"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
09-18-2017, 08:42 PM (This post was last modified: 10-11-2017, 05:09 PM by Amet.)
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
Hidden away from the lake and tucked against the base Hyaline's northern mountain, Amet has spent a handful of days preparing. He'd happened upon a quiet thicket of wisteria trees, blooming in the springtime air, where conversation and prying eyes couldn't reach. He'd nearly lost his way the second time around, after he'd formed his plan and was set to commence. Finally the Dragon King had created a decent enough path from the center of Hyaline, though not one that would (or could) be detected easily.
His heart beats swiftly, uncertain and anxious as he dotes upon the cozy hideaway he'd discovered within the circle of flower-boughed trees. The purple offshoots hang beneath the weight of their perennials, creating a private space within that he'd blanketed with more purple flowers. The work was a combination of his own doing (he'd snapped branches with his blunt teeth, tossing the flowers around the den) and of nature's, and the end result is charming. He stands in the middle of the small clearing, just enough space for himself and another with a little breathing room in between, and is careful not to rummage his hooves around in the flower bed too aggressively as he inspects his work.
Amet's mouth is dry now (now that he's finished, now that he can call her here) and he slowly, tentatively, pulls himself from the blooming trees. His whistle to Ciri reverberates loudly through the forest, one long call, before he stands expectantly, his muscles flexing nervously beneath shimmering scales. He tries his best to calm the sporadic beat of his heart, but it's to no avail, and when the starry-eyed girl finally finds his hiding place, he can't find his voice.
One. Two. Three.
"Oh, uh, hi there," his voice shakes and he laughs at himself in embarrassment, "I've, uh... been wanting to talk to you? If you're, uh... if that's okay?"
Spring has come and signs of new life are everywhere. New faces appear to call the lake home, babies are born with fresh potential, blank chapters begging to be written. The flowers peel open their bright petals and reach for the warmth of the sun. It is a breathtaking place, Hyaline in Spring. And she is leaving it.
The gnawing discomfort in her heart grows day by day. She finds herself searching for his smile, reaching for the soothing presence of his warm gilded gaze upon her. It frightens her, this feeling that seems to grow as the days pass. She was at least certain of the things she had faced in the Underneath, they had been clear in their intent as monsters. Amet was more confusing, the thoughts he inspired in her. The thought that there might be more then just friendship between them.
She’s certain she must be the only one to feel the tension, for he gives his smiles and affection willingly to any that seek it. It was his way, to comfort and bring happiness to his people. She does not like the gnawing envy in her chest when he looks to anyone but her. It wasn’t like her, to be so affected by one person. To be affected by anything really. Every night she looks to the stars above, seeking an answer in their twirling gaze. For once they are silent, leaving the decision up to her.
So she decides it’s best to go, go now. Before anyone gets hurt, before she gets hurt.
Heart heavy, her slow steps reluctantly start to plod around the lake. Searching for him. Her wounds are now ugly scars that mark her black coat like chalk. Her strength was back enough for her to move short distances. She can make the trip in time back to the common lands. To return to the life she had always know. Her chest constricts with the thought of his disappointment. She’s unsure of what she will even say. What could she say? He had nursed her back to health and now she was going, would he understand?
His piercing whistle cuts to the core of her, making her freeze in her tracks. Dread spreading over her, not ready to face him. Her hooves reluctantly carry her battered figure in the direction of his voice. A frown flickers at the corner of her lips, her features confused when she realizes he won’t be easy to find. A small trail of flattened grass gives her a clue and she winds up the hill, going further then she ever has into Hyaline before.
When she finally spots him, she is tired. Her barrel heaves with the effort of going so far, not use to such exertion since her illness. The smile comes natural and unbidden when her metallic gaze falls on him, instantly forgetting why she had needed to see him to begin with. Slowly the reason filtering back as she closes the distance between them and there’s something uneasy that hints at the back of the swirling silver. The scaled King is framed on both sides by long heavy boughs laden with flowers. The scent of wisteria and honeysuckle lingers in the air around him as she searches his face. Worry on her own expression as she realizes how on edge he is. ”Is everything ok?” She whispers softly, her own nerves starting to get the best of her. Maybe he already knew. Her concern grows, confirmed, when he says he needs to talk to her.
