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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    hello~spring [open]
    #1
    tangerine
    face to the sun


    Tangerine had been born with an innate sense of direction. Her mother would proudly tell acquaintances, "The girl can smell north."  She smiles to herself as memories of her family surround her, comfort her. She canters on methodically while indulging in thoughts of home. Nostalgia bites her in the chest as she dwells on memories of her  little brother and how he was always wandering off and getting lost form their herd. It had always been Tang's task to go and find him. There weren't many landmarks on the plains where she grew up - not in the heart of them at least. Every time she had 'rescued' him he had been so remorseful and happy to see her. She wondered if he still got lost, he would be a yearling now.

    For the first time in her entire life she felt homesick, she didn't know what to do with the feeling. Luckily, she is nearing her journeys end and probably won't have much time for reflection in the coming weeks.

    She could smell it now, The Lake. 

    As Tang nears the hills that surround the lake Amet, the dragon boy, stalks her thoughts... and she doesn't attempt to banish him. Their last encounter replayed in her mind, not for the first time that day. The lavender tinted scene was all the more delicious in hindsight. But now it was a new season, only a few weeks had passed but still she worried he would be different in some way. 

    The winter just passed had made some changes on Tang. Her third birthday had come and gone with the spring and she no longer had a girl's lankiness. Her painted coat shines gold and cream, her winter fluff had shed early in the heat of Tephra. She had now lived in Beqanna for half a year and was no longer surprised at every turn. She was a little wiser, a little more thoughtful. But still a restless spirit.

    For the second time in her life she crested the tallest summit in the ring of small mountains that held in The Lake, Amet's lake. The turquoise waters look up at her, the suns reflected light merrily dancing on its surface. The scent of spring blossoms and tender grasses waft up to meet her. 

    On the edge of the lake she could make out the forms of two young horses talking, barely weanlings by the look of them. But she didn't want to disturb the children, she was sure she would meet all the residents soon enough. For now she stayed grazing at the summit above the lake, enjoying the view and the sounds of spring.  
    #2
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    Winter in the Lake had been mild, with only a few snow flurries (never even enough to coat the ground), though the trees has been depressingly barren. Amet is thankful that they have begun to bud swiftly this season, as winter makes way for spring. He thinks about Tang, but he tries not to think of her too often. He is busy, anyway, with Sakir and Iset. The have both grown into intelligent and pleasant individuals, with personalities that Amet can better appreciate here in Beqanna, when they are not being suffocated by Him.

    Truthfully, Amet does not think about Him often. The old King of the Dunes has hardly a place in the Akhal-Teke's mind anymore, at least while he is busy with the Lake and with his siblings. There are moments that the old dread creeps into him, when Amet is briefly afraid that He will be home soon, to instill more terror into the young trio. Shalla had never made a move to protect her children, and so the dragon-boy never thought of her.

    He has come into his own in Beqanna. He is not the same creature that he had been in the Dunes.

    A familiar scent is on the breeze as the Lake's King meanders through greenly budding trees. He knows, almost instantly, that it is time -- Tang has returned to him. The breeze is warm and sweet with her presence, and the bronze-and gold stallion instantly turns to move in her direction. It takes him a few minutes, but his full-grown body is narrow and lithe. His scales glint brightly in the noontime sun. "Tang!" he calls happily, his ears turned towards her and his gait lofty, "It took you long enough," a playful jest.

    He recalls their last meeting, beneath his lavender wisteria, and his face flushes warmly. "Tell me about your winter."

    Amet
    #3
    tangerine
    face to the sun

     Tangerine is lost in thought, pulling at the tender grass. Fresh as the young greenery of the field she quietly drifts form one side of the pasture to the other as she grazes. A cool breeze gently lifts her thick mane, so different from the air of Tephra.  Warrick, her only friend in Tephra, has been on her mind too. When she thinks of him her thoughts are clouded with confusion - the night they had spent together before her departure was a mystery she couldn’t leave alone. His confession haunted her, and his touch could still be felt when she closed her eyes. There was need in his body language yet his voice had halted what could have been shared between them. Yet she couldn’t find it in herself to be hurt, or insulted. 

    She knew what a tangle his mind must be after losing his family without warning, a wound like that could take a lifetime to heal. Several times she had questioned her decision to leave him, nearly turning back to stay his companion in the lonely tropical land. But she hadn't. Maybe she would regret it someday. Subconsciously, she sends a prayer to The Mare, goddess of her homeland, for his wellbeing. 

