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  • 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


    you give me something to believe in; Roseen
    #1

    Kensa

    Beqanna had awoken from it's winter sleep and gone all green and bright. It's beauty in this season of renewal was breathtaking and for Kensa was a vast improvement over the dull and dead world she had arrived in a few months ago.  The sturdy mustang mare came back into the common lands for the first time since her initial arrival, drawn by the mystery of the parts of the continent that she had not yet explored. 


    Head high, as always, her eyes eager and expression open, her gait was fluid and she moved confidently into the unfamiliar meadow. Swift and strong, Kensa was ever alert but didn't expect she would encounter any trouble in the wide meadow. The unexpected being what it was she would just have to take it as it came. What she did know was that she was bound to meet with strangers in the wide open green space, where grazing seemed to be good and there were few places for nasty creatures to hide. This time of year and eager stallion might try to ambush her but that was a risk she took anywhere. Life could not be lived hiding from every possible negative occurrence, could it?


    The afternoon sunlight highlighted her liver chestnut hide in a pleasant way as she halted on a green rise on the north end of the meadow. It wasn't a hot day, a breeze pulled at her mane and  twisted her flaxen tail around her strong hocks cooling the light sheen of sweat that glittered on her skin. From this vantage she took the measure of the variety of other equine in the area much as she had when she'd come to the field. This time she did not wait for someone to come for her but instead looked for someone might want her to come for them. Near the other end of the meadow someone caught her eye. She lifted her head and breathed deep, filling her lungs with air that smelled soapy with blossoms. Then rose up a little, fore hooves leaving the ground as she bunched herself up to spring down from the light roll in the earth where she'd been perched. Landing in a lope, she crossed the meadow in a few moments to approach the lone stranger who had drawn her attention. "Hello there."

     Lets be friends, we all need someone to just know us, without any expectations or designs. 




    give me something to believe in




    @[Roseen]
    Reply
    #2
     Ever since she had started wandering after leaving Ischia Roseen had tried to keep between the brother and sister Kingdoms. Straying as far as the meadow had not been her intention, and it's because of her terrible sense of direction that she was here in the first place, blissfully unaware. And so she grazed on the freshly sprouted spring grass, eyes shut as her entire body and mind were caught in a moment of relaxation. She hardly paid attention to what she was doing, for her thoughts were lost in a daydream. A lot had happened in her life since coming to Beqanna; her life was changing drastically, and she found that relaxing as she was now came as a more difficult task. Leilan plagued her mind the most, which brought fears and thoughts of Breckin along with them. She thought of Arthas, too, but not as much as the roan stallion. And now that her belly was swollen with a foal, things got even more difficult. Her mind was constantly in a loop of mixed emotions and thoughts, and even her body ached at times or left her with numbing pain. The foal was due any day, so she supposed it was only natural for her to start feeling pains now.

    And so, now that she had managed to find time for such well deserved and desired relaxation, she did not squander it. She spent her time resting and grazing; she needed to keep herself in good health in order to have a healthy foal. It wasn't until she had started relaxing that she would feel movement from within her womb. Every few minutes or hours the foal would kick; she fancied imagining that was her foal's way of approving her decision to finally take it easy for once. Perhaps her traveling and weariness had also taken its toll on the unborn. If that was the case, then she needed to relax more often.

    Just as she finally opened her eyes she heard something approaching. Curiously she rose her head, only to find another mare standing before her. The mare offered her a friendly greeting, but all Roseen did was blink in wonder as her brain slowly processed the situation. Someone had approached her, and spoke to her...that line repeated itself in her mind for a few heartbeats, until it finally sank in. Her eyes widened a little, her heart beating anxiously. "Uh...h-hello," she replied poorly. Greetings were never her strong suit, however, she had seemed to be getting better with communication and warming up to strangers quicker since meeting Leilan, Arthas and Breckin. Though she wasn't aware of the change. 