”Amet…” She pauses, her mouth suddenly dry. Searching his golden eyes intensely before something catches her gaze behind him. Slowly, aching, she moves slightly past him. Her eyes widening as she catches a peek of what lay behind him. Curiosity as she flicks back to him, a question in her eyes.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
Ciri ventures through the forest towards Amet and his amber eyes fall on her when she is only a few yards away. His chest seems to rattle beneath the momentum behind his heart but he's still able to give her a sheepish grin, to ask her if they can talk. She seems off-put or concerned, perhaps a bit of suspicion in her swirled silver eyes, and it puts the gilded stallion even more on edge. He shifts his weight from side to side, the low-hanging wisteria boughs threatening to brush against his neck and head.
"Everything will be okay," he finally says, his voice a quite whisper, "if you agree to stay in Hyaline with me." His amber eyes search hers frantically, knowing full well that she will have an immediate rebuttal for his request, "Before you say no..."
He steps to the side so that she can see beyond him and into the wisteria den. He looks back at his creation proudly for a moment before his gaze turns back to the scarred mare who had made herself an important piece of Hyaline. He couldn't just watch her walk away now; not after he had cared for her, had grown accustomed to seeing her smile... not when she makes his heart beat faster and his mouth dry whenever his bright eyes settle on her. The Dragon King pivots slightly, standing perpendicular between Ciri and the private lair he'd created for them.
"It's cheesy, I know," he admits with an amused grimace, though he hopes with all of his heart that she will love it. With a quiet nicker, the gold and bronze beast tosses his head to the side and gives her a sly smile. "After you, akmar," the pet name from his homeland slipping effortlessly from Amet's lips.
This is a new side of Amet. Fidgeting, unsure, his brow dipping low in his agitation. There’s a weight in the pit of her stomach but she tries to play it off, giving him a tight smile and willing herself to relax. A flower loosens it’s hold from the branch it once called home and she raises her head, extending her muzzle to meet it as it glides through the air past them. The sweet scents act as aromatherapy, the tightness in her chest loosening slightly as she inhales deeply.
Everything will be ok, his heavy whisper and her eyes find his questioningly. Almost pleading. But she says nothing, words refusing to cooperate. He wants her to stay but she is tongue tied, so many questions flooding through her head. Why? As a friend… Or more? These feelings seem like such a risk, would it be worth it in the long run? Then there was the playful flirtation he had with Tang, they were so comfortable within each other’s presence. Easy going. They seemed to fit, the painted mare and the gilded stallion. Pieces of the same puzzle. A puzzle her rough edge perhaps did not fit into.
Still the mystery of what lay behind the curtain of branches and flowers is too enticing to miss. Her curiosity is piqued and when he steps aside, a soft gasp finds her lips. The willowy curtains have parted to reveal the sweet smelling flower bed arranged before her. Soft grass seems to call to her, begging to be laid in. Purple flowers seem to have fallen just right to create such a pleasing and magical image. She can see in her head, how he would have pushed the branches into place, just right.
For a moment she completely forgets the anxiety that had been plaguing her, the reason why she wanted to talk to him. It’s washed away with the rush of emotion that takes hold instead. Her heart flutters wildly against her chest as her silver swirls search his face. Glad for once of her dark skin that hides cheeks that are surely flushed. ”You did this for me?” She whispers, taken aback that anyone would do something like this for her. Nobody had ever been as kind to her as he had been. This though.... This took the cake.