    The earth shivers below hear muzzle with the pulse of approaching hooves, putting an end to her thoughts of Warrick. Automatically her head rises into the air atop her slender golden neck as she tries to catch a glimpse of the approaching horse. A familiar form glides through the threes and out into the sunlight of her clearing; her heart skips a beat. Like the dragon scales of the stallion’s armor her eyes sparkle as she sees him.

    "Amet!" She echoes his call with his own name as she lightly bounds towards him, her serenity now converted into electricity. “Took you long enough,” he calls out playfully and she responds with a saucy glare, which she is unable to hold, and is soon replaced by a wide smile. When Tang reaches him she doesn’t bother to stop, instead, their bodies meet in a collision. The wind comes out of her lungs in a laugh and she grabs for a piece of his mane as she tumbles to the ground. She just feels good.

    The grass is clean and new and she lays there for a moment, catching her breath. Her eyes watching him with curiosity and hunger. 

    “I will tell you all about my winter... but first, I want you to tell me about our summer." 

    The shyness she felt under his gaze during their first day together has vanished. She had been ready this time, not surprised buy a handsome stranger in a strange land. During the winter she had blossomed and was enjoying the vigor and strength she could feel in her limbs and heart. This was the high she was chasing, the fruit of her restlessness.

    #4
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    He catches Tang's playful glare and the dragon king laughs happily, his ears pressed forward to give the girl mare all of his attention. Amet's bright amber eyes take note of the way his friend has filled out in her absence, and then does his best to forget that thought. His adulthood is new, almost daunting, and the parent-less Amet has yet to learn the ropes of adult life.

    Tang's painted body collides with his more quickly than he had expected. She catches him off balance and the scaly stallion laughs loudly as she tugs at his golden mane and they both fall into a tangled heap beside the crystalline lake. He can see the way she eyes him as they lay catching their breath, and Amet adjusts so that his gold-and-bronze head rests on the base of her neck. His nostrils quiver and flutter to take in her scent, warm and welcoming and tinged with sulfur. She breaks their pleasant silence, but not how he was expecting, and the dragon-boy eyes her with mock suspicion. "Is there something you're hiding from me, mahal?"

    The nickname slips from his muzzle almost without notice. He can't quite place where it had come from, but using it makes him feel briefly nostalgic, as if it came from the time before Shalla had brought him and his siblings to the Dunes. The corners of his mouth are tugged upward into a secret smile before he raises his head and lips at Tang's multi-colored mane. "That depends... do I have to spend my summer ensuring that you'll miss me next winter?"

    The inquiry is friendly and innocent, but there is a large part of him that hopes she will stay. "So!" He's suddenly rocking his lithe golden frame and jumping back onto his hooves, his narrow neck hanging down so that his head hovers above Tang's, "I think we should start our summer off with a swim, don't you?" He bolts for the lake, his gilded frame glistening in the sunlight as he bounds into the crystal clear waters.

    Amet
    #5
    tangerine
    face to the sun


    Together they lay in the grass, two young things somewhere in between having everything and having nothing. He is a king and she is a vagabond. But she wears her freedom like a crown. 

    Amet rests his head on her chest and Tang feels weightless. The carefree joy of his laugh warms her, she loves to see the ones she cares about happy. An endearing name for her falls from his lips as naturally as if they had known each other for a lifetime -and she can’t help but be flattered by the token of his affection. But the words which precede it catch her off guard.

    There was nothing beyond companionship between her and Warrick, he had made that clear to her. Not to say she didn’t, still did, wish he had taken her in, accepted her as a lover. She tries not to allow herself to think of if she is content or not with the way things turned out between herself and Warrick. She was not one to question another’s decision about such a personal matter.

    She has nothing to hide from Amet. At least that’s what she tells herself, in her moment of hesitation.

    But as quickly as she sought to validate her actions she scolds herself for doing so. No stallion had claim to her soul or body and none ever would. She was her own master. She could love vastly and not love less because of it.

    That’s wat she tells herself, at three years old with the stars in her eyes.

    But all of this she didn’t need to worry about now, these thoughts would have to keep for later reflection on a long run. Banishing her musings, she places a playful nip on the soft skin where his scales fade away into smooth skin, only exposed for the first time to her because of their relaxed position. He made her feel alive, this dragon boy.

