darkness is coming to swallow the light; chalmette, yael, any

[demian]

I looked at my mother dear, didn't even crack a smile.
Said if woman don't kill me I don't mind dying.

New directions had always led the jaguar spotted stallion onto interesting paths, giving him a new and exciting purpose in life. His mother had raised him with the intention of him being some great ruler, yet for years he had done everything in his power to avoid her teachings and desires. When she ahd passed, Demian had left the corners of the Tundra and traveled as far south as possible, planting himself in the Valley and watching generations come and go. Until one day he had awoken to the deafening silence that was almost painful. Emerging from the shadows, Demian found the Valley to be almost empty and suddenly he came to the first point in his life where he felt the strong feeling of loneliness.

You could say that was where his own change in direction had come into play. A new sense of work ethic and determination filled the stallion and over time he worked his butt off until finally he found himself as far as he could go. And now he's done it twice. Oh how proud his mother would be, if only he could show her. Though he somehow knew that Adalind was watching him, even now as he did his best to make the Valley great once more.

It was when Chalmette asked about the Valley's being called a herd that his ears pricked forward and he chuckled softly. "Oh, well you could say that." He smiles then knowing that the newcomers to Beqanna didn't always come from places with both herds and kingdoms and so their knowledge of how their home worked wasn't always understood. "The Valley isn't just a herd though," his smile remains, genuine and gentle. "Like Yael's home, the Deserts, it is a kingdom." He knows the simple structures of herd life and the intricate ones of kingdom life and how different they are, but he holds back on explaining it outright as he wanted her to be able to ask as many questions as she wanted and make the discovery for herself.

For sometimes discovering the world on one's own was much better than a detailed explanation with fancy descriptions. And you could say he always loved to help others make new discoveries as it was one of his favorite things, to learn of something new and different. It just made life that much more interesting and exciting, even if it was something he couldn't see. Just touch or feel.

It was her next few statements that perk his interest. He was still so curious to know about her past, but he refrained from asking knowing that now wasn't the best time. "Yes, I guess it is and if only we could teach them but sadly we have to wait for the rest to learn on their own." He smiles softly. Demian had yet to come across a situation where a stallion treated a mate wrong, but if he had been witness to Chalmette's pain and the abuse her once lover had provided her he would have most definitely put an end to it and swept her up and away to safety. For despite how he could make decisions that not everyone could agree with and how he provided a home for the outcasts and the misfits, he did live by a code and one of those was most certainly to protect those who didn't deserve the harm coming their way.

It is when Chalmette turns her attention back to Yael that he allows himself to fall silent once more. He enjoys allowing the two to talk, and when Chalmette invites the once deserts queen to the Valley he nods softly and lets a small smile quirk at the corner of his lips. "I actually wouldn't mind that in the least. I'd be happy to have Yael join us." He turns his head to the mare and nods respectfully and when she requests he lead the way, he turns leading them into the trees and towards the southern end of Beqanna.

He walks ahead of the pair, leaving the two to talk as he walks in silence until finally he manages to lead them to the edge of the Valley's border which was lined with tall pines. The fresh pine scent mixed with salty sea air blew along in the soft breeze as it reached them and wrapped around their bodies like a soft embrace. He pictured the way the mountain tops peaked above the thick pines to the left and how the ocean lined the back of the kingdom with it's white crested waves. Shaking his head gently he broke himself from the visual memories and turned his head back as though he were looking at the two and gestured slightly at the trees that clearly grew in the form of a border. "Here we are, and of course, welcome." He smiles once more before stepping forward and leading them in. "We're a bit sparse at the moment ladies, but I'm sure the members we do have would love to meet you. If you give it time, they'll emerge from wherever they're hiding."

D E M I A N

html copyright to the lovely call

@[Yael]
@[Chalmette]

please forgive me for this taking forever. the last week was so gosh darn busy with my parents birthdays D:

[Chalmette]

The dark gray mare beams as the golden offers a welcome, but it is the second part of Yael’s statement that truly draws Chalmette’s attention. She catches something distant in Yael’s tone, as if the accented mare had drifted off into yesteryear, and she finds herself recognizing the feeling much too well. After all, has she not been trying to fight such a sensation during the entire conversation? Perhaps here is a kindred spirit, someone who has already paved the way? Someone also who also seeks to leave her past life behind? Or perhaps Chalmette reads what did not exist, and Yael had just discovered B’kanna exploring innocently.

Regardless, Chalmette had just begun to open her mouth in response when Demian begins to explain the Valley further. Quickly she closes her lips, making a mental note to inquire further from Yael at a better time, before she turns her full attention to the stallion with interest. After all, to her already, he now represents the future (or at least, a potential path into the future). She does not need to dwell on past events at the moment.

But Demian’s descriptions of the Valley as a kingdom are brief, which, for better or worse, only manages to interest the steel gray mare further. Slightly puzzled as to the differences between a kingdom and herd still, she cocks her head. “I suppose a visit will be worth a thousand words,” she smiles in response, pausing for a moment after. “I do apologize if I bombard y’all both with questions once we arrive,” she adds as almost an afterthought, again feeling warmth creeping back into her cheeks.

