"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
All things are possible, even the worst of things.
The sphinx is thoroughly unimpressed with the gray stallion squealing and shaking his foot at him, and almost before Shahrizai has gotten the words out of his mouth, asking what is wrong with the guardian, Gumby lurches for Kushiel’s upraised hoof. He isn’t entirely sure whether to laugh or be horrified. Certainly he should be horrified by Gumby’s actions, but the entire situation is incredibly comical. With Kushiel’s dancing and shrieking and the sphinx’s ridiculous barking and growling, Shahrizai is simply not quick enough to respond.
Fortunately the matter is taken from his hands (or rather, hooves) by the appearance of Yael. He is surprised at first. With all the ruckus going on, he hadn’t realized a whole herd of horses had managed to make it to the oasis behind him. Damn. Apparently he really does need to work on his observation skills. How many times had Librette told him that very thing? Yael seems to be on top of that however, pausing only long enough to call off the sphinx and to instruct Kushiel to tell him why he is here.
Now that is actually a very good question. Of course, Shahrizai had already been curious. How could he not be curious after witnessing the man fall directly into the middle of his sand-strewn home? But Yael’s words give him pause, making him wonder what exactly had caused the man to be dumped here. He had initially thought Cam might be responsible, but with their golden ambassador’s cryptic comment, he has to wonder if that assumption had been erroneous. Luckily he hadn’t yet stuck his foot his mouth by saying any of this out loud.
That is a really good question. How did you come to be here?
Eyeing the stranger with a growing hint of suspicion, he notes a few things he had missed before. The man’s pale coat is sprinkled with ash and a faint hint of smoke and char emanates from him. Initially he had thought that might have something to do with the fire in his mane, but come to think of it, what precisely is he burning? Beyond hair, which he notes has a rather acrid smell, far different from the smell of wood smoke that still clings to him. And the ash, where had that come from?
FAMILIAR BREATH OF MY OLD LIES CHANGED THE COLOR IN MY EYES
It comes easier, passes sooner each time. Birthing children was becoming something she could do in her sleep if it were not for the pain. What makes the situation uncomfortable is the the gathering, the audience she has of mostly strangers. Oh, but there was no stopping the processes and they were all becoming a lot closer than they had bargained for.
Wichita watches as Tioga rounds on the male she does not know, cursing him before she spins. Her eyes fall on Wichita was she realizes the birth has started, and her eyes widen in unusual fear. Why was that? Tioga had seen all of her siblings born, even the twins, mess that was. Why did she look so afraid then? She would ask but another contraction comes and stops her thought mid-formation. Only to be topped by the questions of the accused, could she do this somewhere else? "I most certainly can not!" Her voice rising, unusually un-ladylike for her.
All the commotion seems to stop as the little black colt slips from her. A beautiful dark thing like most of her offspring seemed to be colored. A blast of white down his nose, and up his legs. He was perfect. She watches him make his first teetering steps, coming in contact with a golden mare whom she does not know. She seems to know her though, speaking her name after her son is adorned with gold threads. Wichita tilts her head, her breathing still coming in heavy burst, labor was hard work.
"Ma'am?" She asks shocked, though why she was she didn't know. Maybe she expected Gaza's mother to be black like he was, not so lovely as the woman before her. "His name...He what, deaf, are ya sure?" The words are pained, her poor beautiful boy, deaf. She gathers herself biting back the tears that pool in the corner of her eyes. "Rucker, his name, it's gonna be Rucker." She gives it almost solemnly, nuzzling at the little colts side. The poor thing, he'd never hear her I love you's.
The boy does not notice the strands of gold. He does notice the warmth of the mare, her soft muzzle on his forehead and the gentle rumble of her voice as it reverberates through his body. He feels content, his anxiety eased by her touch.
Before long his tummy rumbles, an uncomfortable feeling, and the boy begins to notice that his nose is overloaded with smells. Patiently he picks through them until he recognizes one that makes his mouth water. He nudges the golden mare politely and stumbles towards his mother. A sigh of relief leaves his throat, a sound he does not hear. His mother nuzzles his side. He responds with a wagging tail and an eager lunge for milk. The black colt drinks deeply, oblivious to the world around him, oblivious to the sound of his name being spoken into the air.
For him, in this moment, life is simple. There is touch and there is food. Already he is a male of simple tastes. The world will delight him even though it will never speak to him.
Damn it, this was not going as planned. Sure, they’d successfully burned the living daylights out the the tree, and Gryffen had carried off the queen like he had wanted. But then, Weed, Erebor and himself had been carried off like a sack of potatoes.
Bloody fantastic.
Was one queen worth three good men? Kushiel did not think so. Not if that queen was Fiasko and one of the men was himself. Straia would have been worth all this fuss. She was necessary to her kingdom. Without her, the various rabid animals she ruled would surely turn on each other. Kushiel didn’t think anyone in the Gates had enough of a spark to turn on anyone. Without a ruler they would probably just start up a republic. The gray stallion groaned inwardly, and it was hard to keep it from turning external. He scowled at Shahrizai, suddenly loosing his already poor patience.
