anyone;

[Nayl]

She spun the stars on her fingernails Here they are months after the Reckoning and only just now beginning to branch out and see what lies beyond their own walls. It’s a pitiful fact that often burdens Nayl, but she is breaking the trend now. Nerine lacks intrakingdom intel but she wants to change that, to bring light to their darkness as they scramble under these sudden changes. Surely, they want answers, much like herself, and they want to know what lies in these strange other lands. In the time that has thus elapsed no one has dared to venture to their coastline. It remains untouched by outsider’s hooves, oddly enough. Nayl often patrolled their borders, but there was never anything, or anyone, ambling in their direction. They seemed isolated from the world despite being a part of the mainland. It concerned her, but it isn’t until now that she ventures out for answers. The path is familiar. Often Nayl would visit the forest, but today she pursues the different scents that hit her rather than bypass them as she has in the past. Briefly, she takes pause to look in the direction of the general forest before glancing at the towering redwoods nearby. There are voices in both directions, but there is uncertainty to the north. A tilt of her head betrays her curiosity, but she doesn’t hesitate as she’s drawn to the prospect of simply knowing. Nerine’s ignorance has lasted long enough. Her voice is still brash, but there is an underlying honey tone that’s unfamiliar even to herself. Her eyes are searching as she drinks in the myriad scents that hit her like a wall. This land, Taiga, is uncharted in her eyes. It holds answers that that she wants – needs – and she (almost) impatiently awaits for someone to step forward. Nayl covet and myrina's creation

[Jinju]

Jinju

She’s no longer a child, but not an adult yet either. Her heart was still the one of a child, but her mind had learned and improved a lot. Not only in the way of the wolf, as learned by her (adoptive) father. Her mother had made a brief beginning in telling her about her magic. Jinju didn’t had magic in the sense of the word of it, but she had fire magic, or would soon have it. But most of all she had grown confidence. It was still somewhat shaky and limited to her home, but it was a begin. Also the reason why the inky black girl now dared to approach the painted woman without waiting on one of her parents first.

Her ruby eyes find the mare easily. Not that the stranger ever did hide – or attempt to hide – her presence. Jinju had snuck her way up towards the unfamiliar scent first, like Ruan had learned her, but once close enough she had chosen to just reveal herself. If the stranger hadn’t noticed her before, she was only learning the way of the wolf after all, but Jinju liked to believe she was doing a great job. ”Hello” is her somewhat awkward greeting, as she hasn’t had real experience in any kind of diplomacy. Normally one of her parents would be the ones speaking.

It is obvious that this black and white mare wasn’t looking for a home, for that her scent was too much laced with another place, and she also had the same grace as her mother, the one of a ruler. Curiosity twinkles in her ruby eyes, her head tilting a bit to the side as she dares to move even closer, but still leaving a couple of meters in between them. ”Can I do something for you?” she asks, not really sure how to greet someone from another land. After all, she probably wasn’t here for mere chitchat and neither to find a home. At the same time, Jinju also doesn’t really know what it exactly was that she could offer the painted mare.

[Reagan]

we’re on each other’s team…

She went to the borders, following the scent of Jinju, sensing something was amiss. Iasan was behind her, trailing behind, his fluffy little bottom hopping through the brush like a rabbit as he struggled to keep up. The pine needles and the large trunks made it hard for little legs to navigate, but he make short work of it, and with a quiet eye, Reagan nodded her satisfaction to her small child as she went in search of her older fire-child. Seeing another on the cusp of the redwoods, she immediately finds herself coming up behind Jinju, and nuzzles her. “Hello, my darling Jinju.” Iasan took his place firmly beneath his mother—following at such a brisk pace makes for little hungry tummies.

Reagan’s children beside her, she is proud of Jinju for her approach in dealing with the stranger. Jinju was a strong contender for one day being a ruler herself. Was the blood in her veins? Only time would tell. Turning to the woman, she nods her head, relaxing just a bit. “Hello there. You have stumbled upon the Taiga forest. I am one of its leaders, and here you see two of my children. My name is Reagan. As my daughter has so aptly put—what can we do for you?”

