Burst into Stars [Merida/Any]

[Merida]

Merida

from the ashes, a fire shall be awoken

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