She slips into the private space, the long feelers of leaves brushing lightly against the deep scars of her skin. Her aching body happily meets the cool grass as her legs fold beneath her, her muzzle pushed into the pleasant fresh greenery as she inhales deeply. Looking up at him, joy in her eyes. ”It’s wonderful!” Laughing softly, as lightly as the stars that twinkle in the sky. ”What is a… Akmar?” She asks softly, beckoning him to join her. Pushing back the nagging thoughts that try to force their way back, to remind her that this too would pass.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
His stomach pitches and twists uncomfortably for the brief moment between when he steps aside for Ciri and when her silver eyes fall upon the scene he has created for them. Amet's uncertainty feeds off of the smoky mare's just as she does his; the Dragon King forces himself to take a slow inhale in an effort to calm the heartbeat that reverberates in his pricked ears and then thankfully, finally, her soft gasp ebbs away all of his worry.
Amet smiles, his amber eyes alight with excitement and guile as she turns to query him. "Of course I did," he offers with a wide grin before taking another step backwards to give Ciri room to step into the den. He pokes his gilded head in after her, watching the smoky black mare circle around and then finally lay upon the soft bedding. The Dragon King laughs happily at the way she shoves her muzzle into the forest floor to inhale the sweetness of the flowers and the supple grass beneath them, pride swelling in his chest over the work he had put into her surprise. It's wonderful, she exclaims with joy in her swirling silver eyes.
Amet joins her happily, his head tucked low beneath the branches as he turns carefully so that he can rest himself gently upon the earth, face-to-face with the grinning Ciri. She questions the nickname he has given her and Amet regards her with confusion for a brief moment before laughter slips from his mouth. "I didn't realize I had said that out loud," he admits sheepishly before reaching his muzzle out to the scarred mare, gently running it over her neck and shoulder, where the claw marks had healed pink and puckered.
"It means shining brilliance in the language of my homeland," the gilded stallion finally offers in response to her questioning, "Akmar, like the stars." His last sentence is a gentle murmur, barely audible except to the mare whose ear he has whispered it in. His amber eyes watch Ciri closely for her reaction.
Amet slips in to lay across from her, face to face. They had laid together a thousand times in the course of her healing but this felt different. A low hum of invisible electricity seems to jolt through her system every time her swirling eyes find his gilded ones. What was this? Perhaps it was the anxiety gnawing it’s way back to her chest, loathe to leave him. Fear of losing the only true friendship she had ever had. Or something else entirely. She had always been one of the guys, crushes and relationships had always escaped her. Been unimportant and beneath her.
She had never realized what they could hold or mean.
He is sheepish when she asks about the strange word. She means to press him further but is distracted as his muzzle extends to run lightly over the puckered flesh of her closed wounds. A shudder runs through her body but it’s far from unpleasant. Almost shyly she tucks her own soft muzzle to her chest, not meaning to give him such a coquettish look as she peers through stray tendrils of ebony forelock. His touch is like forbidden fruit, a breathless experience as his caress becomes more exotic every day they spend together. Her mind wanders to the possibilities, things she had only ever heard but never seen for herself. It makes her flush although it doesn’t show on her dark skin.
"Shining brilliance" he finally whispers in her ear and she can’t help but look at him with wide eyes. Trying to gage exactly what he sees in her. ”Akmar…” She whispers back, thinking he is just as shiningly brilliant if not more so than her. The soft smile on her lips fades slightly, remembering that she couldn’t put this off forever. ”Amet… You’ve done so much for me. I couldn't possibly ever repay you.” Hesitating, lowering her gaze to the lush forest floor. Unwilling to see the hurt she would cause. ”I don’t know what I can contribute here. I haven’t been a part of a kingdom since I was a child and that I can barely remember.” The words rushed and blurry, just wanting to get them out before she can’t. Hyaline already had a Protector and besides she hadn't made a good case for herself washing up on the lake shore in her sorry condition. ”I fear I’ll be in your way if I stay.” A sharp inhale, bracing herself even as she regrets saying it. ”I think it’s time for me to go.”
Her head low and her gaze lower, hating herself for spoiling such a magical thing and secretly wishing in the back of her head that he would protest.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
He is brave enough to maintain the contact between his muzzle and her shoulder, but not yet brave enough to confess that he wants her for his own. Amet's shining eyes watch her questioningly, wondering if she would ever consider him to be anything more than a caretaker. He had seen her with Tang - the way she'd tensed, nearly retreating into the shell he had found her in - and so the gilded stallion has an uncertain inkling that the feelings he has for the starry-eyed mare may not be unrequited.
