"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
She counted them one and all. There were more hanging out in the corners of the forest. Come, they may. But she would start without them. Her eyes flicker to Ruan, and she makes her way down from the bluff to come to stand at his side. Her children, and others. Most she had not met, being pushed back into darkness and shadow. Her marriage in tatters, she looks for some sense of peace from her lover.
Getting none—at least for the moment—she addresses them all in a softer voice, the grey form of her birth, green tinged hair and mottled grey coat. She stands naked before them, humbled that they would join her at all.
“Friends. This is your home. You have chosen to make your peace and life beneath the trees, and for this, Ruan and I are ever grateful. We have brought you here… or you have come here to start a new life.” she pauses here, pushing herself wordlessly into Ruan’s side, testing his mettle. Does he still want her? Is he still capable of leading this pack? Her heart is beating quickly. Thudding. This is their home.
“We are a family. Your family. And we want you to choose the calling of your heart’s desire. Those seeking peace and diplomacy, venture forth into the other kingdoms. Talk with them, learn from them. We seek to know our security. Those who seek to defend this land—do so. Recruit those like yourselves who wish to see their home and life made greater here in the forest. It is your responsibility and right to see this land flourish. One day, we may have more formal systems by which we do things. But today, just revel in the respect and love we have for each other… and for the good of the forest.”
She gulps after her interlude, having looked at Ruan… seeing his heart. She hopes that this olive branch will be enough to set their marriage right again.
After such, she looks across their eyes. “If any of you should need me or want to talk to me, please feel free to start up a conversation. I am here for you all.
She’s late to the meeting - she has never been, and will likely never be, overly fond of large groups.
She slips in as a squirrel (a relatively new form to her), quiet and stealthy, then climbs up a tree that gives her the perfect vantage point to spy on the crowd below. No one will know her for what she really is, no one except her mother of course.
She eyes the gathered horses with interest, eyes passing over those she knows (Ruan, Reagan, Jinju, Heda …) to rest upon the newcomers, the strangers. They pause on the sabino mare, the antlered mare, the winged mare, the glow speckled stallion, the pale grey mare … but they linger in particular upon the wolf that becomes a beautiful green and navy mare. Another shifter, how interesting …
Perhaps she needs to pay this one a visit later.
But for now her attention returns to her mother, who’s stepped up to address the little gathering. She tells them that they are a family, and calls on them to take a more active role in the kingdom’s wellbeing. The words are meant for all, but they resonate deep in her heart. Ruan and Reagan had taken her in, given her a home, a family … it’s her turn to repay them, to repay the family that had given her so much. Still as a squirrel, she thinks at her mother, “I will defend.” It’s the only thing that makes sense for her to do - while her years in Taiga have allowed her to catch up socially, she would still make a poor diplomat.
Pregnant and laboring, she still manages to follow along on swollen hooves and a sweaty brow. Romek had lead her carefully along so that she would make it to the meeting. The white mare meets the faces of the residents with a smile, blue eyes bright and curious. "Hello." Mari offers to the old face and new alike. She sides near her husband with a tired smile, resting herself agaisnt him for a bit as she listens to Reagan.
There had been a time when Maribel had been a high ranking member of the Tundra when her father had opened the rank but now she would quietly decline. There was enough horses to with strong, confident leaders that could guide Taiga.
But perhaps, one day she would return, though today was not the day.
The gold lips smile pleasantly to see Reagan and Ruan. She feels like she is missing something but for now she remains quiet, resting against her husband. "Resident for me...for now." The mare smiles with a press to Romek's neck.
And when she laughs you'll always take notice.
'Cause her heart's charm will shine right through it all.
The young woman is as blue as her mother's eye. The trickle of fallen stars dot her neck and forehead like a crown of white. Reagan's call had bot gone unnoticed and so the blue woman picks her way through trees and and brush to happen upon the gathering. Sapphire eyes are slit as she analyzes their faces. Most she had seen around but there was a handful she did not yet know.
The familair forms of her parents stood close together. Her mother was carrying yet another foal...but Liv makes not motion other than a low congratulations with soft hugs before her stony exterior returned. She was lucky to have been raised by a loving mother and protective father.
