• Logout
  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    On The Ledge || Klaudius
    #1
    Mosrael
    i'm way too
    good at goodbyes

    Mosrael emerged from her cave when the first hints of dawn where in the sky. Secluded in her preferred corner of Tephra she climbed atop the ridge of their cave and gazed out across the murky expanse of ocean. Thick smog clung to her angles the thick smell of sulfur accosting the soft of her nose. The breeze off the ocean offered no relief from the harsh summer heat. She missed the sandy shores of her beloved island. Even in the midst of the warmest of summers, the ocean was there to provide reprieve from the heat and there were plenty of large shade trees to hide from the sun. Somewhere, just beyond the depths of her sight, she imagined Ischia as it jutted out from the sea. It’s thick tropical flora overtaking the center of the isle, the white sandy beaches separating the mainland from the sea. The mornings there had always been cooler than the tepid ones in Tephra. She would never truly feel a part of the volcanic kingdom, a monumental part of her would always cling to her Ischian roots. Even still, she could not bring herself to join the general population. Choosing to, instead, keep herself and the twins tucked away in a corner facing her home.
     
    It troubled her why she continued to stay. The fillies had grown stronger and would, more than likely, be able to handle the crossing of the sea. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. She knew it was largely in part to her unexplainable responsibility to Klaudius. He deserved to know the girls and, despite her confusing feelings toward him, she couldn’t bring herself to steal their twins away from him. He’d apologized, of course. Nearly every morning he would arrive upon the wind, finding her staring out across the ocean, the same words upon his tongue. She suspected that morning would be no different.
     
    The smog seemed to grow thicker around her, and, for a moment, she felt as if she would choke. Her body yearned for fresh air and cool breezes. Regrets threatened to over take her. Everyday she wondered how different things might have been had she’d said goodbye to her parents before she’d fled. Although it pained her heart to admit it, she was unsure when or if she would ever return home. Her duty was to her children and, at the moment, that meant she had to stay away.
     
    The sun had barely slipped past the horizon when Ketzia materialized beside. The first to be born and the first to rise every morning, the filly was nothing but consistent. Sleep was heavy in the filly’s bleary eyes as she clumsily sought out her breakfast. Flicking her tail, Mosrael fought the urge to flinch away from her daughter as the little one began to nurse. Having been a mother for a few months still hadn’t made the task any easier. Mosrael had never been the nurturing type, finding it easier to doll out swift blows than gentle touches. She did feel an affection for her daughters and she felt a protectiveness over them, but when she watched them at play she still didn’t see them as having come from her body.
     
    Ketzia was nearly finished when Kove, the dainty thing that she was, emerged energetic as ever. Dutifully, the elder of the two sisters moved aside to allow the lavender tufted filly to get her fill. Watching the two, it was hard not to think what her parents might think of their newest granddaughters. They resembled Mosrael’s family more than their father’s, although the parts that did belong to him stood out, plain for all to see.
     
    It was just as Kove pulled away that the familiar figure of Klaudius caught their attention. For a moment she had wondered if he had forgotten them, her insecurities bubbling up to the surface. With vacant eyes she watched as he landed and wasted no time in greeting his daughters. Excited, the girls’ greetings were sweet and lilting, completely oblivious to the unresolved tension between their parents. As the fillies bounded off to play, Klaudius’ attention shifted to her. She returned her gaze to the ocean. Words pricked hotly at the edge of her tongue, begging to release their torrent of insults upon him but she kept her silence.
     
    Yes, he had apologized, but words were empty without the actions to prove them. He made it a point to visit them daily, but she still found herself wondering how he filled his time when he wasn’t at her side. Was he with another mare? Did he think of them when he was away? Insecurity after insecurity kept her awake at night – along side a desire that she despised and so desperately wanted to embrace.  



    @[Klaudius]
    #2

    Much of his time since the birth of his daughters was spent reflecting into the vapors of the skies.  Navigating across clouds and ashy plume alike.  It made no difference to him now.  He has resided in Tephra too long to see the distinction anymore.  Warm updrafts of air from the volcanic rock lifted him high into the air with little effort.  Each beat of his wings simply propelled his direction and not speed.  That is until the glow of the sun began to peek over the shadowed forests in the distance.  

    Each morning he descended from the embrace of his other love and returned to the earth.  Knowing just where she had hid them away and that she would be awake by the time he arrived.  It was better this way -at least he thought- to give the girls some privacy.  He was still very unsure where him and Mosrael stood.  Figuring maybe he had given her enough time but not wanting to press the issues that remained.  Today seemed like a good enough day to clear some tension between them.  

    Landing upon a ledge, just outside the cavern that they resided in, his massive length of feathers folded quickly to his sides.  Silver-hazel eyes noted the girls just finishing their breakfast and not wasting time in greeting him.  As customary, he reaches his muzzle to greet each girl.  Ketzia was always the first to reach him.  She was much like her mother, bold and bright.  The lavender maned girl was the least like any of them.  Karat as a girl had been chatty, but not in a gentle innocent way.  The only thing that ties this child to him is the hue of her locks.  He finds her reaching fingers deep within his heart though.  Kove is sweet, kind, gentle.  Adorable in every way, "Good morning Daddy!" she always tells him before the twins are off.  He nudges her softly and watches as they race off.  Adventures to be had and he only slightly worries of their safety. 

