"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
Try as she had, Nyxa couldn’t manage to force time to slow for their needs and their pace (brisk as she had kept it) simply hadn’t been enough to close the miles of distance between the Field and the Riverlands.
Now, in the freezing grip of nightfall, the trio will come to stop at the very edges of the Beqanna territory with exhausted legs and little in the way of something to show for it. Even Nyxa, who thinks herself a well-traveled native already, feels the burn of ice in her lungs and the ache of sleepiness in her bones. “Should we rest?” She asks @[Bragi] for the hundredth time, eyes flicking with uncertain worry to where @[Hod] travels alongside him. Thus far the brotherly pair had been amiable companions, the best she’s ever known, but she wonders if they’re both silently sacrificing their personal comfort for her urgency.
Playing the host for the first time unsettles her a bit. Nyxa wonders how her mother got so good at it.
“There’s no rush now - only waiting left.” She tells them, her pleasant smile lost to the blue-dark that blankets them. It was true; where their hooves rested now was the authentic end of her world. Only a few more feet and sand will replace staunch grasses. Beyond that only the dark, churning sea awaited them. Somewhere, cradled in its never ending waves, was Ischia. “I can’t describe home from here.” The winged mare tells them, after a moment’s worth of silence has passed and it feels necessary to say something.
Her nose reaches out into the darkness, hoping to touch the one that stands nearest to her. “This way.” She murmurs, twisting back to trod down the starlit shoreline. A thin crescent of winter moon hangs from a single hinge in the otherwise black sky, casting the group in molten silver as the hungry tide reaches up to meet Nyxa's waiting feet. Despair strikes the yearling mare suddenly; her eyes, wine-colored in the strange night, can discern that high tide is here to stay. A flick of her gaze upwards to where the white bow sits in the heavens and Nyxa feels her heart sink - it will be a long wait.
Deflated, the girl sighs and peers out to where water and sky meet. There’s an inert lump of black silhouette that is her home, Ischia, while the thin strand of a strange, blue glow can be seen ringing its shores. “That odd light is bioluminescent phytoplankton,” She mouths aloud slowly, carefully, so as not to mispronounce the phenomenon only she and Bragi might see. “it rings the shore at night with a mythical blue-white glow and washes in from the sea.” The girl sighs, wistful now that she’s caught describing her favorite part of the island.
A thought darts through her mind and Nyxa’s head tilts to peer at where Hod might be. In the moonlight, with the sharp fingers of a winter’s breeze to tousle his growing mane, he strikes her in a way she’s not considered before. Nyxa swallows, banishing the moment in a flush of embarrassment before snapping her head forwards again. “Can either of you swim?” She asks abruptly, the semblance of a new idea taking shape as the water sucks against the sand.
Wayward daughter of Canaan and Circinae
OOC: So, technically they're at the River looking out at Ischia, but that won't be for long so I threw the thread here
11-11-2017, 09:46 PM (This post was last modified: 11-11-2017, 09:47 PM by Bragi.)
Two brothers followed the sprightly lass, one golden, one silvered. They had traveled hard all day, the sun making a weak attempt at breaking through the frigid air. And now, as they came to the water's edge the traitorous orb kissed, then fell into, the far-off horizon. The elder brother followed the younger two by several yards, reaching the end of his strength. The younger grey had managed to keep pace with the ice-winged girl. Both had denied her offers of rest, for differing reasons. The grey, Hod, had developed a strong desire to impress her. And so resting was out of the question. If she could keep going, he most definitely could.
Bragi, the gold-and-white stallion, just wanted to get where they were going. His muscles ached, and his head was getting there. He was thankful to reach the promised shoreline. She spoke of waiting, and something about... luminescent plankton? As she mentioned it, he noted the faint blue-ish glow emanating from the distant shore. It was pretty, true. He admired it a moment. And he admired her, a moment later. Nyxa spared a thought, and described the mysterious glowing. It was for his brother's benefit, he knew. However, he pinned his ears at the next statement. "No. We will not be swimming." He said bluntly, before Hod had a chance to say anything. Despite his younger brother's vigor, he knew that swimming in unknown waters, at night, would very likely be a death sentence for the blind colt. Brave as he was, Bragi knew he'd be stubborn enough to try it, especially with a filly to impress nearby. No, they could wait til low tide. Better than nearly drowning only to freeze on the other side.
Hod felt vague regret at being deprived the chance to make it through the water. He was in his immortal youth, after all. He rallied a moment later, and stepped cautiously in Nyxa's direction. He was careful with his feet, stepping lightly to avoid running into the filly. He flicked his ears, picking up the gentle crashing of the tide. Underneath it was the quicker, lighter rhythm of her breathing.
