"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
oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..
The journey seems to get easier every time. At first, Circinae had been afraid of the letting the water take ahold, so unpredictable was its current and fortitude. The waves had a pension for sending her odd places and, half of the time, she’d find herself teleported midway out to sea where she’d simply start all over again. Frustrating, to say in the least, but those months of toil and mishap perfecting her gift had been worth the effort. Now, each spot that she knew was safe for transport was locked away inside of her mind; filed there along with the hundreds of other safe doorways her power could send her through. No distance was too far in Beqanna, no place hidden from her.
Each time, however, she closes her eyes.
It’s a matter of seeing with the mind, of opening that ability to trust instinct above eyesight. Now, with her neck intertwined about Jah-Lilah’s, she’s got her eyes firmly shut and her ears filled with a roaring sound. The two are swept away, breathtakingly quick, and transported immediately to the rough shores of Nerine. This place is much like the other that they left; briny water lapping at their knees, a sloping inclination of land. The one difference, though, is the cliffs. With a small shake of her narrow head, Circinae blinks softly and peers up at their impressive, grey heights. “We’re here.” She murmurs, unlocking herself from the concrete death grip she and Jah had shared.
Above them, gulls cry havoc and the wind whips angrily against the slate rock. Her tail has billowed out behind her, a filmy veil of navy blue that, soaked through, seems almost black. “I thought of Canaan and this is where we were dumped?” The wolfish mare muses, her tone warmed by a pleasantly curious lilt. “Odd.”
Undulating against her chest, the cold of the sea has begun to numb her legs so the pony-mare pushes herself ahead, dainty hooves digging ardently into the sand while her forward motion creates ripples of water that stream alongside her. “Are you alright?” She asks Jah-Lilah, throwing her head over her shoulder to assess her fiery companion. This was only the second time she’d transported another horse, and the first that was adult-sized. “And the pegasi around here think flying is fast!” She laughs aloud, happy to simply be here, whole, and with a goal in mind.
The shore and her craggy caverns meet them soon enough and, once breached, Circy gives a hearty shake for good measure before peering out to either side of the beach. Their task, which before had seemed so hopeful and simple, now seemed as impossibly bare and never-ending as this shore. “Well,” The teleporter sighs, “Which direction should we start in?”
08-18-2017, 08:27 PM (This post was last modified: 08-18-2017, 08:29 PM by Jah-Lilah.)
Jah-Lilah
someday, we will foresee obstacles
With skin too tight, and eyes like marbles, you spin me high...
Her friend fed off of her energy and was suddenly awake and alive with drive and motivation. She pleads with Jah-Lilah to accompany her on this strange journey to save her beloved, and how could Jah ever tell her no? She is suddenly snatched up and pulled close into another warm embrace, and she accepts it wholeheartedly. Circinae whispers sweetly into her mane and a shudder runs through Jah-Lilah's body involuntarily. She bobs her head, eyes dancing with excitement. Circy backs a few step and retreats, with Jah hot on her heels.
They romp gloriously through the underbrush, my flower's mane and tail finger combed by tree branches. She feels amazing. A trail of sparks is in their wake, Jah-Lilah's electric feel oozing out of her pores and manifesting as mock fireflies as they make their way to the beach. Circy comes to a sudden halt in front of her, stopping only a moment as the earth changes to sand beneath their hooves. Jah all but slams into the back of her, veering right suddenly then pirouetting ina circle to meet Circinae face to face again. The girl asks Jah about trust, and Jah-Lilah doesn't even bat an eye at the question. "Blindly." Jah-Lilah answers, breathless not from their run, but from the way her emotions and feelings are bubbling up inside her. She can barely take it, grinning and dancing in place as Circinae promises her a 'hell of a ride.' Jah-Lilah is ready. "Ha! I'm always ready for a new high, let's do this girl!" She plunges knee deep into the water, latching onto her friend tightly, fidgeting in agitation, anticipating what was to happen next.
Her stomach churns, waiting for that moment. Jah-Lilah had never been water-ported, and she could hardly believe she was going to be one with the ocean at any moment now. Her shoulder friend clenches her eyes shut tightly, and Jah-Lilah follows suit. Bottoms up ladies, here we go. Her ears are filled with the sounds of waterfalls, of rivers roaring, of white water jumping. She clings tightly, but fearlessly to Circinae, any excuse to touch the girl. Then just as quick as it started, everything stops. Jah-Lilah stands on slightly wobbly legs and opens her eyes curiously. She is dumbstruck at how incredible the cliffs of Nerine were up close, taking a step back and nearly bumping her dear friend with her voluptuous rump. She whirls in excitement, eyes wide in wonder.
"Wolf-of-the-Water you are simply AMAZING! That was awesome, holy sh!t girl! You made it look easy!" She comes close and bumps muzzles with her, whinnying. After her shock and all has dimmed, my red wytch follows Circinae's gaze, making a similar face of disgust. She splashes in the water, ever a child. "But why? What's he doing here?" She follows near the hip of Circinae, steps a little less surefooted as the transport is a new experience for her. She was becoming more and more enamored with the little emerald mare the more time she spent with her. She never wanted it to end, but Jah-Lilah knew they were here on serious business. They had to find Canaan. She shakes herself, snorting debris from her delicate nostrils. "Aye, I'm alright lovey. A little shook, but in a good way. I like it, I feel alive."
