"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
08-31-2017, 04:38 PM (This post was last modified: 08-31-2017, 04:41 PM by Kuma.)
She had traveled many moons to get here. Her home unmistakable and unforgettable, from the shadow of trees she emerged, a phoenix rising from the ashes of her life before the Restitution, to begin life anew, here, in Loess.
She had taken a break - a long, tiresome break - moving herself away from the safety net of Beqanna's borders to take refuge elseware during the Reckoning. Many horses did this; they left the huge island to escape Her wrath - She had removed the magic and wonder until there was nothing but mist. The land was gone - her home, her life, everything she knew, stripped away with the blink of an eye. But, how could she protest? This is what Beqanna had to do. A punishment for the blatant disregard of rules and misuse of necromancy.
So, the femme ran away, and she rested her wary mind. Much of her early life before the Reckoning was a blur, like faded photographs. She wasn't quite sure if this was because of the trauma of losing everything making her block things out, or if it was truly just not there. There was an image of a mother, of a father, and of another child by her side, a sibling perhaps? It was frustratingly hazy.
But, something drew her to Loess. Whether it was a distant memory or just a coincidence, she didn't quite care. She drew herself to the base of the mountain, where a plethora of greenery swayed in the late autumn breeze. It was a good time of year to return to the lands she had first called home. The pintaloosa moved her body towards a small field of goldenrod, letting the flaxen bulbs tickle her sides. A beautiful sight as she bent down to inhale its sweet scent, then frolicked like a playful child.
The mare's bodice was broad and powerful, and she towered over most who approached her. Deep chestnut and alabaster patches faded into a speckled pattern on her rump; paint splattered on her canvas, stars across a night sky. Her color was rarely seen, but impossible to forget.
She felt herself float away from the base of the mountain, and found a small cove to rest her head in. The days she had traveled had exhausted her - she needed a rest, even if only for a moment. She closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Kuma
-Blessed with beauty and rage-
@[Merida]
OOC: I'm sorry it sucks ugh. Still feeling her out at the moment, will make it better
The cold and brittle fingers of autumn caresses the hilly and rocky landscape of Loess, turning the normally bright and beautiful willows, birches, and brush into the crisp brown of seasons change. The cold always bothers her, makes her a bit more bitter than she normally is. Her flaming tendrils of red twist and turn carefully around her ebony face, the bright sun sending the red flecks on her haunches and shoulders into a sparkling display. The day is cloudless and clear, though the sun’s warmth doesn’t quite reach through the atmosphere to warm the inhabitants beneath it, leaving her cold and bothered beneath its icy wind.
The golden landscape is carefully watched by Merida’s blazing red gaze, a silent and stoic figure on the mount of the hills that border the kingdom. Within the flecks of gold and brown of the dull autumn colors, a flash of white and burgundy red catches her flaming gaze.
With a quiet snort, the black and red mare does not even move. For a moment, she stands there as if she is almost frozen to the crisp and brittle grass beneath her dark hooves. The intricately painted mare, spotted and splashed and beautiful, traipses through Loess with grace and poise that Merida immediately recognizes. Her hard, stony eyes finally soften at the realization.
She is impossible to forget.
Merida does not begin moving, does not call to her daughter. Fear halts her.
How long has it been?
Her gaze, softened by what only being a mother could do, watches Kuma as she disappears into a tiny alcove to rest, Merida’s black nostrils fluttering as she hopes for her scent to reach her.
Merida takes her time to reach where Kuma is. Her mind is reeling, thoughts unorganized and heart racing. So long had she been alone, without any family or true friends to call her own – would she even know how to act around her daughter after all this time?
Quietly, the black mare peers her head around one of the rocky boulders that protrude from the hill of Kuma’s shelter, her eyes wide as black lids fall slowly over their intense red color.
“Kuma?” She whispers, nearly breathless, as she says her daughter’s name out loud for the first time in years.
@[Kuma]
It's lovely! She's bringing out a new side of Merida, so I'm excited to see how this goes! <3
09-02-2017, 01:39 AM (This post was last modified: 09-02-2017, 01:41 AM by Kuma.)
Eyes burn on the flower child; she can feel them. Usually, this would be cause for alarm, a stranger creeping their way into her cove to watch her as she slept in the midday gloom of fall, but at this particular moment Kuma felt content. The stranger spoke her name - a tender voice reverberating off the cove's walls and back into her satellites. At first, Kuma does not move, nor open her eyes. She has heard this voice before, she just cannot think of where...she must know her somehow, for how would the visitor know her title?
Slowly, sleepily, the pintaloosa opens her orbs, blinking a few times to adjust herself to the light. In front of her, a mare of unprecedented beauty stared at her, awestruck. Kuma tilted her head slightly to the side, gazing back at the mare, eyes aglow. The inky mare before her adorns a thick fiery mane, and through her forelock, Kuma can see her eyes are wide with shock.
