"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
Tangerine Dreamed
and dreamed and dreamed and dreamed
strange dreams which left her reeling in the morning, aching and confused. Dreams which demanded to be pondered and turned over and over in her mind. But what had first been an exciting insight was becoming a tiring responsibility. The dreams were never crystalline, they were fragments of a whole - reflected light and memories. They had to be interpreted.
Sometimes she did not read the magic right, that failure was a heavy stone to carry in her chest.
A foal had died, and she had known it would happen.
Or she should have known.
That was a stone Solace would carry for the rest of her life - because of her failure to properly use the gift she had been given.
The painted mare was tired of dreaming, she was tired of the small volcanic islands and when she grew tired she ran. The setting sun had been her guiding star pulling her west along the northern coast until she reached The River. She ran until her muscles ached and her lungs were want to burst.
And so, when she descends the mountains which guard Amet's lake, her lake, it is with a tight and short stride. But the ache she feels gives her satisfaction.
Tang would always be a drifter as long as she had four strong legs to carry her.
She was never as happy as when she was traveling, and today, there is nowhere else she would rather be traveling to.
The lake sits in a well of shadow as the sun flames low on the western horizon, its last rays kissing the gold of her coat with warmth. With her head high, the seer calls for the king in a voice loud and clear and ringing with renewed life.
The magical paste the red wytch had prepared seems to be working. While she still spends most of her time inert on the shoreline, her strength is slowly building. Sometimes she is able to stand and graze with the support of Amet’s body but only for a few minutes before she feels completely drained. She doesn’t mind even though her “bedrest” can be frightfully boring when the gilded King was gone. Healing takes patience and anything is better then being in the Underneath.
Since the red mare had come and gone, she had no other visitors besides the scaled stallion. It didn’t really bother her after being a hermit like wanderer for so long. Still, with nothing else to do and unable to travel, she longs for something to happen. A new face, a kingdom visit. Anything to watch as she waits for nightfall. Once the sky darkens and the stars come out, then she has something else to occupy her. The star power she wields was still foreign but becoming more comfortable with each time she practices with it. She can call the stars down to shield around her but not much else, unsure of exactly how much protection they can offer.
When the call for Amet comes, she eagerly lifts her head to see the source. The swirling in her silver eyes seems to quicken as she looks with interest on the painted mare in the distance. For a moment she is quiet, remembering being so easily deceived in the upside down. However the call seemed friendly enough. ”Hello!” She calls from her place by the lake. She glances around quickly, not sensing Amet around. ”Perhaps I can help?” She calls again, hoping she’s made the right decision. Forgetting she is covered in the dried mud paste that clings to the hundreds of healing wounds over her body. Not exactly the right attire for visitors.
09-16-2017, 03:57 PM (This post was last modified: 09-16-2017, 04:12 PM by Tangerine.)
tangerine
face to the sun
Tang continues to pick her way down the mountain, taking a well-used path to avoid straining her already exhausted muscles. As the painted mare draws close to the lake shore she catches the scent of the newcomer before she sees her, and this allows her to easily masks the surprise she feels. The girl smells of herbs and mud, of her dragon king and the red mare. She pushes aside the questions that these scents bring.
"Hello," The stranger calls from her place beside the water, "Hello." Tangerine answers. She smiles at the girl's question before making her way into the water to soak her tired legs. But Tang looks back to the dark mare with a friendly face, glad to see at least one new soul has found its way to the sanctuary of The Lake while she had been gone. "I'm here to see an old friend." calls out to the mud-covered mare before quickly dunking her head to loosen the dirt from her travels. When she surfaces, her black forelock is plastered behind one ear and her amber eyes sparkle with curiosity. "I'm Tangerine," The water swirls around her shoulders and Tang takes a step towards the shore so she can better see the other. "What should I call you?"
She chooses not to address her injuries - obviously, she is not in immediate need of aid and Tang doesn't want to make her feel awkward. So, the gold and cream dreamer lowers her muzzle to take a long drink while she awaits the stranger's response and Amet's appearance.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
The sky is alight with fire this evening, and cloudless as they sit on the cusp of nightfall. Amet has taken to the mountainside for a few minutes of solitude, resting upon a shale plateau to watch over Hyaline as the sun sets. He doesn't rest here often, surrounded by treetops and rock faces, instead preferring to mingle by the lake, but the young stallion has allowed nostalgia to creep around his brain unbridled, bringing his thoughts to Iset. He used to be able to find her up here, hidden between the boulders or high up on the peaks. Her scent is long gone, vanished after the attack, but he still holds out hope that his talk with her in the Forest will convince her to come back to Hyaline. To come back home.