    “I don’t think you will have to try too hard.”  She laughs. “But… who says I’m going anywhere?”

    With a movement almost feline, he is suddenly on his feet again. Tang smiles up at him as she too finds her feet and turns for the lake. But she can’t shake the feeling of his skin on her lips.

    She bounds after him and without any hesitancy she plunges her painted figure into the cooling waters. The pristine lake welcomes her, absorbing her into its depths. Tang takes a gulp of air and allows her muscled body to sink. The sounds underwater are soothing and distant muffled like a daydream. Here amber eyes flutter open, and she takes a moment to absorb the mystical turquoise world around her – noting is clear, but it is beautiful. She enjoys the weightlessness a moment more, her main and tail swirling around her, before her lungs prompts her to seek the air again. With a gasp, she breaks the surface and finds herself near Amet.

    One hundred little rivers run down her face and neck, her black forelock heavy and clinging to her brow. She is happy she has so easily found him again in this big world, and the thought makes her turn her face to his. “I don’t think a summer swim was ever a bad idea.” He voice carries the contentment she feels at such a lovely summer day in good company, and her eyes sparkle like the surface of the lake.



    @[Amet]
    #6
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    Amet is comfortable and warm in Tang's company. There is something infectious about her jovial nature, something that draws the dragon king away from his worries and into a world where she is the sun and nothing worrisome exists. It's a welcome change, a nice reprieve for the boy with the world on his shoulders. He inhales deeply to match her own rhythmic breathing, his cheek pressed against her soft chest as she laughs.

    There's a small, almost unnoticeable pause before the painted mare finds her words again and Amet is suddenly concerned that he may have offended her. He waits, with bated breath, to see what she has to say, only to find that his own laughter is bubbling to the surface once again. "Something tells me you like to wander," he muses warmly, "and while I want you to follow your heart and your curiosity, I have a feeling it might get cold at night without you here." The words are playful and full of mischief, but there is an obvious truth to them.

    They are both swiftly on their hooves, turning from their adult conversation to an activity that was a bit more their forte. They run for the lake, its crystal clear waters rippling beneath the sun but quiet until their bodies collide with its surface. Tang remains submerged for longer than he does and the dragon king spins in a circle, the water dripping from his head as he searches almost frantically for the buckskin. When she surfaces, Amet laughs at her words and splashes a little water at her with his muzzle. "Perhaps you were a kelpie in another life," he offers, before swimming in another small circle. "Where would you like to adventure this summer? I'll go anywhere," he shouts enthusiastically.

    Amet


    @[Tangerine] IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG GUH
    #7
    tangerine
    face to the sun

    His focus and care of her puts a glow in her chest. In the glimmer of his eyes and the way he stays always turned towards her she feels that he is having as much fun as she is, and this makes her brave.  Bantering with the gold stallion is a new kind of adventure, one almost as thrilling as traveling to new places. 

    "A kelpie? Ha!" She snorts. "In my past life I was a warrior queen," she puts an extra emphasis on queen - even though it is something she has never wished to be, something she has never considered attainable, in her moment of imagination queen sounds enticing as a former title. "I ruled with a power awful and ruthless, after a century of my iron reign my subjects rebelled." She weaves the story as quickly as she can speak, her voice builds as she imagines the timeline of her supposed past life  "Their leader, the rebels leader,  was a powerful gypsy and for my punishment I am cursed to wander this land as a young and powerless... " 

    Like a snake her muzzle darts under his jaw, one of the few places without scales, where she again takes a taste of the softness of his skin. After which she brings her mouth below his ear, her voice lowering.

    "...Until I can repay all the bad I have done with good. Then I will be taken back to the stars to live, and gallop across the sky with my ancestors."  Her last year has been filled with thoughts of kings and queens and stardust, so these elements sneak their way into her improvisation effortlessly. 

    "But, It may take a long time,"  She sighs, hips swinging to rest alongside his own. 

    Done with her own game for now, she swims a half circle with Amet at the center. Tang ducks her head blow the surface, using the water to push her soaked and heavy forelock behind one ear. Happily he yells to her as she treads back to his side.

    An idea comes to her and her words flow quickly in excitement. "I would love to travel with you to one of the bordering countries when you need to visit. I'm good at making friends." She laughs then, she didn't mean the comment in a conceited way, she was only stating what she had found to be a fact in her three years. The thought of traveling with the dragon boy laces her body with excitement, combining two things she liked very much could only make the other better. 