The indigo mare listens as her father speaks, his position in Taiga. Liv watches him with a small smile, proud of her father. Her mother, though once a diplomat, prefers to remain a simple wife and resident. Liv understood it was best for the baby in her belly. But when Reagan's eye capture her and hold her, Liv can feel her tongue moving on it's own. "Defense." She takes a pace forward as if punctuation her decision, her lightly feathered hoof thudding onto the packed dirt. She can feel the swell of pride from her parents resonating onto her.
*Sib skips in to meeting and asks to be put on defense*
(I'm sorry loves. My national certification exam is next Friday and I have no real clue what to study, so I'm dragging out all my notes from before and hoping they're what I need D: )
By the time the yellow and black mare had happened across the meeting, there was already a fair gathering of people, most unfamiliar. She glances across them all briefly, before choosing to stand beside her twin, Alivia, in silent but unmistakable solidarity. She notes that Liv has chosen to be a defender, although that’s not really a surprise, she had always been somewhat more wild, more untameable. More suited to Taiga, anyway, what with it consisting mostly of the animalistic, home of the shifters and the magical.
”I am leaving.” she says. ”To explore. I might be back, I might not.” this is mostly directed to her family, and to Jinju, her friend, to Reagan who she would always consider close, even auntlike, and by extension, Ruan. Because it was silly, in her opinion, to devote yourself to one cause, one place when you don’t even know what is out there. If she chose to return, at least she would know it’s because that’s what she wanted, not because it was just easier. ”I wish you all the very best.” and with a nod, she left.
He stood blankly, distant. As soon as she appeared, his demeanor changed completely, warm and welcoming again. Like he used to be. Fur. Her little body scampered to him, pressed into his side where she knew it was safe, always safe. Ru-an, she pronounced brokenly, and his muzzle bent naturally to comfort her, brushed against her neck as he tucked her in protectively at his shoulder. His eyes were warm and soft and sure when she peered up at him. Wolf, she declared quietly, her gaze scattering to the others present that smelled so dangerous to her. He smiled softly and repeated into her hair that whispered promise he would always keep. Safe.
He watched as the others trickled in, heeding Reagan's call to them. He was pleased to see his sunshine girl, and didn't miss the sweet brush of her wing against Fur that seemed to settle her nerves just a little, before she joined her mother and sister. He nodded silently to Romek, glad he was still roaming and protecting their forest, and smiled at sweet Illae, no longer quite so small.
And then he snapped to attention at Reagan's movement, away from the place she chose to be easily visible, his eyes sharp and watchful as she came to stand at his side. A familiar heat stirred in his chest, riddled with the sting of icy blades, but he was wary. He was uncertain at this change, stepping down and coming to him, but even still, the rest of the world fell away. As it always had with her.
Until she pressed into his side, and suddenly his ears were flicking back and he was battling emotions. Warmth, love, betrayal. Coming over and claiming his side just as Jinju had. Allowing the enemy to walk into their home, and rewarding him, gifting him. The beast in his mind shouldn't exist, hadn't been real before, but it growled low, so quiet. Then silenced. And he breathed, carefully folded away the foreign darkness in him. That, too, hadn't been there before. As though the demon had poisoned him when he kicked the magic into his gut.
For a moment, he was lost in that tragic memory, only dimly aware of Reagan's voice next to him. He latched on to it, pulled himself back to the surface in time to hear the things she said. Something had passed that only he and she would understand and he looked at her, confused. You didn't have to. That's not necessary, he thought to her with a small shake of his head and furrowed brows.
He turned to watch the rest trickle in, greeting them in his silent way, but he could no longer find Tyrna among them, and Circinae looked.. uncomfortable. He frowned, feeling his chest tangle up in impossible knots, feeling like somehow it was his fault. The smell of the beast snatched his attention away immediately, though, and his mind snarled. Enemy. Hard eyes glanced at Reagan, his jaw clenched tight, and he turned and left as she dismissed them, returning to his familiar solitude.