But even so, the issue now is finding the courage to voice his affection.
Akmar sounds even sweeter in Ciri's thoughtful whisper and his heartbeat elevates. She recoils her head, letting the blanket of her forelock fall over her silvered eyes and Amet sighs contently, his attention for her alone as her sweet breath mingles with his. "Ciri, I..." he attempts, but fumbles, and a sheepish smile overtakes the stallion's golden face. He makes to try again, but instead the smoky mare has taken the lead and he listens intently with pricked ears and fluttering nostrils. Her scent is heavenly, and mixed with honeysuckle wisteria it is even more so, though he tries to avoid using it as a distraction as unease settles across her attractive features once more.
His brow furrows instantly at the apologetic tone she has taken, at the way her metallic eyes search the wisteria bed instead of making contact with his gold-flecked ones. "I don't... I don't need you to repay me, Ciri." He says uncertainly, wanting to say more but biting his tongue to let the mare finish her piece. Her words quicken, spilling out so fast and forcefully that he starts to wonder if what she says it what she really wants... if maybe she wanted to stay with him here, or maybe she was just loathe to hurt his feelings.
His expression sinks into vulnerability and he reaches for her again, tentatively this time, though the electricity is still there and in that moment he refuses to give up on it. "No," he says quickly, the word blurted out unbidden, "I mean... I can't... I won't force you to stay, Ciri, but I want you here. With me." He swallows hard and lets his muzzle tuck between hers and her chest, coaxing her head back up to look at him, all the while his heart threatens to eject itself from his mouth.
"Please don't go, Ciri. I've never..." he starts, but losing his stride for a moment and he looks to the leafy, flowering boughs above them before returning his impassioned gaze suddenly back to the smoky black mare before him. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, Ciri, and I don't want to give that up."
10-01-2017, 11:36 PM (This post was last modified: 10-07-2017, 07:25 PM by Ciri.)
Ciri
They are both so young, with a bright and unforeseeable future ahead of them. But would it be a future entwined together? Or were they only meant for a short path? A limited few chapters only to never see each other again? She has tried to search her stars and the dreams they show but she can’t see the future. Not ones she can remember anyways.
Amet is usually not so tongue tied around her. Words always seemed to come easily to him until today. Now he hesitates, stops and starts, trails off into nothing. The metallic swirls search his scaled face, the rigid lines of his skull. Something is.. off. It settles into her skin with a weight like an anchor. The fluttering is still there, it escalates as he brings her gaze back to his with a soft plush muzzle. Their lips are so close, their heated breath exchanging and yet even as he pleads for her to stay…. His gaze is impassive. Uncertain.
Now her own doubts fester and grow. Once more she can’t help but think of the hidden jokes and smiles he and Tang had shared. How she had been an outsider.. And still is. There is a reason behind his impassive gaze and she’s fairly certain she knows what it is… Even if he doesn’t. Her gaze starts to flick downwards again but instead the silver strands seem to harden even as they escalate in movement. Her starlight heart was on the line as well as her chosen path, her destiny. It was not something she took lightly.
”And what of Tangerine?” She whispers fiercely, unable to keep the heat from her tone. Her gaze softens slightly then, unease falling into place for being so curt with him. Surprised by her tenacity of feelings. ”I worry…” She pauses, looking at the beautiful surprise he had made for her. But was it truly just for her? ”I worry that you aren’t sure of your own feelings.” For a moment she means to say heart but that seems cruel. His heart is pure, despite this quandary, this she is certain of. She has felt his kindness, seen that truth. She would not add insult to injury.
