"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
watch your tongue or have it cut from your head, save your life by keeping whispers unsaid.
At last, home.
The gentle breeze carries through the thick, shadowed foliage as his six-legged stance comes to a firm half before the border of the land he had once thought of as his own. The sunlight of day was shining down brightly, but already the tightly knit pine held it at bay, shielding his fragile patterned wings with their dark caress. He focuses his compound eyes on the shrubbery ahead, piecing together its delicate branches and minuscule, folded leaves, and he listens closely with too-sensitive ear holes as the wind whistles past him. He is not alone - no, he is accompanied by the companionship of a seductress with a foul attitude and a slick tongue; the scent of her beneath him still lingers on his senses, though the salty rains have already washed it away from his flaking pelt.
He gazes to the alabaster female at his side, observing the way she practically beams at the border, and he knows she too feels the very allure to its shadows. It was foolish to ever leave; asinine to think that either of them could exist comfortably among the searing sun and bright, open skies. They were meant for the shadows, purposed for the embrace of darkness and now, here they are, again. He had once held a principled position within the caste - but he would not fight for it again. He would serve faithfully to his Queen, as he had done for his King, but a position meant little without substance. He was not certain he desired to begin at the bottom again. Perhaps in time, he would allow old wounds to heal and he would again work to better democracy and serve his Queen in whatever way she required.
First, he would have to meet her. To know her.
And know her, he would.
He stepped forth, beyond the boundary, and a snarling wolf was instantly at his flank - its teeth bared, its eyes burning into his, but a soft nicker caused it to blink and think twice. It eased back, uncertain; its scent was certainly of another land, yet he was altogether recognizable - no creature could view a six-legged equine with such unusual eyes and appendages and not think twice. He pauses then and calls to her, to Topsail, his voice carrying through the heavy mist and thickly laced trees. It was only a matter of time until she came, and he braced himself - he had heard of her unusual trick, but he was not altogether prepared to see it.
elysium
no mercy from the edge of the blade, dare escape and learn the price to be paid.
At the border’s edge the Valley is already greeting her, cool mist and shadows tickling their fingers along her bleached pelt. Home is home and it is beautiful and dark and welcome, it was everything she loves and most things she coveted as well. She’s not even sure why she ever left, oh, that’s right- curiosity, a young man. A veil over her mind, unclear thinking and a mother’s concern. Or was that right? No, perhaps Padma was not the most concerned of all Mother’s. Sure she did just fine raising her brood, protecting them when need be but once grown well, honey, it was time to cut the cord. Truly the alabaster woman thought that time spent in the grossly sunny Kingdom would somehow benefit her, when it did not pan out as she had hoped, she left. No hard feelings son.
Either way it had not been her most fruitful endeavor, then again, maybe it had been. Even now she feels the twist in her gut, the rising and falling of her stomach that the unborn child makes her feel when it moves inside her bulging belly. Lover’s came easy, they went easy too but this one was somehow more innocent than others. Guarded? Sheltered? Elysium was an unassuming creature to her and she was not so put off with his presence as she sometimes was with others. Of course she liked all the special things, the traited curiosities but traits did not make up for what one might lack in the personality department. Maybe he was quietly fierce, whatever it was she liked about him, it was certain that she liked it, pressing to his side even now as he too stops at the Valley’s invisible line.
Before she herself presses forward, the moth look-alike was entering the familiar shadow lands, and as she had guessed their lands protectors were quick to announce their presence. The Valley guardians were like a secret, smoke and mirrors, mist and shadow. A single shadow-wolf flanked Elysium, snarling and spitting as wild dogs seemed to do, black teeth bared and onyx eyes empty. Padma was less calm, snaking her head at the smoke and mirror creature and where her companion offered tones soothing and low she gave a shrill voice of her own. Time and time again had these magic things seen her, seen him and the audacity was just enough to raise her horsey hackles. Padma was not one to be shunned as it were, she was far too inclined with herself to be just another horse wandering in, if she should be known in any place it should be the Valley.
By luck or fear or coincidence the dog subsides, slinking back into wisps of black veil. She doesn’t add her own coo to the call when one presses forward from Elysium’s insect like mouth, she simply waits, eyes and ears alert into the darkness. This new Queen should be a sight to see, how else could something that hailed from the Gates last in a world such as this one?
