Solace
How many days started the way this one did - Solace wakes, Solace flys, Solace watches her kingdom from the sky
Alone
She had held to her routine with religious zeal as her world was crumbling. More had happened to her this winter than the entire twelve-month before it, and her mind was reeling. Her experience with Castile had shown her the fault lines her world was built on, and she had kept to herself as much as possible over the last few weeks. She was lucky to be alive after the encounter which should have been her first experience with a lover.
Solace shakes her head as if her troubles would be that easy to displace, and tilting her weight forward she begins to descend from the clouds.
It was peaceful above them - a world of her own. But she knew she couldn't hide stay there forever. As the world below becomes clear, he finds herself above the lake. Her pale form where continues to dips in and out of the low-hanging clouds. Another spring shower was on its way.
There is a dark shape near the shore and she watches it, lazily, as she glides. The figure gathers her attention as she realizes who it is, but she continues to circle above the expanse of the lake, content to watch.
She is selfish in her confusion.
But what she sees surprises her, and the other mare's actions cause a cold dread to ripple through her gut. "Kagerus!" She gasps, and instinct drives her into the water from her perch in the sky. Solace maneuvers her body below Kagerus and extends her broad wings. As she feels the weight of the other's body across her shoulders, she uses her wings to move water, propelling them towards the shore to spill their bodies into the shallows.
Perfect Kagerus, who always knew the right thing to say, lies in a motionless heap - intertwined with Solace's own heaving, churning chest and limbs.
But the water leaves Kagerus' lungs, in a violent expulsion and Solace know they are safe. She moves to disentangle herself from the auburn splashed mare, pulling a wing from below her front leg, so that she can bring their faces together. Their cheeks meet and as Kagerus' tears mingle with her own she doesn’t allow any space between them, not after those words leave Kagerus’ lips.
“Don’t say that- you know I won’t.” She commands, with an intensity that could easily be mistaken for anger by one who did not know her well. "You got me, I'm not leaving you." she re-affirms in a softer tone.
The panic she had felt is draining away leaving her cold. Still, the hammering of her heart can be seen, and felt, in the network of veins which form a lacework pattern across her shoulders. Her jugular leaps to this rhythm, though her body has fallen into stillness. A shiver passes over her skin as heavy droplets of rain begin to fall around them.
"Com'on Kag," she pleads gently, as she begins to gather her legs below her. With an effort she pulls herself away to glance around, just now noticing that the shelter of Svedka's willow tree is just up the bank. "This way, right here... it's only a few steps." She attempts to nudge Kagerus to her feet as she finds her own, offering her side for the frail mare to lean on if needed.
She doesn’t ask why, she doesn’t ask how - the pain and surprise are still too raw for her to express herself the way she would like to. Her practical side always took over when her heart was faltering, and for now, she just wants to be alone with Kagerus - in a dry, warm place where the truth of what just happened will not be so terrifying.
caretaker of hyaline