    But she wasn't ready to set off on any diplomatic visits quite yet, she had only just arrived. "But for now, the spring is too beautiful here to leave." The space between them grows unacceptable to her and she closes it, placing a quick, almost shy, kiss on his muzzle. 


    Ok, sorry this is a little rough. I'm replying from my iPad and it's super frustrating to type on
    Also I'm assuming she knows the fact he is some sort of leader because that's obvious to most of BQ <3
    @[Amet]
    #8
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    Amet gets lost in Tangerine's past life, enthralled by her story and the mind that created it. His amber eyes are bright with wonder, soaking up the view of the passion and excitement in her pretty face. He can picture the overo, stoic and unsmiling, and while that version of Tang is beautiful and commanding, she is not this Tang. "I hope you don't mind being good," he rumbles as she nestles beneath his chin, "you wear it quite well." A playful wink finds the mare and Amet flusters his nostrils to breathe her in.

    Tang adjusts to settle beside him. It feels natural to the young stallion, as if they have known each other for countless years. For longer than they had been alive, even. Perhaps we are from the same star, his thoughts offer, and the idea makes Amet smile.

    He watches as she moves again to deeper water, her submerged frame still visible but distorted, and then she comes back to him with as much excitement as he feels. The young king smiles widely at Tang, the anticipation for this trip already brightening him immensely. "Yes! Come with me!" He gives her a gentle nudge with his damp muzzle, "Perhaps to all of them, if you really want to." Amet watches her expectantly.

    He allows silence to befall them for a few moments, the pair resting side-by-side in the crystalline lake. Amet's eyes move from the mare and rest on the shoreline at the opposite side of the lake, a frown slowly finding its way to his lips. "I'm already on my second life in this body," he admits quietly, "but my past life is neither great nor thrilling, I'm afraid."

    Amet
    #9
    tangerine
    face to the sun

    Amet gladly accepts her offer of company and her heart skips a beat, the smile on her lips broadens and the words spill out of her, “Well now that you say that, I can barely wait!” Even though she has just arrived she is already dreaming of their next adventure. She wonders how many years it will take for her to see all Beqanna, or if that is even possible.

    Silence falls between them, and she settles into it comfortably, content at his side.  But soon his voice breaks the silence, low and different for his usual breezy tone. His words sober her and she turns her neck so she can look at him, careful to leave her side pressed to his. His eyes, don’t have their normal brilliance as he gazes softly away over the waters, lost in a memory. 
     
    She doesn’t search his face, she takes her eyes away – instead using her velvet muzzle to gently play with his mane that falls over his crest. “But, everything’s ok now... right?” She says slowly, her voice quiet, like the waters that lap at their golden sides. She wants him to be happy, she wants everything to be alright.

    But she doesn’t want him to pretend for her. Being a diplomat, he had to wear a mask of serenity and poise always, but she wants his to just be Amet with her. She wants him to trust her, because she wants to trust him.

    “Do you want to tell me about it?” she questions gently, leaning the crown of her head into the soft place behind his jaw. She may not be a warrior queen, but she was a good listener.

    #10
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    Amet doesn't realize it yet, but Tang reads him better than he could ever expect. He is used to his brother and sister reading into his expressions and guessing what he will say next, but what he is not used to is the way Tangerine turns her gaze to preserve his pride, or the way she keeps her painted body pressed to his for comfort. He thinks, fleetingly, that he can tell her anything.

    She is a good soul, and his heart swells despite the acrid taste of bitter nostalgia.

    "Yes... everything is good, here in Beqanna. And here... with you," it's a simple admission, but a genuine one. He finds that his heart is fluttering, nervous to tell her about his past, but there is no voice in his head screaming that he shouldn't let her see that part of him, and that is a first. The dragon-scaled stallion, showing his youth in the expression on his face, moves into Tang's gentle touch and closes his amber eyes.

    "You are my first friend," another simple and genuine admission, this one in response to her inquiry, "and I want to tell you." He hesitates for a brief moment and lets his amber eyes flutter open again, to stare at the opposite bank. "It is not just my life though, it's Iset's and Sakir's, and my relationship with them is rocky, at best."

    The golden stallion lets slip a small sigh as he inhales Tang's scent. "I promise to tell you, when I am friends with my siblings again."

    Amet


    @[Tangerine] <3




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