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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


    I Hope You Made It Out (Ruan, Jinju, Ander, Polaris, Circinae)
    #1
    Aten had meant to start his search many suns ago, but the day that Taiga sank into the ocean and the wolves of water and fire appeared, everything had basically gone to hell. The stallion, as he hoped for his friends, had successfully made it out with his life, but not without injury. It could've been much worse, considering there had been wolves on his heels on the way out, but at most, he got away with a few burns. Of course, that wasn't saying they weren't painful. The ones on his pasterns from the forest fire sometime ago were painful enough.

    The golden stallion now had freshly healing burn marks on the lower half of his legs, as well as some on the upper half and on the underside of his barrel from when he was splashing in the boiling hot water in an effort to change his course of travel after he got distracted. The pain was still fresh in his mind to this day, along with what he endured during his swim across the River in order to escape Taiga's destruction.

    Now, with his beautiful home a part of the ocean, and none of his friends anywhere to be seen, Aten finally shook off the pain best he could and began searching for anyone that had managed to escape Taiga's destruction. During his search, he heard tales of the stallion, Gryffen, who had been the one that took over during the day Ruan was away. To this day, Aten still didn't know why. He truthfully wanted to be mad at the stallion for abandoning his post, but there were a few problems. One, Aten didn't know the whole story as to why Ruan had disappeared the way he did while the golden stallion was off at the gladiator fight. And two, being mad at Ruan would not help bring the Taiga back to its former glory. The only thing that could do that was time, patience, and the grace and generosity of Beqanna to heal the land and make it habitable again for her residents.

    In the meantime, Aten would continue searching for his friends. During these past few moons, Aten saw nor heard any sign of them. Ruan, Jinju, Circinae, Ander, Polaris, he trulls feared the worst. He doubted that any of them had perished in the destruction, but it would not put his mind at ease until he saw them with his own eyes. And that was saying something, considering he had not even met Ander. He'd seen the colt in passing, but since Jinju seemed absorbed in letting the other stallion be a part of her son's life, more than likely because he was the sire, Aten saw no reason to intrude on family business and so kept to himself. Plus, perhaps, if Jinju wanted Aten to meet Ander, she might have taken the initiative and brought him along.

    The golden stallion had been searching through the Forest for a good part of the morning, his muscles tired from how long he had been walking. The scars on his legs had been burning since the early morning hours, and Aten now actually considered putting them in the water again just to cool them off. Eventually, and now unable to deal with it, the stallion changed course and made his way to the River not far off, gritting his teeth as he knew this would be an unpleasant experience.

    When Aten reached the river, the stallion, still heavily on edge, looked each and every direction to ensure that there were no signs of approaching trouble. Once he felt it was safe enough, Aten lowered his head for a drink before getting to the main event. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flared and teeth tightly clenched to avoid letting out a pained cry. Lifting a hoof, he, step by step, entered the river until all four hooves were soaked. It was a painstaking process, since this was where the worst of his burns were, but eventually, the pain slowly began to subside to a dull ache.

    Not wanting to press his chances, Aten waited a few more minutes before going any deeper. He forced himself on, deeper into the river, until he was up to his breastbone. At this time, all the scars and burns were now submerged in frigid water, the stallion tucking his head in and forcing himself to breath calmly and try to forget the pain.

    Instead, he thought of his friends, and their fate following Taiga's destruction. What had become of them over these moons since their home had been wrecked? Had Ruan managed to escape with Jinju, Circinae, and the two foals? Was Circinae's unborn foal okay, still growing healthy in her belly? Were Ander and Polaris both fine and well? Though Aten didn't know her well, he recalled that the filly was literally made of glass, so if there was a reason to worry for her above the others, that was it.

    The golden stallion stood in the water for some time before the pain of the burn scars finally began to subside until he no longer felt them. A dull throbbing was the only sign that they had caused him pain earlier. Aten didn't know a lot about medical things or how to treat cuts and burns, but if this pain was anything to go by, he knew this would be his routine for a couple more suns until the scars were completely covered by new skin to protect the burns from the forest environment.

    Stepping back out onto the bank, Aten made his way to the shade of a tree, wanting a few moments of peace and quiet. However, when he stood still, the burning came back, which, of course, angered him. Taking a breath and reminding himself it would not help, the stallion gave up the shade and resumed his trek through the forest, every so often letting out a whinny to see if any of his friends, should they be nearby, would respond to let him know they were okay.