    "Is there...um...s-something I can do for you?" She asked, trying her best to remain calm and speak in a friendly manner.

    @[Kensa]
    Reply
    #3

    Kensa



    Kensa was a young mare, just three years old when she'd arrived in Beqanna over the winter. Being quite curious by nature she had also been the first to approach unfamiliar objects and creatures in her childhood. Now as an adult, she had a lot more freedom to do so. Kensa knew very few other horses as of yet. She considered her earliest acquaintances Rhaegor and Magnus to be friends but she had no female companions in this land to speak of. That was likely why the sooty bay mare had caught her eye, she was clearly alone here, her sides swollen with a foal that was bound to arrive any day. To see a heavily pregnant mare all alone so close to her most vulnerable time was a little concerning to Kensa and she hoped to be a friendly face and chaperone if she would be allowed. She wondered too, what it was like to be so pregnant, to have a little one stretching your belly almost to bursting. Someday she would be so encumbered, and the very mystery of the condition was thrilling and terrifying. 

    The reception she received did not put her off. It would not be the first time her outgoing behavior had been a shock to someone. Though Kensa's friendliness was rarely awkward for either party, it had happened before. The mustang woman seemed to intuit that her boldness was uncomfortable for the bay mare. She did not turn away, the bay might be a bit broody or shy but she appeared friendly. Kensa dropped her head a fraction,  extending her muzzle slowly in a a calm and welcoming manner. "I'm Kensa. I don't need anything from you, and I can go away if you'd like.." She replied, ever direct but mirroring the other mare's calm tone. "I just wanted to say hello and see if you'd mind a grazing partner." If the idea of a random horse walking up to start and conversation with her was off-putting Kensa could just keep company with her for a while. 

    Hoping to prevent the other mare feeling too put on the spot, Kensa back up a step and relaxed her posture further. Turning her topaz eyes out toward the surroundings she made the briefest observation, "It's my first spring here. It's very lovely." The breeze came up again, pushing her flaxen mane off of her white-blazed forehead. 




    give me something to believe in




    @[Roseen]
    Reply
    #4
    Roseen

      Perhaps she should’ve been surprised to be approached by strangers by now. Not all horses were as shy and socially awkward as her; there were some who weren’t afraid of going out to meet others. That was how she had met Leilan, Arthas and Breckin. The three approached her out in the Field when she first came to Beqanna last spring. But they were looking to recruit new members for the Kingdoms. This mare, however, only wanted to graze with her. That’s what had shocked her the most, the idea of someone approaching a random stranger just because of the excitement of meeting someone new. She had no real reason. But it was an idea that had warmed the heart of the sooty bay. 

    “I’m Roseen,” she replied, the friendliness of the younger mare bringing a soft smile to Roseen’s feminine features. “I don’t mind you joining me if that’s what you really want.” She wished she had Kensa’s confidence like she used to. Silently she hoped her foal would grow up with the confidence to meet new horses. If they grew up to be shy like her, foolish, easily deceived and desperate for love and friendship, then it would break her heart. Already it sent a pang of pain to her heart as her chest squeezed. It would mean she had failed her foal. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself knowing she had done something like that. 

    The mare spoke once again, stepping back a little and changing her posture. She stated that this was her first spring, and how lovely it was. Roseen could only nod lightly in response, turning her dark eyes away to observe their surroundings herself. “Indeed it is,” her tone was surprisingly calm, soft and soothing. A tone that one would consider motherly. “I only came here last spring, so this will be my second,” she added. Her eyes saddened a little as she remembered last spring. It was when she had first met Leilan, the father of her foal. As well as Arthas, whom was the Champion of Loess at the time. And Breckin. Then, she didn’t know much about the leopard-spotted mare, but now she was suspicious about her relationship with Leilan. That suspicion always haunted her, like a shadow that always hung over her shoulder, catching her attention during the worst times. It kept her awake at night with that sickening feeling in her stomach, or would just randomly whenever she thought of Leilan.