Perhaps she was being silly, perhaps her years of isolation made her blind. Yet she is sure she had picked up a thread between them that had made her wonder to begin with. In her travels, she had learned enough about men from the weeping women they left behind. She had never wanted to be like that, the damsel in distress. Yet she had been. And now? Now she can feel her anxiety course beneath her breast. As the sky turns into a milky twilight, stardust seems to sparkle about her figure. Her invisible shield coming to life. As if she could protect herself from love.
all of time and space, everywhere and anywhere, every star that ever was
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
With his confession comes a greater need to have Ciri in Hyaline, as if proclaiming his affections for her aloud has cemented them into his subconscious. Amet's golden eyes steady on her silver ones, both sets full to the brim with passion and worry. She can see his own uncertainty, he knows, but doesn't try to hide it -- she has always been able to see right through him, hasn't she? When she speaks though, fervid and terse, he realizes that she has it wrong.
"No," he says again, his frown enhancing, but he says nothing else until she confesses her worries. The gilded stallion reaches for her again, tucking his soft muzzle beneath her cheek and closing his bright eyes tightly. "Ciri," he whispers before pulling his head back to gaze at her with pleading eyes, "I have never been more certain of anything," he lets slip from his golden lips just as the smoky mare calls her powers of starlight to her scarred frame. Amet watches closely the twinkling aura shield she has produced and wonders if they have arrived unbidden, or if she is trying to keep herself safe from potential heartbreak.
He nickers quietly and shakes his scaled head to answer the breathy, frustrated inquiry she'd placed upon him. "Tang is very important to me," he says quietly but with the intention of giving her his entire truth and hoping that she will understand, "She was my first friend. She helped me to forgive myself, and to forgive my sister. There was a time that I was a two-year-old colt who had just gotten himself into the immense task of leading a territory and I fantasized that it would convince her that I was worthy of being loved, but Ciri..."
He pauses for just a moment to consider the best way to word everything that he wants to tell her. "That was a child's fantasy. Tang is only a friend now, but a close one. I'm okay with watching her leave to Tephra every autumn to live with Warrick and their children. But it would break my heart to see you do the same," he ends as his throat tightens, a sheepish smile finding its way across his mouth to hide the quiver of his lips.
"The only thing I am unsure of," he whispers in frustration, "is my ability to treat you the way you deserve, akmar. This is all new to me. And despite my charm," he finds his smirk again, my awkwardly adorable Amet, "I have no idea what I'm doing."
Her heart is torn, shredding itself apart with her doubt and uncertainty. Perhaps she would be her own worst enemy. Perhaps she was unable to love and be loved properly. The twilight sparkles around her and she doesn’t realize that she has called her strange power to come to her aid. Once she has, she doesn’t try to cast it off. Shielding herself from him and the fear that follows his words.
His gaze is pleading, there is hope clawing its way from the back of her throat as he explains his relationship with Tang. Despite his truth, she still can’t help the glimmer of doubt that still lingers in her head. It was hard to diminish what she had seen with her own eyes. He claims that whatever had been before had never come to fruition. And yet that makes it all the more dangerous. He has never tasted a life with Tangerine. Would he always wonder what could have been, would he regret it?
A hesitant smile finds her lips if only to soothe his own worry. There is earnest in his words and while she knows he is trying to be honest, she still feels as if he doesn’t truly know himself. Not to mention Tangerine herself, could she be trusted? Did she feel the same way towards Amet, as a friend only?
Her throat constricts just as an iron hand grips her heart, squeezing it as he confesses that she could break his heart. That her leaving would wound him. He is trying and she understands this despite the cloak of uncertainty she wears. ”You are not alone.” She finally laughs softly, the shield of stars falling away and leaving only dust to glitter their coats. There is a hardness to her metallic strands as she looks to him, a resolve within herself. Perhaps she would stay a little longer… As long as their was something worth staying for.
Her muzzle reaches for his cheek, closing her eyes to inhale his wisteria and dew scent. Breathing in memories like a warm drink, of that day he had found her on the shore. Her worst days turning into the best. The silver strands slow in her eyes, sluggish with the desire that rises from her depths. Does she stir the same need within him? Does her dragon have the claws and passion they are known for? She suddenly desperately wants to know. ”Show me.” Her request like soft rain that falls from her lips as her starlight gaze finds his gilded ones, sparkling and bright with the threatening burst of anticipation blooming within.
all of time and space, everywhere and anywhere, every star that ever was
