"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
No matter how hard she tried lately, things just didn't seem to work out. She'd tried to find her younger brother after the Reckoning, and hadn't heard a word of his whereabouts. She'd tried finding a home in Crota's land, but even after such a warm welcome from the mare, she just didn't see it being a suitable home for her long term. That, and it just didn't feel like home to her at all. So, with hope in her heart that she might find her brother on this journey, Sirana left, heading back out to the Field to ask around about Nerius.
She spent some days acquiring information, but didn't receive anything promising. She did hear some news of her dam and sister, along with her youngest sibling, Aten. It seemed the stallion had made a place for himself in the Taiga land, having been spotted out here in the Meadow and getting involved in a conversation with a mare she spoke to. She made a note to go visit him, to check on how he was doing, but left the matter alone for now. She had faith in her younger brother; he didn't need the mare hanging over his head. He was a grown stallion now, well able to take care of himself. He was definitely one of the more capable ones in their family, this Sirana had picked up quite early on even if she'd had very minimal time with Aten following the Reckoning.
Sad news was that, no matter how hard she tried, no news of Nerius came through. Not even sights or rumors, something that really put her hopes down. If there wasn't anything soon, she might go start checking the other kingdoms, but after a few days of nonstop travel and asking those in the Meadow, Forest, and Field about her brother, the mare was tired.
The day wasn't particularly hot, but Sirana was worn out enough. The mare made her way to the shade of the trees not too far from the lake, relishing in the shade they provided. Once she'd cooled down some, the mare waded toward the lake, continuing on until she was knee-deep. She lowered her head, sticking her muzzle in to cool herself off, before bringing it back up until only her lips were at the water's surface. She took a long, cooling drink, silently cursing her bad luck as of late. Her ears continuously turned as she listened for signs of another sneaking up on her, not wanting to be caught off guard like she was last time.
The sunlight bores into the auburn of his skin with a soft touch, gently caressing the musculature of his shoulders and hips, accentuating the dark lines of his face and legs with its golden traces. The feeling of the sun against his flesh in the field was very different from his home, Tephra. The sultry and humid air of his tropical home brought sweltering heat of summer way before the season actually arrived, leaving the stallion sweating most hours of the day and even during the night. Warrick decided to experience true springtime, and thus found himself in the field, feeling the cool breeze against his skin. The trip from Tephra to the field left the stallion in a damp sweat, his black mane and forelock plastered against his face and neck.
Quickly and without any hesitation, he trots into the small lake that finds itself at the center of the field. The water splashes against the indigo of his legs and hits the broad of his chest with a deep splash. Immediately he feels his body temperature cooling and he breathes heavily in response, his hot muscles cooling as the water meets his burning skin. The water spills over the broad of his back as he moves in deeper, his mane and tail floating in an inky pool around him. As he maneuvers through the lake, he drinks deeply, letting his muzzle drag through the cool water lazily.
He turns another time and his brilliant blue eyes quickly rest on another horse that was at the bank. He smiles as he sees her, not sure how long he’s been in the lake while she had been drinking. Warrick takes gentle strides towards her, moving through the water with pricked blue-tipped ears.
“Good afternoon,” he says smoothly and lazily as he drifts towards her. “Fine day for a swim,” he says with a laugh, coming closer to her until his shoulders protruded from the water’s surface. His mane and forelock cling to the curve of his neck, droplets of water dripping from the long strands and dripping quietly into the stillness of the water beneath him.
Though his movement through the water was practically silent, Sirana noticed the ripples coming from the other direction. She looked up, seeing another horse walking through the bank water towards her, a young colt by the looks of him.
He was a handsome stallion, his coat a healthy bay color with navy colored points instead of black. The water dripped off his muscular neck and back into the lake, his long mane sticking to his skin much like Sirana's did when she was wet or after a run. Her mane wasn't as long as his, but it was probably thicker, so she knew how tough it was to get the hair off of one's neck when it was stuck.