[Nayl]

She spun the stars on her fingernails Just like The Before, they come. Here, in this new land, there are still established herds and when confronted, they always come to meet. It gives Nayl a sense of familiarity even as her eyes grope hungrily for the new sights surrounding her. The deciduous trees stand sentinel and provide cover for the earthly children roaming their miles of land. Fascinated by the bright greens and golds, the whites and browns. It’s a cacophony of colors that bombards Nayl, but she drinks it in sweetly until she hears a nearby rustle that breaks her attention away from the surrounding forest. To see a child among the trees, for some reason, is unexpected. Curious, their fiery eyes meet in introduction. ”Hello,” she returns curtly though not unkindly while slowly blinking. She just realizes how she has never considered children before. They’ve never crossed her mind until looking at the filly in front of her. Perhaps she has always considered them an unnecessary distraction, but she sees that they, like stallions, can prove a purpose. Eventually, Nayl knows, she will have to continue a legacy of strong women. Just as she readies herself to respond to the girl, they are met by a much older mare who more eagerly introduces herself as well as her place here in the forest. A peaceful land, Nayl muses, as she deciphers the extraordinary kindness slipping from Reagan’s tongue. It reminds her briefly of the Falls or even the Gates where they only wanted to provide a neutral sanctuary for all. Unable to fathom that type of mindset she withdraws from her thoughts and focuses on the conversation at hand. ”Nayl,” her voice bears the qualities of a soldier – strong, confident, focused – and it contrasts greatly with the warmth and amiability of Reagan. A smile is rare, but a shadow of one tries to briefly slip across her lips as her head just barely nods. ”I come from Nerine which is northwest of here,” she maps out her journey to herself and realizes how far she has traveled alone. Being submerged in her thoughts she had hardly noticed the distance she placed between her and the coast, but now she notices that there isn’t a hint of salty air here. It’s clean, but at the same time stagnant. ”I’m just reaching out to see what lies outside of our borders. Tell me more of this Taiga, if you would.” Nayl covet and myrina's creation

[Reagan]

we’re on each other’s team…

Nayl’s presence here was to be admired. She, the newly crowned Queen of the Coast was making her debut around Beqanna, reveling in the other lands, and seeking to educate herself on behalf of whomever might be left behind in her new world of the Amazons. Reagan wished her well, but she could only assume—unable to read her mind, after all—that Nerine had suffered the same fate as Taiga. Rush to the land, they had, in droves. Those who were left tended to the land, but many of them fell away.

After it was all said and done, the dregs of society that were left to manage the estates had to pull themselves up and achieve a different level of glory. Reagan’s position as a leader in Taiga was, some could say, unwanted. She had not come back to this land to lead a people. She did not, and would never call herself Queen of anything. Rather, she was the leader of her family—a mate and a passel of children that depended on both her and Ruan to maintain and support them--, charged above all else to protect them. Reagan thinks on this, but is brought back to the conversation when Nayl asks to learn more about the forest. She rights her posture, lifts her head. Her dark green eyes look over the tobiano Queen, and a cool voice washes over them both, granting the multi-colored woman her request.

“The Taiga is, as you can see, a redwood and conifer forest. Romek was brought to this land, with Demian and Maribel in his wake. They both ran off not long after the borders were secured. Mari languishes, but she is still here. As for the rest of us—Ruan and I protect these borders and take security in the food and protection that the trees give us. And in return, we protect the trees.”

She exhales.

“And what of Nerine? What is it about your home that compels you to stay there?”

[Jinju]

Jinju

She cannot help it but to look at the two toned mare in curiosity. She smelled different than all the others Jinju had thus far came across. There were flares of different scents that stuck to the mare’s own, just as she had noticed on her parents, but there was a spice in there too. Fresh, but also somewhat exotic. It almost remembers her of the Jungle she had called home for a short time. Expectance burns in her ruby eyes, waiting for the mare to answer her question, but she doesn’t speak again until her mother shows up.