He wanted to talk to her. Was trying desperately to think of something witty to say. Annddd... Nothing. Nada. Radio static. "Uhh... Hi, N-nyxa. Brag, Brag didn't give me a chance to introduce myself... I'm Hod. Well. You know that. You know my name. Oh gods..." He stumbled along, cursing the day Bragi was born with a silver tongue, and he might as well have been born mute as well as blind. He took a deep, steadying breath and pushed on. "I was wondering, would you tell me about your island?" He finally got out. It was a lame line, but it was all he had. He felt hot all over from embarrassment, but it was too late to quit now. He stood there, and realized he would just have to see what she was going to do now.
Bragi watched this exchange with mild amusement, and a whole lot of proxy embarrassment. Oh dear. Oh, he was going to be holding this over his brother's head forever. With a snort, he decided he had seen enough. "I'm going for a walk, behave yourself Hod." He called over his back. Those two would keep themselves entertained, he had no doubt of that.
“No.” Bragi says, and the force behind the statement is enough to quiet Nyxa on the matter of swimming. This color is a shade she’s never seen the elder brother wear and for a moment, she wants nothing more than to ferociously meet his declaration with one of her own. But it’s not her place to disagree - not yet, anyways - and so the winged mare stifles her usually sharp tongue in favor of turning her attention to Hod, a stallion she considers more appropriate company anyways. “Adults,” She scorns mentally, “always thinkin’ they know best.”
Hod’s apparent nervousness wipes the thought clean. Nyxa watches him with the curious tilt of her head, trying to unravel the moments inbetween their journey from the field to here. At first appearances the young man had been a bold sort of speaker, firing question after question which Nyxa had gathered and replied to in equal gusto. Now, though? His thoughts are tangled so angrily into themselves that she can’t seem to make sense of the pattern.
She wants to speak, or at the least say something, but Hod is determined to push out the semblance of a sentence so she waits with patience as he shuffles and starts again.
This time the product of his question is a broad smile, lost to the hush of darkness that blankets them both. Nyxa forgets that Bragi is nearby; his mention of going for a walk rouses only the need for Nyxa to say, “Don’t go too far.” as if she’s his dam. Flippantly she turns back to the instigator of the two, (let Bragi think what he wants, Nyxa had her reasons for asking him not to stray) and leans in with hushed reverence so that she and the graying stallion may share quiet words.
“The only thing that lives in Ischia is us, the horses, and hundreds of noisy, colorful parrots.” The growing girl breathes. It was so hard to explain like this, out here in the dark and with nothing to show for what she way saying. “Beware, though …” She whispers softly, the whiskers of her nose brushing just so against the flat plane of Hod’s warm cheek. “There are wolves that roam the island.”
It’s almost too easy to exchange her vocal chords; Nyxa shifts parts of herself that even Bragi couldn’t see with his bare eyes and sends the rumbling tone of quiet growl up through her prey lips. She wants to see if she’ll get a rise out of young ‘Don Juan’ and hopes that the sound unsettles him, for some reason. There’s a part of herself that hopes his interest lies in Ischia alone and not just her - to run with her pack would be no easy feat.
A man could never tame her.
“Don’t worry.” She chirps suddenly, pulling away to leave the salty frigid air between them. “They can be a friendly lot.” Nyxa smiles, mischievously. The shoreline surges, rapidly, pooling up onto the shore with a rush of power that sends the dark waters spilling over Nyxa and Hod’s hooves. With alarm the girl raises an intrepid eye to the boiling sea and watches as the waves return to their home - dragging silt and shells back with them. Without having to see it occur, she knows what will come next. “Bragiiiiiiii!!” She calls out, choosing not to turn or look and instead trusting that he’ll be nearby. “It’s time to go!” She cries with growing excitement, hearing the sucking pull of a vortex just offshore.
Hod did not know then that it would be some time before he saw his brother again. Bragi's whereabouts were the last thing on his mind currently, as the slight girl beside him whispered in his ear. He did not know what parrots were, but the way Nyxa spoke of them made him eager to find out. At her warning about the wolves, though, he truly grew curious. It was her voice that spoke the words. Her voice, but with a low, primal rasp that made him think of snapping teeth and the scent of blood.
His ears tipped backward slightly, not sure what to make of it. Nyxa did not sound afraid, and the change in her voice was gone a moment later. Perhaps he had imagined it, for now he can hear mischief and perhaps a smile in her words. She must have a lovely smile, he thought to himself wistfully. "As friendly as you?" The boy couldn't help but ask, a grin pulling at his own lips.
A moment later, a rising sucking sound began, filling his ears with an eerie cacophony. Nyxa's breath grew quicker, he could feel her excitement as she too noticed the water's strange behaviour. He heard her holler for his brother, lifting her voice above the water's noise. He could not smell his brother, and a moment of worry traced his mind. He shook it away, though. This was his first time away from his brother since he was a baby. The older man could catch up later, he knew where they were going, right?
Anticipation hung in the damp air, and the rusty grey youth waited patiently by his companion's side, excited to follow where she led.
OOC: I am using this as the segue to Bragi's disappearance for the island quest, he won't be joining them currently. I hope that's ok with you?
-Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-
This life begins to wear at her.
Like the sea incessantly beating against a stone, this life has come to wear away Circinae’s once sharp edges and has aided in adding a few, fine silver hairs around her wizened eyes and her always smiling mouth. Mother to three, (Soon it will be four, with Jah-Lilah’s coming foal) lover to two, and ruler of one kingdom she is simply feeling the harsh weight of a heavy cape and crown.
It doesn’t stop her from jumping across the sea when she smells her youngest on the wind. Easing through her portal, the Keeper of Ischia rises languid and cloaked in black from the swirling waves. The vision of her daughter and some curious stallion pressed close serves to startle her for a moment, (Nyxa is growing so fast, too fast) but she checks herself and cuts through the breakers with still-strong knees until she faces the both of them.
“I do hope Nyxa has been pleasant company,” The pony-mare calls out, stopping once she’s come close enough to exchange warm breath with her offspring. “My name is Circinae and I’ve come to offer you quick travel to our home, Ischia.” She tells him warmly.
Her daughter, quick to throw a frown at the inclination that she could be anything but charming, soon turns her frown into a wide grin at the idea of Hod jumping portals. “Mother this is Hod -” Nyxa exclaims, curving a pale neck to the side so that her nose can brush against his gray neck, “He and …” She pauses, looking around for Bragi but finding nothing in the way of appearances.
Hod, however, seems unperturbed by the lack of his elder siblings company so with a brief jolt Nyxa starts again. “Well, he’d like to come and live with us. That’s alright, isn’t it?” She questions, sure of the answer even as Circinae laughs gently and replies, “Of course it is. Hod, we’d be honored to have you - and anyone else you might know for that matter.” Circy speaks, taking the hint about a missing party.
The green-and-navy mare turns on a quick heel, eager to be back on the solitude of her island. Her daughter Nyxa, though, snaps her teeth out to grab a tuft of tail hair and tug. At first, the old wolf is mad; Circinae rounds to snap on her daughter for being so impertinent but when she does, Nyxa has already turned her attention to Hod.
Her daughters nose is underneath his strong chin and Nyxa is whispering something - something like, I’ve got you, or this way through - Circy can’t be sure. Steadily though, her tawny shoulder pressed to Hod’s brawny gray one, Nyxa strikes out to make for the portal. “You go ahead, Hod.” She tells him, this time loud enough that the mother can hear, “I’ll meet you soon enough.”
And then, to Circinae’s utter shock and surprise, Nyxa turns away from them both and slips down, underneath the waves.
“She’s gone … swimming.” Circinae mutters absentmindedly, taking her daughter’s place at Hod’s side. “Ready? It’s only a few steps forward and then you’ll be there.” She tells him, her mind drifting out to sea where her daughter has yet to re-surface. A strange thing, this life.
And then, she slips through her gate and waits for Hod to follow.
Circinae
@[Hod] That's totally fine! Should we start a new thread for Hod and Nyxa?
Hod jumped as an unexpected voice joined them on the beach. Nyxa did not seem surprised, however, so he stood firm to face this new lady. She sounded older than either of them, but there was a warmth in her voice that made him feel she could be trusted. She introduced herself as Circinae, and formally invited him to the island. Quick travel, though, what could that mean? He leaned in toward the warmth of Nyxa, lightly pressing his shoulder to hers. The water had not ceased it's thundering, and anxiety began to tint his thoughts. "I suppose so, lady. We've come all this way, after all. And Nyxa has been a first rate guide..." He finally spoke, taking reassurance from the girl's soft touch on his neck. His head wove through the air a bit, trying to find just where the adult woman stood. This had disconcerted him more than any other event today. The night's darkness turned his world from patches of light and dark and vague grey shapes to one of utter blackness. Add to that the incessant roar of water, and he operating on only three full senses.
He danced in place for a moment, only half paying attention to Nyxa and Circinae's conversation. There was a similarity to their speech, shared inflections and pronunciations. They must be close. Maybe even family? His attention is returned to the present as he felt Nyxa leave his side briefly, then return to point him in what he hopes is the right direction. She murmurs to him, and then assures him that she'll meet him soon. A stab of loneliness slides through his gut as she slips away, light steps in the sand, then the water, then... gone. It is just he and Circinae now. The mare mentions that the girl has gone swimming. Fine time for it, he grouses to himself. He has no right to say anything though, and beside, it's time to go. A phrase of direction, and then Circinae too is gone. He can feel the air pulling him gently towards the water's edge, but he hesitates a moment. One moment of being absolutely alone. He fills his lungs with a deep breath of salty air, exhaling slowly. One, two, three steps, and he is inside the watery void. I hope Bragi catches up soon, he thought as water moved around him in a crashing wail, carrying him into the unknown. I can't do this without him...
OOC: I am totally fine with a new thread! I think we've accomplished what we needed to with this one. @[Calcifer]