He lets a long, low sigh escape his ajar muzzle just before the flash of a familiar painted frame appears from within a grove of trees just downhill from him, only to disappear beneath more branches as she heads for the center of his home. The young King raises his head swiftly, an instantaneous smile playing at the corners of his lips as he starts his journey from the plateau, descending the mountainside carefully as he goes.
The gilded stallion moves swiftly but does not rush; his excitement to see Tang back in Hyaline is immeasurable, but it's been nearly a year since he's seen her, even longer without Warrick by her side, and he feels inclined to avoid overwhelming her lest she wish to return to Tephra too soon. When he finally arrives at the crystalline lake, his amber eyes alight to see Ciri standing at the shoreline with mud caked to her sides and a pleasant expression upon her face. He moves his lithe frame towards the shoreline, stopping just between the two of them where the water licks at his hooves, an excited smile blossoming where he had previously tried to contain it.
"I must be in heaven," he says to the two of them as his ears flutter this way and that. He finally allows his gaze to settle upon the painted Tang, chest deep in the clear lake, for more than a brief second and a warm nicker falls from his maw. "My name is Amet," he jests lightheartedly as his smile transforms into a smirk, "In case you didn't remember." He turns his eyes back to Ciri and extends his neck, closing the distance between them until his muzzle rests momentarily at her cheek. "And I'm glad to see you're doing better, Ciri."
Tang is confusing to her at first. She has been in Hyaline through winter with none but Amet to keep her company. Then the painted mare comes, slipping into the lakes water with an intimate knowledge. It’s obvious to the swirling metallic iris’s as she drinks in the bathing paint that she knows Hyaline well. And the Dragon King even better. Before she can speak, the man of the hour arrives.
Amet has heard the call and there is a restraint in his gait that he fails to hide in his eyes. She can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm but there is a hesitance of her own that lingers in her gaze. Realizing with a jolt that their easy dynamic might be altered now. It had dawned on her once that perhaps Amet had a mate or a family. When none had come forward, when the days passed and it had just been the two of them, she had grown accustomed to it. Had let the thought fall in the wind.
She’s not sure how she feels now that the balance has been upset.
Despite the sudden bewilderment of her feelings, she can’t help but snort in laughter. A brow raises at him, questioning his sanity with such a cheesy comment. A slow breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding, escapes softly from her lips as he reaches for her. Extending her own muzzle in return as his presses lightly to her cheek, sweeping lightly beneath his jaw. ”A bit yes.”
She was getting better, her wounds were closing beneath the mud. Soon they would be pinched white scars that laced over the length of her ebony pelt. Only the long talon marks along her shoulder proves resistant which was not surprising when she recalled the dirty nails that caused them. Still her full strength had yet to return, even now the act of standing was tiring. She forces herself to stay upright as she watches the reunion.
”I’m Ciri.” She greets more formally, pulling back from Amet with sudden reluctance. Suddenly feeling a bit like the third wheel. ”I suppose a welcome home is in order.” The small smile on her lips but wondering if perhaps she had stayed in Hyaline too long, had outstayed her own welcome.
From between the young wisteria trees, the golden king makes his appearance. His ears flutter between the two women and his joy is evident. As his smile changes to a confident smirk Tang can't help but laugh, overlooking any connotations, because she is happy to see his cheeky humor has not diminished.
She dismissively (yet playfully) flicks her tale in his direction at his last comment. "As if anyone could you get you, Amet." Circling back for a final cleansing from the pristine lake waters before pulling herself, dripping, onto the shore. She half watched as Amet exchanged a few quiet word with his charge, noticing the way his quip does not seem to sit well with her. "I hear you have been building and burning bridges with a fury."
A weariness seems to come over the smokey mare, her demeanor no longer holding the same cheerfulness as when Tang had first caught sight of her. Tang shakes the water from her lingering winter pelt, making sure to stand far enough away from the pair as not to splash them. Maybe her wounds were more extensive than Tangerine had first thought.