A wave of familiarity washes over the flower child. She has seen this woman before...but from where? The look she gave was loving, nonthreatening, as if this interaction had brought her back to life. Kuma grew frustrated, brow furrowing in concentration. Who was she? Her face, so gorgeous, so damn familiar it shook her to her core.
"That is I," She responds, flashing a smile. "I know you...I just-" She pauses abruptly. Could it be? Could it possibly be?
"Mom...?"
Kuma
-Blessed with beauty and rage-
@[Merida] <3
Oh yay! I'm so glad you liked it. I can't wait to see where this interaction takes them
The memories flood back in bits and pieces, each one of them slamming into her with an unforgiving force. The memories are dusty and old, long forgotten on a shelf in her mind. It almost feels like her memories are not even hers, as if they were someone else’s entirely. But as her voice leaves her ebony lips, the normal curtness and sharpness receding, now soft and hesitant in the evening’s glow, Merida remembers. She remembers her darling daughter.
For a moment, however, her daughter does not remember her.
Dread turns her limbs cold, and the black mare’s ears fall back into her blazing red mane, her equally scarlet eyes falling downwards. She nearly takes a step back, nearly apologizes for intruding, but then, the recognition hits Kuma’s eyes and with the same hesitant and quiet voice, the now grown but still ever as beautiful girl whispers, Mom?
Merida takes a step forward, the chill of autumn’s wind brushing her tangled forelock from her face. The Reckoning had taken everything from the fierce little mare, and she had often hoped that all would be restored – but she quickly lost hope when she realized that any signs of her family still being in Beqanna were long gone. She had been left alone.
And though Merida holds no resentment nor bitterness towards her daughter (she never could harbor such feelings against her own blood, strangers were a different story), the time alone had been difficult and trying, and with a slow exhale, she realizes just how tired the whole thing had truly made her.
“Yes, Kuma,” she says gingerly, taking a few more steps towards the beautifully painted mare – she could hardly believe this was the same filly she remembers nurturing and caring for. She stretches her neck forward, her black muzzle searching to brush the auburn of Kuma’s forelock away from her eyes, but stops herself. Merida pulls her chin to her chest, tossing her head slightly as if to chide herself for wanting to exude such a gesture. “You’ve returned.” She states simply, for what else is there to say?
09-06-2017, 09:56 AM (This post was last modified: 09-07-2017, 05:26 AM by Kuma.)
Kuma cannot believe her eyes - is this really her mother, the one who gave her life? The one who raised her?
The painted mare's chest feels tight and heavy. Her mother was standing in front of her, greeting her, letting herself be known. Beqanna had once taken everything from the flower child - it had ripped everything away from her, leaving her cold and alone, with no choice but to move elsewhere. But now, mother earth was giving her back something she had often longed for - her family.
Hesitantly, Kuma steps forward, cocking her head to the side. Her mother is beautiful - her body as dark as the night sky, her long tresses a blazing red. She is a bit smaller than Kuma's own large stature, but in her eyes, the resemblance is striking - they hold the same fire, the same zest for life as her own. There is no denying it - this is her dam.
Her perceived notions are correct as Merida speaks. It is easy to tell that the blaze is unsure of what to say to her daughter, and she states simply "you've returned." It isn't exactly the words Kuma was looking for, but she cannot be picky. Her mother is finally here, no longer a mystery.
"That I have," The pintaloosa responds, a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. She wants to run to her mother, to caress her neck and let the tears of joy flow, but she does not. She remains still, letting herself inhale and exhale deeply. "It seems that what the earth has taken, it has given back..." She pauses, the words hanging above them. "I cannot believe you're here, mom." The words ring true - she was not sure if she had any family left, or if they were all gone forever. The realization that her mother was, indeed, alive and well, made Kuma feel more happy then she had in years. All she ever wanted was a family.
She watches her carefully, her blazing red eyes taking in every curve and dip of her now fully grown daughter, the long, chestnut tendrils as they curl around her face in the icy chill of winter’s wind. They look nothing alike, save for the gentle way their eyes dive into each other’s or now soft and timid their voices are in the quiet of dusk. Merida is unsure of what to do or say, for she wishes she could undo the amount of time they have spent apart and somehow get it all back for them. If she could, perhaps Merida would be living a different life than the solitary, lonely one she is currently living. Besides the giant wolf she met recently in the forest, Merida remains alone – until now, of course.
Loess is still foreign to her, still not welcome of her presence, but perhaps Kuma’s return will bring forth a new story, something that weaves into Merida’s and that they could live out together.
