But not so far that the girls are likely to have noticed yet.
Then, a white lily pops up beneath their tree. Then another, a few yards away, this one yellow. Another, just a few more yards back, purple now. They keep popping up, a different color each time, a trail leading to the present he’s made for the girls. Something to do for a little while, a brief and hopefully wondrous marvel in the Deserts. And then he waits, painted with the stars among a field of lilies in the middle of a Desert. What a sight he must be.
The world is their oyster… Indeed it is. It is laid out before us, like a ripe fruit hanging from a branch and begging to be plucked and savored. Our imaginations are our only limitations. We have a sea of gold around us and the wind at our backs. Though its taken me a while, I’ve come to realize what a blessing it was that I was dropped off at the Deserts borders. Here I’ve found friends, and I daresay a family. While my own mother may have tossed me to the side like a used napkin, they had plucked me from obscurity and given me something special. I loved them, each and every one of them. No one here and ever done me harm, and I knew deep within my bones that no one ever would.
I do not hear her at first, for the shade was very comforting and I was easily lulled to sleep. I start, but only for a moment before a smile floods my face. “It was so nice here, I just couldn’t help but take a nap! But now that you mention it, surely there’s something we can get into. I’ve learned some new tricks with the sand.” I say with a childish excitement. Its true, I’d be practicing, and had gotten a much better grasp over my powers. But before I can demonstrate, something beautiful and magic happens around us. Lilles, delicate as lace and twice as beautiful sprout beneath our feet. I’m surprised I don’t hear a “pop” as they emerge from the ground. I look back to Zilpah, allowing confusion and wonderment to flood my features. The lillies seem to be leading us somewhere, but where that is I’ve no idea. Perhaps it is Cam playing with her powers. “Shall we follow?” I ask, though my feet are already moving. With each step the lillies become thicker, until finally they surround me. Standing just in the middle of the “field” was Zale, someone I’d come to know like a father. My smile widens, and I toss my head in delight. “Zale! They’re gorgeous.” I say as I look around. “But I think I can one up that!” And with a look of concentration I set to work. The sands rise in front of me, nothing but a swirling golden blob right now, but that will soon change. The harder I concentrate, the more of a shape they take until finally, there is a golden horse standing between us. It does not move in the way a horse would, though the grains of sand that make it up are constantly swirling. “How do you like that?” I say, a child seeking admiration from those she admired most.
06-09-2015, 09:33 AM (This post was last modified: 06-09-2015, 09:34 AM by Zilpah.)
Ooooh… flowers! They never see flowers here, except when the cacti bloom at night, or the desert scrub at the borders blossom for a short period of time. These are like… real flowers. Flowers that she might see in the Dale or the meadow!
Zilpah squeals in delight at the ‘pops!’ “Yes, yes we should follow them!” She lets Sawflesh lead the way, always only a step behind her adoptee. Together, they come to find Zale, her starry-skinned friend (more than a friend, but she doesn’t know how to bridge that gap yet) standing amidst a field of lilies. Her jaw almost literally drops as Zilpah is, for once, silent. Warm, amber eyes grow even bigger as she looks from Zale and his proud face to the beauty he’s so obviously created, and then back to him. “Oh…” she whispers in awe. “Oh Zale… it’s so beautiful…”
There are almost tears in her eyes, it’s so freaking peaceful and pretty – everything her childish, innocent little heart could ever want. The bay woman fumbles for the right words to say, but is thankfully cut short by Sawflesh and her demonstration and oh! Another wonderful thing! It reminds her of when Ima was bay like her (albeit a slightly darker bay), and then she turned golden (like the sand and the sun), and then everything was forever different.
These two – Sawfles h and Zale – bring her so much joy. Zilpah just wants to hug them all day long. A proud, joyful smile stretches across her face as she first addresses Sawflesh. “Wow, that’s really awesome! Looks like you’re all grown up now, huh? Have control of your powers and everything! Soon you won’t need poor little old me and Zale…” She teases her daughter, of course, but the teasing has a basis in truth. And Zilpah has the itch.
She turns her dainty head towards Zale, fixing him with an adoring gaze. “Zale, let’s go somewhere. Sawflesh, you too! Outside Beqanna, and someplace new! I want to have a Great Adventure with the ones I love. “
There now, she’s said it. She loves Zale. And she loves Sawflesh. And she wants to go exploring.
[so broken, I know you're away, but I'm going to closet Zilpah for awhile. Sawflesh is more than welcome to come with them on this 'adventure' if you want! ]
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