Any embarrassment from her lack of knowledge soon vanishes, overtaken by genuine happiness as Yael not only agrees to accompany them but invites them to her home as well. So Yael wasn’t homeless after all, the gray mare makes a mental note. Perhaps that is one difference between herds and kingdoms – kingdoms have mares bring home other mares! Unable to contain a smile of gratitude, she glances at both mare and stallion and nods. They both seem so pleasant, and Chalmette could use some friends after her lonesome trek. Thus, she easily responds to Yael, her tone tinted with excitement. “Yes, I’d love to see your home as well. I’ve never seen a desert before… thank you for the invite!”

As they then proceed to follow the stallion, she finds herself thinking back to Yael’s prior statement. “So where did you come from? Your accent is quite beautiful.” she asks innocently, her dark eyes studying the golden mare with each step. “What drew you to stay in this land, out of all those in this world?” she continues, partially out of sheer curiosity and partially as if to convince herself to stay and not return to her past.

Yet, even the thought of the past draws up visions of him and she finds herself looking forward, seeking to distract herself. Luckily, her gaze settles back on the jaguar stallion, and once again, he draws her back to the present. “What about you, Demian?” she finds herself asking instead, having suddenly realized she knew nothing of his past either. “Are you native to these lands, or a past wanderer like us?”

Before long, the tall pines that lined the path gives way, opening to an expansive valley surrounded by white-topped mountains. The gray mare halts in shock, her breath lost in awe. She inhales deeply, enjoying the earthy scent of pines tickling her nostrils. “Your home is gorgeous…” she stammers to the stallion, trailing off in a momentary loss for words. Her eyes continue to study the stretch before them with wonder, following the graceful aerials of the eagles above to the waves lapping at the shore below and everything in-between.

“Thank you for the invite, Demian,” she finally manages to mumble after a couple seconds, still attempting to contain her awe. Luckily, he continues to speak, allowing her a few more seconds to catch her breath. “How many other members are there?”

(No problem! Happy birthday to your parents!!)

chalmette

SHE EXHALES VANILLA LACE

[Yael]

yael

Yael hasn’t made it a habit to visit the Valley, mostly because they were usually at odds with each other, and even if she wanted to disguise herself and mingle freely (with only the best of intentions, on her honor), Eight would have known she was there. The two kingdoms had been on reasonably good terms when Camrynn held the throne, but she does not hold any illusions that the goodwill continued when their… personal relationships sank beneath the sands. If it were anyone else, Yael would have politely declined the invitation - but it’s difficult to get mad at someone for being in your kingdom when they have a personal invitation from the King himself. Anyway, this visit isn’t for reconnaissance or to be nosy. It’s ‘friendly.’ Or as close as friendly as she can come to when the drums of war beat in the background.

“Of course, eet vould be my pleasure” she says simply and falls into step with the two of them. It isn’t long before the conversation picks up again, and a smile quirks the corner of her lips. She glances over to Demian, and then back to Chalmette. “T’ank you. I ahm from a land called Tzion… eet ees ze ancestral xome of my tribe.” She pauses briefly, no more than a few paces, and then soldiers on through a story that has lost most of its pain by now. “Somet’ing xappened vhen I vas a girl. T’ere vas a fire, ahnd…. everyvone died except me. My fazer got me out. Ahnd t’en I ran and ran and ran and ended up xere. Ahnd a very nice voman took me under xer care een ze Desert.”

Yael ruffles her wings, remembering the day she got them, and then the day she could maintain them on her own. The women here were fifty times stronger than the women of her tribe, they knew liberties previously only afforded to men. Sure, there were female Rabbis, and some of the elder mares were highly respected, but on the whole, stallions were in control. It blewYael’s mind; and then it empowered her.   “T’ey all took me een, showed me a vorld I could never dream of - ve xad no mageec, no idea t’at ve could be any more t’an a mate and mozer…” She chuckles incredulously. Yael has held tightly to some traditions from her past, trying to give her children names in her language, trying to get them to call her Imma and their father, Abba. Every now and then she looks up to the sky and talks to Adonai. But this land, this B’kanna, offered her more than Tzion ever could.

“Xow could I go back to t’at? Vhen I xad seen ze most eencredible t’ings? Xoo vould xaf believed me - t’at ve could fly and breaze fire and turn eento dragons?” Her warm, cinnamon colored eyes go wide, as if she is reliving these revelations for the first time. She shakes her head, tossing silver strands around, and pauses to glance around the changing landscape. They were almost to the Valley. “No. I xaf seen miracles beyond my wildest dreams, and known xeartache and birt’ed my cheeldren xere. I xaf been a Keen. And I shall outleev most of my fameelee. So perxaps vhen t’ey are gone, I shall leave again… or maybe I vill just go to sleep.” She glances back at Demian, knowing that he understands what she speaks of.

In the following silence, Yael might have blushed, if horses could do so. Instead, she tsks at herself, and quickly changes the subject. “Ach, but I haf been talking too long! So sorry, my freends.” The golden mare falls silent then, until Demian introduces them to the Valley, and she breathes deeply, inhaling that fresh pine smell, the crispness that is so lacking in the Desert. There is something to be said for the rest of the kingdoms; they are usually exceptionally beautiful. And yet she wonders if they could compare to the empty sky at night, or the radiant sunrises and sunsets. For now, Yael simply enjoys the change in scenery, and the company of this odd trio. It wouldn’t be long, she silently  muses, before it might all come crashing down.    

meep. forgive me, friends. i have no excuse :/