Without realizing it, Merida has taken steps to bring herself closer to her daughter. The pattern of her coat and her towering physique is straight from her father, bringing back memories that Merida had long since tried to forget. She reaches her dark face forward, ebony and as dark as night against the pure ivory of her daughter’s cheek as she brushes her muzzle against her skin in awe, as if Kuma was in fact only a dream.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed you,” she murmurs breathlessly as she brings her chin back to her chest, her voice cracking as it catches in her throat. Merida had been successful at suppressing her true feelings and masked them with her fiery personality and pride, but in this moment (a very rare moment), she is vulnerable and gentle…motherly. She blinks violently, her eyes glassy as tears threaten to spill – she feels different, as if her life had somehow come to meaning something once again – someone cares for her, and missed her as much as she missed them.
A tiny smile, miniscule and barely visible as dark spills over the craggy rocks that surround them, curls onto her lips. “Please tell me you’ve been well in your adventuring, Kuma.” She swallows hard the lump in her throat, and tenderly brushes away the long forelock that cascades down her daughter’s bright and wild eyes with her dark lips.
09-16-2017, 09:06 PM (This post was last modified: 09-16-2017, 09:07 PM by Kuma.)
Kuma leans into the loving touch of her mother - a feeling she has not received in many moons. Her mother lips at her crimson tresses and the painted mare feels her heart swell with happiness. Love was not something she was accustomed to; the relationship she had had with her mother was fleeting and had ended too quickly. The memories were no longer there, save for the recollection of her dam's beautiful ebony face; so different from her own, but she would've known it either way.
"I've missed having a family," Kuma replies, nearly in a whisper. She towers over her mother, and she allows herself to pick at the soft red forelock upon her mother's head. She giggles at how much taller she is; it is funny to her that once upon a time, it was the other way around.
"Please tell me you've been safe in your adventuring, Kuma."
The sentence hangs in the air for a moment, as Kuma's eyes shift downwards. Her travels had been anything safe. Escaping Beqanna's lands during The Reckoning had left permanent scars on her heart; although they couldn't be seen to the world around her, they still ached. She takes a deep breath, then smiles at her mother, whose eyes are filled with the motherly worry she has so desperately missed.
"I have been okay mom. I promise." She lies, smiling gently.
Kuma leans into her, despite the fact that the tall and beautiful mare does not need her motherly touch – but for many, many reasons wants it, and Merida does not refuse it. Methodically and thoughtfully, she lips at the flames of auburn red mane and forelock, grooming a somewhat stranger with a sense of purpose she had not fulfilled in many, many years. She would perhaps find herself silly; she’s not sure that she would be this delicate or soft-spoken with anyone in Loess (or in all of Beqanna, for that matter), but the fact that her own blood now has returned to her, the fiery and spirited mare seems quieter and gentler, at least when it came to that of her children.
Kuma returns the gesture, her the dark auburn of her muzzle gently grooming the blazing red of Merida’s tangled and thick mane. Her daughter pauses, her gaze falling downcast and the air hanging loosely with hesitancy. The fiery-gazed mare watches Kuma carefully, her black lips pressing in to a thin line.
She knows the answer to the question, for if Kuma had asked her, she would have hesitated as well. Most everyone had departed when the Reckoning hit, but Merida knew she spent too many moons away from Beqanna before returning, her wanderlust soul carrying her farther than she intended. She wonders now, if that’s perhaps why it has taken them so long to find each other again – because Merida had been gone too long.
But now was not the time to divulge in such disparaging thoughts, or to confess the dangerous treks taken to find their ways back home, or the promises made to more powerful creatures along the way.
“Of course you are okay,” Merida says with a gentle huff and a flick of her tail against her red-flecked ebony flank. “I didn’t teach you to not be able to fend for yourself!” The black mare laughs gently, bobbing her head forward to touch noses with Kuma. Merida brings her head to her chest, eyes like glowing embers finding her daughter’s. “I won’t allow myself to lose you again,” she says suddenly, almost to herself.
With a quiet snort, the mare lifts her eyes to gaze at the stars that had formed above them as dusk fell into early evening. A sigh leaves her lips as she inhales the sweet springtime air that flows around them in the wind. “This is Loess.”
09-20-2017, 09:27 PM (This post was last modified: 09-20-2017, 09:28 PM by Kuma.)
Kuma allows herself a gentle sigh of relief as her mother's question is tossed off the table. All too often the pintaloosa had found herself lonely and heartbroken, but to tell her mother of the pain their departure had caused seemed unnecessarily cruel. In time, she might find the words to tell her mother, but for now, she wanted to keep their meeting happy.
She laughs at her mother's words - the memories were faded, but the way she was raised still affected her. She was intelligent and strong-willed just like her mother; of course she could fend for herself, even if the circumstances of that independence wasn't "normal."
"You certainly did, mom," She redirects her gaze as her mother introduces her to Loess. Kuma smiles. "We can't be too different...our travels both led us here." She moves closer to her mother, staring up at the early night sky. Too long they had been apart, too long staring at the same sky but so far from each other. A single tear of happiness falls from her eyes as she looks back to the ebony mare in front of her.
The world worked in mysterious ways...but she was glad it had led them to finding each other.
