twisting on racks when sinews give way; any (one)

[Camrynn]

We do what we must, Because we can. It intrigues her to see the tragedy peel off, breaking apart like a statue in an earthquake. Ironic that the same thing which did so much damage – an earthquake, a rockslide – could now be part of the healing process. A metaphorical sliding of rocks, a disruption of despair, a moment that shakes you to the soul and clears away the dust and decay, sweeping out the attic like a perfect vibration to attack every cobweb – in this case, it would appear, two wrongs do make a right. No, it won't all be better, not yet. Camrynn could make it so in a million different ways, but the one she's chosen is, she knows, the only one that's right. To heal the mare with her own words, words plucked from wind and memory and time, is the only right way to do it. There are some things that even Camrynn will not toy with, some ways of the world that even she does not dare upset, and this process of healing, this slow recovery from numb sadness, is one of them. As she speaks each word she feels what the mare feels, sees what flashes past Dominion's eyes. She is almost astonished that there is so much packed in to four short years – so much history, so much life lived, and so much death. She's more than 50 years old herself, but she knows nothing of loss, especially not the depths of it that seem to swirl and eddy around this mare, like she is a magnet for tragedy. As they speak Dominion's life is largely laid bare to Camrynn's eyes, her history retraced like steps along the beach, like a trail of breadcrumbs. But these crumbs don't lead home; the lead away from death and sorrow, and they are not bread, but the drops of sadness that leak out, the tears that Dominion has left unshed throughout the entirety of her life. But Camrynn can see them – Camrynn can see everything. It's fascinating, to say the least. In another situation she might be tempted to use that knowledge, to twist it to her immediate advantage. But here she understands that it is best kept under wraps, best tucked away in her encyclopedic mind, waiting for a time when it would be ripe, ready to be picked like a perfect poison apple. And perhaps that time would be never; perhaps Camrynn would never have a need to control, never have a need to manipulate or influence Dominion in the future. Perhaps the mare might feel a debt to her now, and perhaps that would be enough. Or perhaps not. Camrynn is a magician, and aren't they all capricious? "You're welcome." the hint of a smile curls at her lips. She specializes in delivering exactly what is needed; it's another one of the beautiful gifts of magic, the power to speak what needs to be spoken, to do what needs to be done, and all without a single word of direction. "You won't ask how, but I'll tell you anyway." her voice is still warm like velvet, like the embrace of sweet sunshine on a shoreline, a dramatic contrast to her storm-tossed appearance. Her tail, heavy with kelp, drags across the grass as she steps closer. "Those words follow you, Dominion. Anyone can hear them, they just need to know how to listen correctly." She smiles, and her eyes shift to a deep grey. Listening is her specialty – she hears so many things, spoken and unspoken, so many whispers in the night, so many things they don't even know they're saying. They speak with their words, their bodies, their minds, and their souls, their past, present, and future – and some, like Dominion, scream out with all of the above. "You shouldn't know me. We've never met. And even if we had, I can be hard to recognize." She says the last with a hint of gentle amusement. "I'm Camrynn." She states it simply, plainly, as though she is describing the weather. Let the mare ask more if she wants, it is just the two of them and the sunrise. The black magic-mare has all the time in the world. She thinks to ask about the name that floats from Dom's mind - mara - but files it away. She has no desire to scare the mare away with the things she knows. She lets silence hang for just a moment. "Tell me, Dominion, do you have any idea where you are?" C A M R Y N N Why? Because I can Image copyright MariannaInsomnia