"Thank you Ciri, I wouldn't miss spring in Hyaline for anything." She sends Ciri a reassuring smile before turning her bright honey eyes to rest on the Akhal-teke. "Amet, you should know that Svedka spoke of nothing other than 'The King with The Golden Scales' for days after you left. And Solace for once didn't seem to mind his chatter - she adored you too, in her own quiet way."
Her gaze flits back to Ciri then, with a laugh playing at the corners of her mouth. "Amet is quite popular wherever he goes, I'm sure you are not surprised by that." Their dragon king had a big heart, with room for all of his subjects in his good graces. There was no better kingdom for someone in need of help, like this mare seems to be, to have stumbled into. And once she was recovered, maybe she would help in offering the same tender aid she was given to others.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
Amet had thoroughly enjoyed the time he had spent with Ciri; he had grown used to checking on her regularly, finding that asking about her well-being was a great excuse to seek her out whenever he craved their conversations. He tried not to mention the Underneath often, if ever, unless she was the one to mention it first, opting to keep their conversations pleasant so that, maybe, she would decide that she'd like to remain within Hyaline when she was feeling better.
He has come to know when her smile is genuine (her eyes crease at the corners, the silver within them bright and welcoming), and while the expression she beholds at his arrival is warm, it doesn't reach her eyes. He wants to frown and ask her what's wrong, but not here in front of Tang, so his excited grin remains as he closes the space between himself and the starry-eyed girl, making sure his soft muzzle lingers against her skin for a beat or two before he withdraws from her familiar scent.
When he brings his gaze to Tang, his grin grows more mischievous. He gives a sheepish shrug of his leather-plated shoulders and tilts his head to the side playfully, "Building more than burning, I hope." His recently-cemented alliance with Tephra has him feeling excited - the possibilities are endless, and so is the respect he feels for Offspring and Warrick. He turns his amber eyes to Ciri so that he can explain, considering the fact that Hyaline's allies hadn't been on the forefront of his mind when he'd found her, tattered and bleeding by the lake. "Until very recently, Hyaline was a subkingdom of Nerine. My decision to remove this territory from that arrangement did not go smoothly." Worry plays at his gilded face, albeit briefly, before Tang speaks of her children and laughter is falling from his maw yet again.
"The King with the Golden Scales..." he mulls over the nickname as a wave of nostalgia crashes over him, of the nicknames he and his siblings had given Him in their youth. "There are worse nicknames, yes?" He pauses fleetingly and shifts his weight upon the moist earth, his hooves sinking further into the silt. "You know... you can always send them to come hang out with Uncle Amet, if you and Warrick ever require a babysitter," he says with a grin, nodding appreciatively as Tang comments on his popularity.
He sidesteps closer to Ciri then, the muscles in his scaled neck rippling as he extends his maw to lip at her mane briefly, his light tone drifting back to Tang, "Keep going, Tang. If you make me sound exciting enough, Ciri may stay with me here once she's healed," the Dragon King jests playfully, though there's an obvious truth hidden beneath the hope in his words.
They seem to fall in place so easily. How wonderful it must be to have someone you are so close to that you can not see them for a long stretch of time and yet everything stays the same. Amet’s kindness reaches for her again, including her in the conversation so she does not feel awkward. Kingdom business is not something she knows much of. She hears bits and pieces in travel, rumors mostly. However not being part of one makes her lack interest in such things. Still, the thought of the scaled stallion getting a rise out of anyone is hard to grasp. Then again, he is the Dragon King for a reason, he cares deeply for these lands. She can see the hint of ferocity that may stir beneath his breast if the place he loved was threatened.
For a moment she is excluded as they joke and banter, left awkward and reeling even if it’s unintentional. She uses these minutes to allow herself to fold to the earth, sinking into the cool grass with relief. Her limbs had started to tremble with the stress of appearing fine and she sighs softly as her sore and aching body finds relief. Not paying attention to the phrase of Uncle Amet. A soft tug at her mane brings her back to focus, that he is by her side once more. Gently lipping at her mane, a quiver of pleasure stirring within her. Smokey forelock falls across the swirling silver of her eyes as he hints around the not so hidden question. ”At least awhile longer… I doubt I could make it over the hill yet.” She laughs softly, already coping with the trauma of what had befallen her.
”Where have you been staying Tang?” She asks quietly, not wanting to be a distraction or a downer on their reunion.