The inky black girl cannot help it but to grow a little tense, annoyed even, ears flicking back and forth as she struggles. ”Hi mom” she answers, a forced smile on the corners of her lips as she reaches out to brush her muzzle against the gray mare’s shoulder. Jinju lingers around for another short while, listening to the two toned mare, who introduced herself as Nayl, answering the question her mother repeated. It is then that she decides to leave, her nose against Reagan’s shoulder before stepping aside. Her head drops slightly in a silent bye to the two toned mare, then turning her back on the adults and her brother, never even glancing in the appaloosa colt’s direction.

[Nayl]

She spun the stars on her fingernails The sense of serenity that emanates from Taiga and envelopes Nayl is gentle as a swaddled newborn. It’s a different persona – a different world, even – from Nerine which is filled with passionate women and only a few sparse men. There remains the sense of sisterhood and of duty, but Taiga reeks of family and love. Unfamiliar to this, Nayl tries her best to understand them and to grasp the functionality of it all. Perhaps she is far too militaristic, too cold, to fathom a home of love and warmth. Reagan and her fellow alpha (king?) have a different perspective that has led to the creation of their sweetened home. There’s a different sense of the word leadership and there a honey and compassion dripping from her lips every time she speaks and when she turns her eyes to drink in the sight of her home. ”You love it here,” she observes fondly, ”in a way that I’ve never seen in anyone else.” There is adoration in Regan’s voice and comfort in knowing what they have accomplished. ”And you love children,” an airy chuckle slips from her as Nayl’s eyes drink in the small boy then to Jinju and back. Never having been a mother, she is almost worried for herself. Is there something in the air here to increase fertility? A humored shudder run downs the length of her spine. The familial tie here is more closely related to a wolf pack than the solitary livings of jaguars that the Amazon’s once boasted in their home. Funny how different each land can be and which habits they adopt. To think of Nerine’s drastic difference draws Nayl into her own protected thoughts. There has been turmoil and mutiny, deceit and lust. It’s exactly as the Jungle had once been, but now their home is a coast and no longer shielded by a barricade of trees. She contemplates her ascension to the throne and the thick tension that was constructed upon her success. Unable (not wanting) to divulge in the specifics, Nayl formulates a response for when she blinks and meets Reagan’s eyes. ”Nerine,” she sucks in a slow lungful of air when she utters the name and remembers its beginnings, ”has a hidden strength that keeps me there. The power of the ocean, the lull of the waves lapping at the shore, the rocky cliff and sandy dunes.” Each puzzle piece plays its own role in the serenity and prowess of the land. ”It’s a mixture of the best attributes of past kingdoms,” except the Jungle, she doesn’t say. She misses the cover of the canopy and the screeching of the monkeys and the growling of the panthers. ”There’s a passion in the land that lives in us.” Nayl covet and myrina's creation

[Reagan]

we’re on each other’s team…

There is a passion for the land that lives in us.

And for the first time Reagan looked at Nayl, a warmness sliding over her, a familiarity. The days of the young diplomat. The women standing there in the grotto were not so dissimilar as one may think upon staring at them. They both cared for their reputation. They both were hard and fast politicians who cared first for the deal, and then for themselves—and again, they cared about the land that they served.

Believed fully that the land would protect them in return if they gave their all to see it bear fruit.

Reagan’s mind is settled—there is no pretense to the woman’s ascension to the throne. One would have to be deaf to hear the way the trees and residents whispered the goings on amongst the land. They all rang stories of how Naga, the panther Queen had been thrown over for Nayl upon the challenge grounds. This was not a secret that could be kept. Such things were never silent for long. And yet, even as Reagan watches the young woman’s eyes drift, looking to cover the story of Nerine, she smiles to the side, finding a soul sister in this regard. There are things about the Taiga that were definitely best left unsaid.

“In this regard, I believe you are correct, Nayl. The land does reside in us, as we reside in the land. It is a symbiotic relationship. And we as its leaders, are the land, of sorts.”

She nods, flicking her tail and stepping aside to give the multi-colored woman a better view of the forest around her. “I know you have not been in this position long, but know that if you ever need an ally, nay, a friend—you know which direction to follow.” She smiles in a way that only horses can smile, twisting her thick black lips around her teeth and eying her company warmly. It was a face that she does not always show. “For I do not feel that peace will always rest as it does now.”