    Attention then turns to the spotted mare, as he straightens himself and meanders closer to her.  Her gaze has found the ocean as it has each day he has come.  Slightly he wonders if his attempts are worth it and if he should just disappear from their lives as he had Kylin's.  Ischia was no longer welcoming and he finds more of his family out of his reach.  So too, his gaze looks across the ocean to where Ischia is merely a ridge line.  An exhaled breath huffs from deep within his chest.  He knows he will lose more family to the island soon enough.  

    The tension is thick beside him as his own body goes from soft to ridged.  Of all the things he wanted to say, this made the most sense, "The channel is low today... I will escort you and the twins home to Ischia." His voice is low and uncertain of his decision.  Clearly she is unhappy here and he won't sit by and watch her suffer any longer.  The blunt of his muzzle presses into her neck before his limbs begin to move him in the direction the children had gone.  His feathers shuffle at his sides, brushing across her pelt as he moves onward.  All the while forcing the lump in his throat from rising with a quick gulp.  He would miss the morning ritual he has grown accustom to...   

    Klaudius
    I Was Lightning, Before the Thunder


    @[Mosrael] Hes being sappy and difficult lol
    #3
    Mosrael
    i'm way too
    good at goodbyes

     
    Alone, the heat of Tephra almost appeared to grow stronger. Insistent, even. She felt his eyes upon her, searching her every freckle, as she nibbled distractedly upon the tufts of grass that sprouted up through the otherwise rocky footing. Feigning distraction a familiar pang of curiosity shot through her. What did it mean when he watched her so intently from afar? Was it love, lust or duty that saw his return to her with each dawn? Nothing was as clear to her as it had once been.
     
    When his voice finally broke through their tense silence her head shot up in surprise. His words insinuated that she was some sort of captive there, unable to come and go as she pleased. Did he truly believe that he held such a power over her? Slowly Mosrael angled herself toward him, her brow creased with a mixture of emotions.
     
    “If I had wanted to leave I would have – a long time ago,” she informed him remembering too clearly her readiness to abandon their newborn daughters with him.
     
    Confidently she stepped closer to him, all to aware that he had kept his distance from her for far too long. It was so simple and, yet, so complex, the things that she wanted of him, but reality was cruel and it hit her like a bolder on her head. Tentatively she reached to touch her nose to his, breathing in the scent of him. Her heart squeezed in her chest and her breath caught in her throat.
     
    She wanted him. All of him, not just the pieces he allowed her. Words had often failed her, just as they did in this moment, nose to nose with him.



    @[Klaudius]
    #4

    As he is about to lead off to gather the twins and escort the family he had wanted so badly, back to Ischia.  It is a stubborn defiance that stops him in his tracks.  Maybe that is what had drawn him to her in the first place.  A wildness that was untamed beneath the otherwise normal appearance.  Memories flood him of the day he had come across her on that beach.  The boldness in which she spoke.  A overconfidence that was shadowed by the girl drowning in a pool of uncertainty.  One side of his lips begins to pull into a smirk as she spit venom at him.  

    With little distance he spins back around to face her.  She has already approached a step or two in anger, so they come face to face.  His head rises, his silver gaze examining her features.  Shocked to find her reaching for him.  The dark mottled of her nose, brushes against the delicate hue of his.  They are opposite in nearly every way and yet perhaps they are too much a like.  His muzzle presses into hers and for a moment he wonders if their past could be reconciled. "Does this mean I can stay then? Here... with you and the girls?" He inquires of her.  Leaving each night to appear each morning was only to appease her distaste of him.  Soon enough the skies would be darkened by the night and he wonders if he should be prepared to leave once again....  

    Klaudius
    I was lightning, before the thunder


    @[Mosrael] she can make him stand outside of the cave all night XD
    #5
    Mosrael
    i'm way too
    good at goodbyes


    Theirs is a moment of unexpected intimacy. For too long he had been absent from her, his touches nothing but a memory. Although she hated to admit it, she longed to feel him once more as she had the day of their daughter's conception. For a moment the tumultuous tide of their relationship almost appeared to calm, the dark clouds giving way to blue sky. Shockwaves of emotion coarsed through her body as she breathed in the scent of him, her body remember his caress. Pressing her forehead against him she pressed her velvet lips to the corner of his own, relishing in the memory of it.

    His question broke through the silence of their moment, almost humorous although equally surprising. She'd thought that his departure from them in the evenings was due to his own preferences. Never once had she considered that he hated their goodbyes as much as she did. Pulling away from him she studied his expression, searching for some hidden incentive or goal. Everything within her urged her to accept him at face value, to trust that things would be different and that trust could thrive between them.

    Despite the small voice that nagged at her from the back of her mind she offered him a small smile. "I can't see why not," she agreed tentatively. For a moment she imagined the excitement of the twins, they adored their father and would be thrilled to learn of his more permanent presence among them. That was the gift of daughters, she supposed, their absolute and unwavering devotion to their fathers. A hint of a memory itched at her.

    Wrapped in the warmth of their moment, her own father's disapproval was easily forgotten. Even in the midst of her uncertainty she was not yet ready to part with her lavender lover.



    @[Klaudius] take this in whatever direction you are wanting. I see this as being their last happy thread before everything goes to absolute shit. Lol




    Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)