The fog slipped its cool fingers over her tawny brown scales, caressing her like the touch of a lover. It wound around every fierce inch of her, keen on claiming her ferociousness for its own. Though she had been raised a princess of the Gates, she was born from the darkness. Perhaps there was too much of it in her bloodline for her to escape it entirely. Despite being from the Gates, her heritage was rich with the Valley. From her sire’s grandsire, Carnage, to her other grandsires sire Covet…the Valley was, by all means, her birthright. It was here that she had learned to come into her own, and tap into the darkness that had always lingered in her chest. Here she had learned to control said darkness, to funnel it into something constructive. The Gates had been little more than a nest to keep her safe from the darkness in the world…little did the Gates know, she was the darkness. She was the thing that hid in the shadows, the things young foals whispered about late at night to scare one another. She was the thing of stories and legend.
Their presence did not go unnoticed, even before she heard the call. There was little that escaped her Raptor senses, and a trespasser certainly did not. She stood still for the moment, still but for the rapid expanding of her ribcage as she searched for their scents. One male, one female. The male didn’t smell quite equine though. Topsail the horse was curious, while Topsail the Raptor was simply furious. Again, she did not move, waging a silent battle with the other side of her which was keen on eliminating the perceived threat. Only when she was sure that the Raptor was carefully hidden beneath her equines more logical brain did she proceed. The forest flew beneath her clawed feet as she ran, paying little to no mind as the briars bounced harmlessly off her leathery hide. It did not take her long to reach the pair, and when her eyes found the stallion, curiosity was replaced by confusion. He was a hodgepodge of legs and wings, topped off by giant eyes. He gave off a distinct powdery smell, though it was distinct only to him. It certainly wasn’t something she had ever smelled before. The mare beside him was oddly marked but very much an equine, so for now Topsail paid her little mind. It was the dusty-gold stallion that had her attention. Even the Raptor had no response, an odd turn of events indeed. When she had regained her wits she quickly scanned their minds. Elysium and Padma, former members of the Valley. Flashing them a toothy grin, she quickly shifted back, replacing the large reptile with her more common grulla form. “Elysium. Padma. Welcome back to the Valley. Topsail.” Short and sweet and with no explanation how she knew what she knew.
watch your tongue or have it cut from your head, save your life by keeping whispers unsaid.
Her teeth.
He finds himself oddly uncomfortable; a sensation - an emotion he rarely experiences. He is usually the cause for discomfort, with his mangled six limbs, beady compound eyes and feathery antennae, and yet something more unearthly than even himself now stood menacingly before him. Though the eyes - so intelligent in nature - remained curious, neutral, he could not look away from her sharp, threatening incisors. He can feel himself unraveling and growing unnerved beneath the surface, though he only allows his compound gaze to lazily blink once, feigning indifference to her intensified appearance. He had heard many tales, but none as outlandish as the reality standing before him.
Suddenly, she is within his mind, and he seizes - and the discomfort fades. Her tone is gentle, soothing even, completely unmatched to her frightening reptilian form. She speaks of his name, and he does not question it - he has not been gone so long from the Valley as to have forgotten the arrangement, nor the nature of her coming to power, and he has not been gone so long that the shadowed Valley had forgotten him. She must be able to see within, he assumes, and he guards himself, attempting to steel away from her prying ability but he knows deep down it is of no use. What the Queen wishes to see and know of him, she simply will, and that is the price he will be forced to pay to serve beneath her.
She changes now. A beautiful, slender and still somewhat terrifying equine, her eyes flashing as dangerously as the velociraptor's had - it lingers beneath the surface, always waiting to strike, this he knows. He lowers his crown, feathery antennae bobbing gently with his motion, as he gently bows his head to her. He observes her pelt, which is tainted the color of dust and stormy skies, and her eyes, which speak more to him than her mind games ever could. He pauses to glance momentarily to the reptilian-painted female at his side, knowing not what they have wandered into and yet undeniably, insatiably hungry for more.
"Thank you, Queen Topsail - after leaving to fulfill a request on behalf of the previous King Demian, we have returned to service the lands that call to us most. I pledge my allegiance to the Valley, which has called to me every dusk and dawn since I left it behind, and I pledge my allegiance to you."