    @[Ruan] @[Jinju] @[Ander] @[Circinae]
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    #2

    -Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-

    Is it sad that she’s the only one that comes? Ruan - the once mighty leader of Taiga was now nowhere to be found. He’d let them all slip into despair without so much as a wave goodbye. The emerald mare still remembers the last time Aten had sought her out, by her den. He’d come, panting and weary, to ask about the new leadership but their conversation had run its course much sooner than expected.

    When she spies him now it’s with the slight downturn of her emerald lips. “Poor Aten.” She thinks while she slips free from her cover of trees so that he might see her and cease his bellowing. The fire had ravaged him, no doubt the wolves haunted him; loyal as ever though he came back for the vagabond Taigan’s of his past. “Poor, sweet Aten.”

    “I’m here.” She calls out softly, trotting ahead to where he paces to asses the damage on his skin and to keep him from irritating it further with unnecessary exercise. “Aten, my god, what happened to you?” The green mare starts, whuffing gently over the charred bits of proudflesh. Jah could do something with it, she was sure - her Earth-love was capable of miracles (even those that dealt with healing broken hearts.) “I’m sorry that this had to happen to you … to all of us.” She tells him suddenly, head rising to pin him with austere, blue eyes.

    “I intend to fix things.”

    Circinae



    @[Aten]
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    #3
    After what seemed like an eternity of wandering in search of his friends, he heard a voice. It was only one, indicating the owner was alone, but it was a welcome factor in the face of what Aten had gone through in the Taiga. The tired stallion turned his head, seeing the emerald green mare, Circinae, appearing from the trees and making her way over to him. Her call was soft, alerting him with a simple call of 'I'm here'. From a distance he sees the frown on her lips, wondering what that was about.

    Was she disappointed that he was alone? That he'd not yet found anyone else that had escaped the Taiga's wrath? For a moment, considering that when she came up to him and lowered her head a little to look at the burn marks on his belly and legs, he thought her sadness might be from concern over his own health, but Aten doubted it. She had more important things to worry about, namely Jinju along with her own foals if any had been in Taiga when it went to hell.

    Aten stopped walking to let Circinae assess the damage to his body, somewhat relieved that he did not have to continue on for now. The burning sensation did return, but at a less severe level, indicating that moving around a little eased the pain. It wasn't really like the fire was still lapping at his hooves; it was more of a powerful itch, a persistent one that wouldn't let go unless Aten moved around for a while. He could put up with the itch to a degree but eventually refused to deal with it anymore and so walked around until it went away.

    Circinae asked Aten what happened to him, and he was ready to respond when he felt her breath ghost over some of the burn scars on his leg. He gritted his teeth as the burn returned, but subsided quicker than it usually did. For some reason, that cold breath had felt good, and he secretly wished she'd down it again to try and eliminate the rest of the pain.

    He answered her question in a tired voice, his once proud tone now defeated since he was upset at Taiga's loss and the fact that, besides Circinae of course, he had yet to find any of his other friends. "I was... close to the ocean... when it happened... The boiling water, it came after me... the wolves chased me, and I got around, but... I ran straight into the water... burned myself, before I got out." He hissed again as he lifted a leg to show Circinae that most of the damage was around the bottom of his hooves where they'd gone in the water, immediately regretting the action.

    He was surprised when Circinae suddenly started apologizing, not only for what happened to him but everyone else in the Taiga. She made a vow to fix things, and though Aten had to admire her determination, he knew she couldn't do anything rash.

    The golden stallion looked down at the emerald mare, her eyes already locked on his from when she made her vow, "You have nothing... to apologize for..." he huffed out in a breath, still a bit under the weather from inhaling smoke from the burning trees that the lava wolves set on fire. No doubt he'd be seeing them in his nightmares for some time.

    "You... can't do... it alone... you shouldn't... and you mustn't... do anything... rash... I will help," he told her in a soft tone, not really scolding her for such an idea. He had no right to. Instead, Aten's gaze briefly drifted to her belly, remembering a piece of news Ruan told him a long while back, and something he'd confirmed when he visited her den shortly after his return from the gladiator fight.

    His brown eyes locked on hers again, noticing the fire in those blue jewels, "Circinae... your young one... is it all right?" he questioned. Circinae making it out of the Taiga was great news, but considering she was carrying a young one in her belly, he was worried that the poor thing may have suffered some... unseen consequences, during it's mother's escape.