“Shah, good buddy, I wish I could tell you. I really do. One minute I was burning that stupid tree and the next minute I’m here, being interrogated by you, your creepy desert lady, a vicious dog, who should be put down, by the way, and her! He cast a look at Wichita, who had successfully delivered her son. It was really all too much to be born. The fire in the stallion’s mane grew a little higher and his dark eyes, usually bored or sarcastic, or glinting with delight, turned wicked.
“And what’s it to you? If that’s what I was doing?” He was talking about the tree of course, and the whole business with the Gates.
“Last I checked, the Gates was no ally of the Desert. Surely, you’re not enough of a hypocrite to provide no aid and then whine at their attackers.” Another glinting, wicked grin. He needed to cool it a little, but it was so hot here, and already he was so thirsty. Arrogantly, Kushiel pushed past the large group and took another drink of water. Determined to show them that he wasn’t going to be pushed around, even if there was a pack of them.
Hey, it wasn’t much, but Kushiel did have some pride left.
10-11-2015, 04:55 PM (This post was last modified: 10-11-2015, 05:08 PM by Tioga.)
And echoed in the wells, of Silence
It had all happened so suddenly. Well, it hadn't really but it felt like it had. Truly, her hearing had slowly left her over the last few years, parting with her more and more each day. A loss of something so significant was bound to be overwhelming. She wanted to scream as she realized it was gone, that she could not hear a soul. She kept her mouth shut though, there were too many strangers around.
Her brother has no trouble finding this world, slipping from their Dam in a case of wetness. She had witnessed each birth now, it was sort of tradition, and she was glad to find he was black. She had once been black, most of her siblings were in some way, maybe that was tradition too. Where she had been so plain, he was adorned with streaks of white, it was sort of nice.
More are to come, a woman, golden and beautiful. If Tioga could hear she would know her voice, her words, were as exotic as her beauty. She can't hear though, can't hear a thing, not her mom, not this woman. It's frustrating because the desert woman plants a kiss to her brothers forehead resulting in streaks of gold flowing through his hair. They chat for a moment, mother looking sullen, but when does she not? It is only when her mom's chocolate eyes find her new sibling that she places the look to the source. Something was wrong? He looked okay to her, everything was there. Four legs, two eyes, a nose, yes everything. Now what was that she called him? R? Ru-? Something.
She needs an outlet, something to take her frustration out on, luckily she finds it.
Though she can not hear a damn word, she has been practicing lip reading. She wasn't an expert at it, not the best by all means, but she could make out that word. 'Her' accompanied by a pointed look at her Mother. Blood boiling at this point, he adds a shove making his way to the water, that was the kettle whistle. She turns and throws a kick at his belly, hoping to relieve him of the copious amounts of liquid he was consuming.
Yael pointedly ignores Kushiel for the time being. He will soon come to regret his insulting words. How shall she teach him a lesson? Embarrassment might be best, to wound the stallion’s pride without incurring the hatred of others. Or perhaps a scare and then light humiliation. She finds it funny that there are some who do not know of her, some who never grew up while she ruled the Desert - or some who returned, and still take the Desert for granted. They were respected while she ruled, respected even whilst Camrynn and Pevensie ruled. But as the world turns and the winds shift, so does power. There are however, still dragons in the Desert. They would do best not to forget it.
At the moment, her grandson is in front of her, and so he takes priority. With a quick apology, she gently speaks into Tioga’s mind. Sorry, dear. Xe ees deaf, like you. And then, as she should have done all along, she speaks into all three of their minds, so they know that she is not hiding anything from them. Leettle vone, your name ees Rucker, ahnd t’is ees your seester, Tioga. Eef any of you ever need anyt’ing… seemply call for Yael. I ahm your Grandmozer, your Savta. Ahnd I vill alvays love you. The golden mare smiles at all three of them and then turns to give them some family time. There are other things for her to attend to.
Without missing a beat, Yael turns on her ‘Queen’ voice and addresses the Chamber stallion. “T’is ‘creepy desert lady’ xappens to be able to eat you een vone bite.” She unfurls her massive wings and takes a few steps to gain momentum and then launches herself into the sky, shifting into a golden dragon when she has cleared the air above them.Yael roars her dominion and protection over the sands, circling twice before landing heavily in front of Kushiel once again. Her toothy, very dangerous mouth opens again, but not to attack the Chamberling, just to reprimand him some more. “I vould choose your words more carefully. But for now - “ she hums in the back of her throat and then laughs. If Kushiel were to look in the oasis water, he might find himself a neon pink with electric yellow and lime green polka dots. They’ll fade fairly quickly, but not before he returns to the Chamber with his tale of his time in the Desert.
“- get out. Ze border ees t’at vay.” She indicates a straight line to the north with a taloned, leathery wing. “Try not to get lost.” There is no threat, but the truth remains unspoken. There might not be anyone to help him if he does.
Yael, guardian of the desert
[sorry this took so long! just wanted to wrap it up. Anna, if you don't like that, let me know and I'll be happy to edit it ]
![[Image: Tioga.png]](http://s16.postimg.org/ceb0gz0n9/Tioga.png)
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