And there is little else he can do but to wait.
elysium
no mercy from the edge of the blade, dare escape and learn the price to be paid.
Padma watches the monstrosity with a hungry stare. Two dark pits for eyes, endless and empty though they reflect all they take in. In this moment she doesn’t bother to soften her looks, to ease into some role of pristine lady for the Queen reptile, instead she smiles almost wickedly at the animals approach. The snake-skinned woman had always had a soft spot for the unusual, the unique. A soft spot but she was far from soft, no matter what sort of farce she might outwardly display in most circumstances. In reality, Padma was a lie. A fake, a pretend lady of poise. Soft spoken, kind, playful, when truly she did this only to achieve her own means, only to get what she wanted.
Some might think it shameful to play the sex card the way she did, some could piss off. Padma did not worry herself with the opinions of mice, when she was a viper in need of no approval. She did not ask for counsel on the matter, instead she was a woman of her own mind, carefully positioning pieces until they fell into place where she wanted. Lately the pieces were more meaningful, called for a bit of attachment at times like the one beside her. A frightful thing he was to some, or less he may have been a hideous view to others, but to Padma he was radiant in his eccentricities.
The Queen before them is no less unusual in this state, beastial and feral and exuding all things power. If Padma knew of ways to grow manhood,she would likely have begun plotting her next move to obtain such in that moment. Alas, she would settle only for her open glare, the slow steady movement of her eyes tracing each jagged tooth against the monter’s jaw. If she were feeling frisky she may have made movement to touch them, to trace their sharp edges ever so carefully but Padma knows when things are appropriate- and this is not such a time. Even if it were the display is fleeting as the lizard turns to a sleek, mousey horse hide before their very eyes.
As words fill her mind her ears flatten for a moment, except the realization it is a female voice settles her poison reaction. How many little secrets did her Highness hold she wondered but she did not ask. Instead she lets Elysium speak, he is far more suited for exchanging words of diplomatic sense than she was. A nod follows his pledge, her ivory mane falling in fine tendrils over her dark eyes. “Oh indeed Ely, long live the Queen.”, she responds with coy satisfaction, flicking her tail against his side as she speaks.
Topsail was quickly learning that Demian had made many promises he hadn’t intended to keep. Or maybe he had, and circumstance had gotten in the way. Life had a way of doing that; Topsail knew all too well. Her father had been a dreamer as well, and often times his gypsy nature had over ridden good common sense. She had started down that path, and at one time had even found herself scattered amongst the stars. The part of her life was mostly a distant memory, but she could still recall the bitter taste of stardust. A gypsy life wasn’t a productive life though, a promises lost their charm when whispered through prison bars. As much as she admired her father (and even Demian, to an extent), they were dangerous footsteps to follow in. instead, she would forge her own path. The path may eventually lead her through the darkest parts of the forest, but it would be done in her way.
She followed their gaze, registered their apprehension and overall shock. It wasn’t surprising; for the most part, she was unlike anything Beqanna had ever seen. A living breathing fossil; a fossil capable of making plenty of corpses to join the extinct. But the two before her were friendly; rather, they weren’t enemies. The wolves of the kingdom seemed to welcome them, and that was assurance enough for the Queen. She could easily look past their odd appearances, and in Padma’s case, unnerving personality. They had chosen to continue their ties to the Valley and put their faith in her as their leader.
As she shifted back into her given form, she couldn’t help but notice how hungrily Padma’s eyes had swept over every lethal curve of her former body. The snake of a mare had seemed particularly interested in her teeth. That (and the claws) were normally the features that caused most to recoil in fear. In any case Topsail noted it in the back of her mind; perhaps the hungry glean in the mares eyes would come in handy in the future. Once the leathery skin was completely shed she offered them both a genuine smile, gracious under so many eyes. “Again, I welcome you both back. The Valley and myself value loyalty. I think you’ve both proven that.” she said as she inclined her head to both of them. “Both Demian and my own father had many grand plans. Grand plans that would never come into fruition. Some might even say they left rubble and others to pick up the pieces. I intend to start picking those pieces up.” She had no desire to be the Queen of a slumbering kingdom. Like a phoenix, they would rise from the ashes and become greater than before. They would take the pieces others had left for them and build them into something magnificent.