    @[Circinae]
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    #4

    -Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-

    Aten’s breathless summary explains the burns, then. With a nod to his risen hoof the little mare shudders internally. The water had overtaken her too, but with far less consequences (none at all, really, since she never feared to drown anymore.) All in all, Taiga was gone and her people with her - those that remained were transforming themselves and for the better. The past was never a place to live in, continuation was all that Circinae had to drive her. That, and her family - but they are worlds apart from duty or sacrifice.

    “Aten, aten …” She soothes as he struggles to force words from smoke-riddled lungs. It’s hard not to smile, he’s just so determined and eager to play the role of white knight; nevermind the fact that he was the one injured and frantic while she was whole and quite calm. “Your concern for me is touching but I assure you, all is well. My interests lie in you.” The pony-mare relates, settling into a relaxed stance with hopes that he might feel less inclined to be so endearing.

    “Can you start from the beginning, please?” Circi asks. It was important now to deflect all conversation away from what was to come of the ragtag, leftover Taigan’s - let the apricot stallion worry less over semantics or what may come to pass, his involvement in Gryffen’s group had been nonexistent thus far and it was her intention to keep it that way. “What did Ruan tell you? Were you working on something with him - perhaps an alliance with other kingdoms, or plans he might have had for the future?”

    Circinae

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    #5
    Aten found Circinae's voice comforting in the face of his own and how he was trying to tell her what he could. The stallion shivered at hearing the sound of his own voice. It sounded like somebody shoved a load of stones and dirt down his throat! Circinae stressed the importance that he needed to take care of his own health now despite her pregnancy. Aten could see her point, but it was in his nature to put others before himself.

    Still, Aten could see it in the mare's eyes that she might get annoyed if he asked any more questions about her own personal health. So, with a deep breath and a look over the mare to see that she was standing in a relaxed posture, no doubt trying to help him feel the same, Aten allowed his tension to disappear, albeit in a slow fashion since he was also on edge following Taiga's destruction and plagued by the nightmares he recently had involving the wolves.

    Circinae then asked the golden stallion to start from the beginning of his half of the story, something they hadn't really gotten to the last time he'd seen her at her den. She inquired if it had to do with Ruan, if the older stallion tasked Aten with anything outside the kingdom. He took a breath before beginning his explanation.

    "It was not the biggest task; Ruan heard that I was going to participate in the gladiator fight over in Nerine. He asked me to try and meet with the kingdom's leader while I was there, but sadly I never got to do so. I was also away for longer than I thought since new competitors joined and they extended the length of the fight. After I failed to have a meeting with Nerine's leader, I came back to Taiga and found out that Gryffen had taken over since Ruan was also gone. Beyond that, the rest of what happened I found out when I talked to you. And then next thing I knew, well..." he stopped there, knowing Circinae would pick up on the rest.
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    #6

    -Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-

    So, Ruan and Nayl were getting chummy, it would seem. The grandiose lady of Nerine, though unknown physically to the emerald mare, is still a name that many have heard. Her rule had been iron-strong and the upspringing of two subkingdoms that hailed her as their leader did nothing but spur her further into the public light. It would have been a crushing and all-encompassing blow, had Ruan bent the knee - for once the little mother is happy that her previous Alpha had been so willful and recluse.

    Whatever the desired result had been, it mattered no longer. Already steps were set into motion that would level the playing field of Beqanna. They had lost one kingdom entirely already - how many more were to fall before Nayl and her kind realized the future couldn’t be held back? Change was coming, for all of them, and it was the shifter’s intent to see that it affected her and her people with only positive results.

    “Aten, you’re free to make your own choices now. Ruan, I believe, will not come back. The rest? We can only hope that their faces will show with time. For myself and my family a new start waits for us in Hyaline.” She tells him steadily, once his speech has wound into silence. “It would give me peace of mind to see you there, but if your heart points you in another direction I understand.” Circinae muses with a soft smile.

    With the bold shake of her two-toned neck the little mare shifts; her body stretches, shrinks down and bleeds color until all that remains is a slender, tawny and oak wolf. With the blink of round eyes, the predator turns a wide face upwards to stare at Aten. “Mention my name at the lake kingdom and you should have no trouble. But if you go -” She pauses, all traces of laughter or joy erased from her person, “- do me a favor and skip by Sylva altogether.”

    In closing, she only flicks her tail silently as a wave before turning to bound away into the shadows.

    Circinae

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