The stallion greeted her with a 'good afternoon' and commenting on the day's weather by saying it was a nice time for a swim. He also introduced himself by the name of Warrick. Sirana, for whatever reason, felt a bit childish all of a sudden given what he'd said, and pawed at the bank water before wading in until it was up to her chest.
"Indeed it is; does wonders for cooling off on a hot day," she commented, giving the stallion a bright smile, "Nice to meet you Warrick. I'm Sirana. What brings you out to the Field today?"
He found the cool of the water to calm his aching body and mind, his eyes lazily blinking over the blue of their irises. The mare is gentle in her reply, seemingly happy to have him accompany her on this summer day.
What brings you out to the field today?
The question, simple at its core and requiring an even simpler reply, causes Warrick’s mouth to turn slightly in a frown. Lately, being in Tephra was making him feel less than at his best, a familiar prick of loneliness scratching at his chest. With Ellyse’s sudden return and her lack of acknowledgement of their conversation, the stallion simply had to leave his tropical home. He is confused and terrified by her reaction, wondering what could possibly happen when Tang returns in the winter. Was he meant to live in turmoil of purgatory, neither in heaven nor in hell? He’s glad that he’s found his way to the field, he hadn’t been here since he had offered Tang a home. The idea, instead of bringing him happiness, puts a lump into his throat that he quickly swallows hard.
It’s almost comical, how his fear used to be of the stars and now his fear rests solely in those who wander the earth with him.
Instead, Warrick continues to attempt to focus on the mare before him, distracting himself with simple pleasantries and the warmth of the sun at his back.
“Staying in one place for too long doesn’t suit me,” he replies with a gentle smile, though it did not quite reach the cerulean color of his eyes. He is glad when the champagne mare decides to step in further into the water and join him fully, bobbing his head encouragingly as she did so. When she was closer, he stretches out his neck to exchange scents with her, his indigo nostrils flaring as he inhales. Her scent was unfamiliar itself, but there was a scent that lingers that triggers a familiarity. “Are you from around here?” he asks, bringing his muzzle back to his chest.
"My younger brother would agree. He was always away from our herd, to the constant worry of my dam until he got old enough," Sirana joked, shaking her head as she remembered the fond times she'd spent with Nerius.
The stallion bobbed his head when Sirana entered the lake, enticing a chuckle from the mare. He then extended his nose, clearly wanting a proper introduction through the exchange of scents. Though the smells were dampened due to the lake water soaking through their fur and skin, Sirana took a step closer so that she could also get a whiff of the stallion's scent. Her champagne muzzle neared his dark blue colored one as they exchanged scents, the mare overcome with the unfamiliar one that Warrick carried.
She had to admit, from up this close, he looked even more handsome. But Sirana was not one for speaking her mind all the time, unlike Eiria and Zhenga, the latter having rubbed off a little too much on Sirana's younger sister.
In response to Warrick's question, Sirana offered, "Not really. Before the Reckoning, I resided with my dam and sire's herd. I was given to a stallion and stayed with him until the lands changed. He hasn't really been seen and the herd split apart. I've been informed that my dam and younger sister reside in the Sylva kingdom, along with two friends of theirs. Kreios, my former king, was the leader there too, I hear, until a mare named Djinni took over," the champagne mare explained, not yet fully aware that her sister's friend had departed Sylva a short time ago.
Warrick knows that his compassion will always be his weakness. He’s incapable of not caring. He dives headfirst into trying to understand others, probing for more so that he can help, so that he can fix it. His compassion and empathy is exactly what drove him to get so close to Ellyse, an enigma from the day he met her, but it is also what drove her away from him. He constantly wants to be let in, to show his loyalty and trustworthiness by diving so deep into their agony and pain that oftentimes he will not be able to find his way out. He swallows hard as his memory refuses to let him forget the way she had dismissed him, the way she pretended that their relationship was nothing more than a mere acquaintance.
