Desolation comes upon the sky // ALL, KINGDOM MEETING.

[Wishbone]

haze like a fever

i fell like a dreamer for sweet tea and lemonade; it clings to my t-shirt it’s loud and it lingers, designed to suffocate. i light up to find what i’ve known all this time, there’s some beauty here yet

She had been watching a pod of killer whales off the coast when Scorch approached her. Their tall dorsal fins had been rising out of the water like dark, slick flags to announce their arrival to a land-liver’s eye. The killer whales had been a new species of whale for Wishbone to spot — Tephra’s waters were too warm for them — and she found that the might of the predatory cetacean appealed to the wilderness in her heart. They’d breached several times before Scorch’s arrival, black-and-white bodies lifting mostly out of the chilly waves before heavily slapping back down. The sound of the splash reached her ears above the rush of the wind and surf.

Scorch’s voice had also lifted above the common melody of Nerine’s landscape — first to announce Queen Hestia’s death (though in Beqanna deaths never seem to be final) and then the burnt mare’s own ascension to the throne. Wishbone had felt an ache in her chest at the thought of Hestia’s absence, though she didn’t know the dark mare very well. When she had met her, the Queen had been distant and dreamy, staring over the side of the granite cliff like the angry waves below held all the answers to her questions.

The following news from her mentor’s charred lips brought a wave of varying emotions that Wishbone still rides on as she waits for the Leviathans to gather. She stands close to Scorch, just on the other side of Oblivion, with her heart beating faster than any race or swim or mountain-climb could grant her. While her time in Nerine had initially meant an alliance between Tephra and the northern kingdom (and a learning opportunity for Wishbone), it was turning into much more.

Wishbone’s immediate thoughts are to tell Warrick and Wound, in Tephra, but the long trip down to her homeland would have to wait. The kingdom would have to learn of Queen Hestia and, now, Queen Scorch. The young woman’s amber eyes scan those who gather, mentally noting those of which she isn’t familiar with. While Wishbone has much to learn, she’s seen her father rule firsthand. If there’s anyone the mahogany wishes to mimic her leadership like, it is the warm and generous Overseer of Tephra.

She’s aware of her young age and how it might bother the Leviathans. Wishbone is a breath away from two years of age (she is crafted with long legs and a slender body like her mother, lithe muscle beginning to line the curves of her body from her trainings with Scorch) and much less wise than the older members of Nerine. But that doesn’t stop her from a desire to serve the kingdom she is rapidly growing to love and help usher them into a new, bigger and better, future.

Wishbone remains relatively quiet, mentally noting whoever might curl their lips at the idea of a Tephra princess eventually ruling the throne in order to speak privately with them at a later time. While she might be reckless in spirit, she isn’t looking to pick any fights or form any enemies within Nerine itself. Finally, once Scorch mentions spreading the word about the leadership change, Wishbone speaks. “I will travel to Hyaline, if another would like to come with me.” She’s been to both Loess and Hyaline in her childhood and both were seen to be beautiful kingdoms, but Hyaline holds her two older half-siblings and it would be perfect to deliver the news personally.

Despite herself, there is a visible glow of enthusiasm and bewildering joy sparkling in her sunset eyes. It’s undeniable that Wishbone is excited about this opportunity, even if she does not understand the hardships that come with it.

credit to eliza of adoxography.