    Her foal could somehow sense her unease and kicked, bringing her mind back to her current situation. She looked back at Kensa and smiled softly, hoping the mare hadn’t noticed her spacing out. “So...do you live in one of the Kingdoms? I’ve been considering joining one myself, but I can’t decide which would offer the best life for my foal.” She ended with a sheepish giggle, her ears facing back just a little. Perhaps she could get a little more information before she headed towards Nerine.


    even if you feel all alone, it can’t rain everyday, it don’t rain forever


    @[Kensa]
    Reply
    #5

    Kensa




    In order to confirm that she just wished to keep the bay may company Kensa settled across from her and to the left so that they could comfortably speak and keep an eye on one another's back. A formation that might help soothe the anxieties of a gravid mare. Taking a few mouthfuls during a brief lull in their words, and therefore failing to notice the sad distraction of her companion, Kensa did still manage to pick up on the creeping sorrow that Roseen tamped down before she inquired about her living situation. A flicker of concern passed through her eyes but she did not want to seem to familiar when their acquaintance was so new.

    Without knowing this mare better she could not imagine what pained her or how she could help. Though she didn't go around the world trying to scoop up every troubled creature and give it comfort, she did feel like she ought to be a friend whenever she could.  There was also a natural motherliness that she felt from Roseen, and she was still young enough to be drawn to that without realizing it.

    "Oh, yes, I'm in Hyaline. In the mountains. It would be a good place to raise a foal." Her dear friend Rhaegor had grown up there after all, and someday Kensa might be raising her own children there. She hadn't thought about that until now. It seemed like a strange and very distant future. Putting it into the back of her mind, in a place full of possibilities that she just wasn't ready to consider.  "Surely there must be a place you're considering in particular?" Asked Kensa with earnest kindness, and then adding. "I've only been to Hyaline so far. I'd love to hear about the places your thinking of."




    i'm burning like a fire gone wild on saturday
    guess i won't be coming to church on sunday
    i'll be waiting for love to come around



    @[Roseen]
    Reply
    #6
    Roseen

      Roseen wasn’t sure what Kensa was doing as she moved and repositioned herself, but she didn’t linger on it. Whatever it was she was trying to do, somehow Roseen felt just a tad more comfortable. With a small smile, she dropped her head and began grazing once more. There was a subtle kick from her foal once again as she did so, almost causing her to giggle. She sent a quick thought of reassurance towards her foal, even though they couldn’t hear it. 

    Kensa spoke, and Roseen’s ears lifted as her eyes slid over to look at the mare. Hyaline, huh? She remembered her visit there with Leilan a while back. It was a lovely place, and though Kensa mentioned it was a good place to raise her foal, Roseen wasn’t so sure. She still needed to visit Nerine before deciding which Kingdom would be best, if any. But she smiled softly anyway. “So far I have visited all but Nerine and Sylva, the latter which I have been warned to avoid,” she replied. “Hyaline is a lovely place, with acceptable weather in my opinion. Much more pleasurable compared to the heat of Tephra. Ischia was lovely as well, but...” her voice trailed off. She was remembering her visit to the island with Leilan. It was where her foal was conceived, and it was the Kingdom Leilan belonged to. Though she fancied the idea of living there with him where they could raise her foal together as a family, she feared it just wasn’t meant to be. 

    She then realized she had stopped talking while staring off at nothing. She looked back at Kensa and offered a reassuring smile, silently hoping she couldn’t see that it was forced. “I think I should visit Nerine before seriously considering any of the Kingdoms,” she finally said. “Though, I’d say Tephra, Sylva and Ischia are out of the question. Hyaline is worth considering. Loess was nice, though their ways may be a little too strict for my liking. Though they are quite capable of protecting me and my foal if necessary. Then that just leaves Nerine, which I will decide whether it’s worth consideration after I visit it.”


    even if you feel all alone, it can’t rain everyday, it don’t rain forever


    @[Kensa] So sorry this took so long...Dx
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