He listens eagerly to Sirana, his blue-tipped ears pricking forwards as her gentle voice tells her story. The Reckoning. His gaze softens at the mention of this event, his brilliant blue eyes sparkling with distant and sad memories. While he was willing to do whatever it takes to try and help others, he cannot seem to help himself. His heart turns violently in his chest and the small, charming smile that was once on his lips falter. He remembers The Reckoning like it was yesterday. It had split his family apart, leaving him to wallow infinitely without closure, without unrest. It was a painful wound that has yet to be healed, ripping open and festering every so often in remembrance of what he’s lost.
Thankfully, the champagne mare mentions Sylva. The dimness in his eyes vanishes, though a smile does not return. Djinni. He tilts his head curiously, long tendrils of mane lifting from the curve of his russet neck so that the ends float lazily in the water. He had met the gypsy-like leader one on of his very first travels back to Beqanna after the reckoning. He hadn’t seen her since their mysterious encounter.
“Have you gone to Sylva? To see them?” His voice is tense with concern, his blue eyes sparkling beneath a furrowed brow. He pauses, pressing his lips together thoughtfully; then realizes that he perhaps had been tactless. “I mean, are you wanting to find them?”
Something stirs in Warrick’s chest. A familiar feeling that tugs at him aggressively. He, too, had searched endlessly for his family (and to this day he still does) and without reprieve. If this mare is wanting to find her family (even if it was just to make sure they were safe), the protector he wholly is was already ready for the challenge.
Sirana picked up on the concern in Warrick's voice. She found it touching, but figured it would do him no good to worry for a worthless cause. She smiled gently at the stallion, blowing air from her noise toward him to calm him down.
"Of course I wish to find them, but... I do not feel the need to go there yet. My brothers have gone their own ways, and I had so long ago as well. My dam... she was upset when my sire gave me to the stallion, but she knows I am all right. She knows I can handle myself. My little sister is caring for her right now, and my dam is still in pain over the loss of my sire. I am sure she would feel better if I were to return home and show her I am alive, but not until I have found a place to call home for a while. Like my brothers, I have felt the need to strike out on my own since I was young, even if I didn't think it'd be by my giving away to a stallion.
"One day, I will return, but for now, I wish to find a home, so that even if I go to see my dam again, she will have reassurance in knowing I have found a place to live."
Their conversation brings up feelings that Warrick has long since pushed down. The sadness that is found is his blue eyes are distant and old, memories clouding his gaze from long ago. He understands that Sirana is quite content with not being with her family and venturing out on her own (so much like Tang – the thought dims his eyes even more), but the stallion knew that at least Sirana knew where her family was. He would kill for that luxury, to know that they are safe and nearby, only a day’s travel away when needed. She blows into his face gently, soothingly, her breath sweet with grass, and his gaze lifts and focuses on her. He snorts softly, empathetically, and allows a small smile to creep onto the indigo of his lips. “Everyone must go their own way, eventually.” He spoke the words with confidence, but he could not bring himself to take his own advice. They were gone and he was not (who is ‘they’, exactly?). That was all there is to it.
The sun still bores down on them relentlessly, painting the cool blue of the water with ribbons of golden light. The water was clear and bright, lapping against the auburn of his shoulders and hips with hungry and wet kisses. Even the shining silver minnows press their lips to his skin, nibbling at his fetlocks curiously as they search for food in the algae-covered pebbles and sand on which he stood.
He smiles easily at Sirana now, comforted by her words of absolution and confidence. He need not worry that she was separated from her family. He had not yet visited Sylva yet for himself, but Djinni did not seem the type of ruler that would refuse to let a daughter reunite with her family if needed.
“What is it you seek then, Sirana?” His voice is as fluid and cool as the water that surrounds them. “Any land can be called home, even this field. What is it you really are searching for when you say you are trying to find a home?”
