"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
The painted stallion guided the blue roan from the field to the Falls kingdom. It was a peaceful trip back that he decided to tell her about the castes the Falls had every kingdom has two castes, the diplomats which go out and make or keep our alliances. They recruit and pretty much handle the politcal part of the kingdom. And than there is the warriors, we protect and defend the kingdom, partake in mock battles. If you decide to stay in the kingdom you can chose a caste, but it is not mandatory. He gazed back at her every now and than to see if either caste caught her interest.
He remained a good distance from the mare who did not care for closeness, and eventually that broke through the entrance of the Falls, rushing water ringing through his ears. He took in a deep breath of the clean air before stopping to turn to the blue mare And this would be the Falls, don't feel pressured to stay but we are a very welcoming kingdom. I think you would like us he smiled gently before turning to view the lands again.
During the duo's trip back to Jedi's kingdom, it had been relatively quiet in the beginning. Neoma mainly listened, her left ear turned toward the paint so she could catch everything he was saying. At first, nothing interested her, even though the warrior caste sounded tempting. That was something she could definitely do. She'd taught herself how to fight, how to defend her pride and wellbeing. How much harder would it be to protect others from the same thing, especially if there were others in the caste?
Neoma also noticed that Jedi was doing his best to keep a respectful distance from her, something she appreciated. Clearly, he understood the need of space for the blue roan mare.
When they arrived at his kingdom, the healthy air filled the mare's lungs, causing a great sense of security to spread through Neoma's body. She didn't know why, but being here, it just comforted her. She felt safe here, secure. She didn't know why, what made this kingdom feel so safe to her, or why it comforted her; it just did.
"Warrior caste sounds fine," Neoma mumbled, not caring to look at Jedi as she offered him an answer.
The painted stallion enjoyed the company of the mare, even though it was silent. He remained rather quiet in the kingdom since Ashara disappeared but he has recently started venturing out and Neoma was the start of his recruitment. She listened to his words but did not answer anything, although once they broke through the entrance of the kingdom her demeanor changed. He wanted to laugh but refrained, they always had the same reaction, hard headed at the start and ready to melt once they saw the kingdom. He has seen many kingdoms in Beqanna but the Falls was by far the best.
After some moments of silence Neoma spoke, she would be in the warrior caste in which he gave a dip of his head. will you be staying in the Falls than? he gave a humble laugh. The mare remained distant, he couldn't help but picture her and Raxa being very good friends. Well myself as well as Archam and the King Kreios hold the highest rank in the warrior caste. If you have any questions let any one of us know he looked about the lands for a few scans before turning back to the blue mare do you have any questions?
Neoma nodded in response to Jedi's question of her residence. She didn't know if she would like it here come the first couple of days, but it looked nice enough. She figured she would, and the view from here really was beautiful. She had a good feeling about this place.
The blue roan heard Jedi start talking again, so she turned to face him. "At the moment, nothing important. Just one: any suggestions of where I should start exploring first?" she asked excitedly, her tail swishing back and forth as she thought of the secrets this land could hide.
The blue mare has flipped completely, she was much happier than when he first met her in the field. He wasn't sure what set the mare off, but he was glad that she was coming around. She nodded to his question and she was staying in the Falls, he was certainly glad to hear that Wonderful he said in response with a smile on his face.
She stated she had no questions but wanted to know where to explore first, he took a moment of silence and than smiled Follow me! he laughed and bolted off forward, he gently thrashed his head around and raced until he felt water underneath his hooves. He slid to a halt in the freezing lake that pooled at the base of the waterfall. It was winter but during the other seasons it was a nice grazing area, fresh grass and a wonderful smell and sounds of the waterfall. Just beyond the open field was some hills that led back to the kingdoms heart, he turned around to look at Neoma this has always been my favorite place
Neoma eagerly followed the stallion as he raced off. She still kept a distance, and watched him with a wary eye, but could not contain her excitement for long. She galloped alongside the stallion, trying to hide the fact that if she wanted, she could probably easily outpace him. However, she held back, if only because she had no idea where she was going.
After a short gallop, they arrived at a small lake that pooled at the base of a waterfall. Right now, the land was blanketed with a thick layer of snow, and the water seemed frigid, but the sight of how beautiful it was made Neoma's eyes sparkle. She'd never seen anything like this before.
The mare kicked up some more snow, ignoring the pain of her injuries for now; she was simply having too much fun. She galloped a couple strides before folding her legs under her body and rolling onto her back, enjoying the feeling of the snow against her as she kicked it up while she rolled.
They raced alongside each other, paired up close he laughed with joy. It was nice to have another to converse with, he hasn't spoken to many equines aside from Sunfall and Blazed. When he splashed into the water and turned around Neoma was laying down into the snow, she began to roll and he smiled just watching her. He stepped out of the water into the snow covered ground, he extended his neck and shook his body ridding it of any water that remained on his pelt. Neoma he spoke as she rolled on the ground what brought you to Beqanna? he asked curious, he enjoyed learning about the members of his caste, and he wanted to build a level of trust between the two.
When Jedi spoke to her, Neoma stopped rolling so that she could listen to him. She almost wished she hadn't. The mare rolled onto her belly, stretching out her front legs before she hoisted herself off the ground. She got her hind legs under her body before giving it a good shake, getting rid of some of the snow that had speckled her back in the pattern of an appaloosa.
She hesitated a moment, "I... well, where I was from before... it wasn't the... nicest place to live, I guess. I left to get away from it all, it was just too much, so I started traveling to see if there was a nicer place to live than that hellhole. I found a couple places, and thought they were nice, but they all turned out to be real bulls*** places to be, so I left them all and kept going. Eventually, I just kinda stumbled upon this place, and I took to living in the Field for a while as I decided to try living here, to see if it would be a good place for me."
The painted stallion watched as the roan mare rolled around, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the kingdom so far, a gentle smile curled on his lips. The mare lifted herself off the ground, seemingly bothered by his question but she shared anyways.
She talked about her past and he gave a nod, he had a similar start to life but was glad to have found this kingdom some odd years ago. The Falls has been everything for Jedi and he dedicates himself for the kingdom. He stepped closer to Neoma I'm sorry to hear that, I hope the Falls will be everything you wanted. he smiled gently We are such a tight knit kingdom, I think you will fit in just fine He would generally nuzzle his friends in compassion but he did not Neoma well enough, and she probably would not be a fan of such an act. So instead he just gave a humble gaze to her, hoping his words were enough.