Home is a family, it is comfort; it’s loyalty and safety, compassion and love. What did Sirana want her home to be? Warrick is ready to offer her one, if that is what she truly seeks.
An honest question, but a difficult one nonetheless. Sirana had always thought that she knew what she wanted in a home when she was younger and dreamed of the day she could leave the Falls kingdom behind. But those had fallen through the day she found out she would be given away to Phaedrus, as part of a deal her sire made with the other stallion after stealing one of his daughters.
How Sirana would have loved to run away and not have to worry about the repercussions that would follow, but her responsibility held her back. Not a responsibility to herself, or her sire, but to the herd. She knew that many of the horses could take care of themselves, but if Phaedrus became angry about the deal being broken, he could have chosen to retaliate and lead an attack on the Falls. Sirana did not want a horrible fate to befall the member of her sire's herd, especially not her younger sister and brothers, one of whom had still been growing in her dam's belly at the time.
It had been a hard thing to accept, her dreams being crushed, but she'd found a new hope in helping take care of the mares in Phaedrus' herd, and continued doing so after he gave them away to Nyenji. She knew she wanted to help take care of others, whether it was through the practice of healing or becoming a protector, a warrior, like her dam's friends Raxa and Nitika.
But was that all she wanted from a home? What was she missing that left an aching in her heart? Was it the presence of her family she desired so much? Did she miss her siblings and dam, wanting to be by their sides once again?
No, that couldn't be it. Sirana did miss her family, but there was no feeling in her gut telling her to hurry home and check up on them. It wasn't the need to go find a home of her own either; something else was causing her to hurt, and she didn't know what exactly.
She couldn't take forever to come up with an answer though, not with Warrick patiently waiting. Flicking her soaked mane to one side of her neck, the thick red strands falling down over her golden neck, her forelock stretching down her face, the mare gave the stallion a calm look.
"I am searching for a place I feel I belong. Where I can run as free as the birds fly through the air, but where I can also stand by and protect those I have come to care for. Every stallion, mare, and foal, ones that I have come to love and will gladly lay down my life to defend.
"I want a home where I feel loved in return, and can trust in those around me. Horses who protect each other, and their home. Quite a broad statement, I know, but while all kingdoms can have horses like that, only one place actually feels right. And for me, despite my family being there, I did not feel completely at home in Sylva, back when it was the Falls."
Besides the Gates (the idea seems so distant, that it is barely a memory in his mind; fuzzy with his lack of remembering details), Warrick only knows Tephra as his home. It began as merely a place for sanctuary, to rest and to feel protected – but as the years slowly begin to march on, he is finding that his heart is becoming more and more loyal to the tropics he now freely protects and serves. He is always searching for those to share his home with, to give them the opportunity to enjoy the splendor of Tephra just as he does.
Sirana takes her time to answer his question, which he takes as a good sign. Not a sign that she would be willingly coming with him, but a sign that she took her decisions seriously and didn’t want to waste her time with idealistic folly that so many others are willing to throw at horses searching for residency. He smiles comfortingly, letting her know that he is perfectly fine with waiting as she mulls through her answer. He is not disappointed; Sirana’s answer was straight from her heart, pouring out to him her thoughts and true feelings, telling him exactly what she was searching for when she had first entered the Field. Her answer spoke to him, resounded with something familiar in his chest. Though the words were different, Warrick’s heart had led him to Tephra with the same thoughts.
His eyes sparkle with understanding, the bay stallion reaching forward to lip at the dripping tendrils of her mane almost playfully.
“If you search long enough, you will find what you are looking for.” He speaks the words softly into the dampness of her hair, the curl of a smile finding his indigo lips. He is glad that he has ventured to the Field this day. He arches his neck as he brings his head back, eyes of blue watching the mare curiously. “Sirana, I believe I reside in a place that you desire. It is called Tephra and it will welcome you with open arms if you decide to venture to its doorstep.”