The mare tosses her head over Jah-Lilah's withers and Jah reaches around to nip and nibble at Circinae's chest, wuffling low to her. She chuckles as the Wolf-of-the-Water proudly declares herself faster than a Pegasus, and she isn't wrong. She nods her head in agreement, then peers around and assesses the situation and the area around them. She takes a deep breath, inhaling and sorting through scents, looking for the winged mate of her friend. She just doesn't know his scent well enough. She paws the ground restlessly, meeting eyes with her partner-in-crime. "I can't call it, lovey. I can't pick his scent out of the wind. It's going to have to be you. You can do it." She shoulders Circy gently, lending her strength. "Close your eyes, think of him. The way he looks, the way he sounds. Remember his scent, was it sweet and salty, like yours? Or like sage and patchouli, like me? Remember how it felt when he touched you. Remember how he felt inside and on top of you, the day your sons were made. You can do this." She speaks soothingly, attempting to transport the girl with her voice. The only other sound around them was the water lapping at their hooves.
oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..
It takes very little to remember. Nights spent alone, nights spent with Raeanne. Nights when she forgot who she was and the wolf inside of her ran free. Days that took all her strength to make it through, days she wished could've never ended. The feel of water on her skin, the smell of her sons when they first opened their eyes to new life.
She remembers it all.
But Canaan? Can she remember him, or is it a sort of hope that she remembers now? Perhaps her golden love hadn’t meant to come home those winters long ago. Maybe it was his time to fly beyond their rough seas and out into the unknown, a place even she has seen once. Maybe … maybe this journey was fruitless. “No.” She thinks. “Ellyse had been certain, and Canaan was waiting for you when you returned.” The little mare recalls. Again, Jah-Lilah is right; Circinae must take the first step and discover an ending on her own, no matter the consequence.
With a huff of determination she shifts. Drained as she is from using her gift on them both, the frigid seawater has awoken her energy once more and pricked her skin into numbness. Her pads won’t feel the strain she’s about to put on them as she leaps ahead, to the right, and begins to lope down the shoreline. Her nose, sandy and twisted into a serious frown, is pointed to the sky and she follows it now while the two begin their circuit around the great horn of Nerine. There’s hope yet that she’ll catch scent of him on this wild breeze and, when … if she does, perhaps it will lead them to an answer.
She can only hope. “Should we split up?” The little brown wolf muses aloud, knowing full and well that her lightning-wielding companion could protect herself. “You’d know him from description right away - honey golden, with a dark mane to set the picture nicely. His wings are beautiful, Jah.” She sighs, all the emotions of two years beginning to rise. “Mahogany, almost like my coat. You’ve seen Crevan and Corvus - he’s their maker. Looks just like them.” The lithe predator laughs.
Ahead, the wind drags up the beach and rolls against the stones, breaking in waves that ruffle the fur about her intricate face. The wolf pauses. “Wait. I smell something.” She murmurs, hesitating for a second longer before racing ahead again - this time double-speed until the sand beneath her is kicked up in sprays. “Canaan!” She howls, not even sure if what she’s sensing could be him. She’s blind now, blind with urgency and need. “Canaaaaaan!”
And maybe, I'll find out a way to make it back someday. To watch you, to guide you through the darkest of your days.
He is still, and breathless.
The water is thick with a heavy, frothing foam, but he does not pay it any mind – nor does he pay any heed to the blinding sunlight, boring into his golden skin, tangling itself in his russet feathers. His gaze, laden with uncertainty and awe, is settled upon the distant horizon, where the sea touches the rim of the wide, open and barren sky – a deep, unwavering cerulean, brighter than the ocean gleam, beckoning him forth from the dangerous cliffside edge he found himself perched upon.
His captivity had come to an end less than an hour previous, and though he longed to take to the sky, the feathers that line the hollow bone of each broad and expansive wing are still ill-prepared for flight, and so he is grounded – an unfamiliar anxiety stirring within the pit of his belly. He had been released, no longer imprisoned to the tropical shoreline, no longer confined to the salty brine of the sea, nor the splendor of its vegetation, so vivid and bright against the dull, sullen gray of the rocky precipice. And yet, he felt hesitance fill the crevices – a deeply rooted weariness beginning to surface from the deepest and darkest recesses of his mind.
Time had come and gone, unyielding of the ache in his heart and caring little for what he had left beyond – he had not lost days, but months, an entire year of his life. He had barely known the soft bleat of his newborn children, nor had he even had been able to press a fervent kiss upon the heated brow of his beloved, before it had been all taken away from him, and not at all of his own will.
He had always been a wanderer, but never had he left the delicate roots he left behind for long. Each and every winter, he had been drawn back to the sulfuric island that his mother had called her own, simply to reassure her that he was breathing, that he was well, wanderlust aside. The conception and birth of his sons had been another tender root lain in the moist and fertile soil of his wayward life, and he never would have kept away, not willingly – nor, once his heart had realized the deep and unwavering adoration he felt for their mother, would he have left his beloved Circinae.
Alas, the dread has arisen again in the core of his heart – he longed to see each of them again, to know her soft kiss, to see how time had carved into his boys, to see how they had grown – but there is a piece of him, however small, that knew once he had found them, there might be too much damage done.
There might be nothing for him to find.
The wind is heavy, swirling around him in a heavy gust, pressing beneath the extent of his outstretched wings – there is a finality in drawn out breath, and a hardened resolve within his amber gaze – he would find them, whatever it took, to whatever consequence his absence may have. As his feathered appendages are drawn tightly to each side, his cheek is turned, directing the heavily muscled structure of his body into the deepest, darkest part of the tropical greenery, towards the mainland, when a distant echo causes him to pause – his heart thundering within the tight confinement of his chest.
Circinae.
His gaze, brightened with an indescribable intensity, searches the jagged line of the shoreline, a hesitant step taken towards the churning, roiling sea - could it be?
And when her voice echoes again, louder (closer!), his powerful legs are set into a forceful stride, sweeping through the brush while the salty ocean breeze weaves through his long, tousled tresses, swept up by the surging urgency in his wildly beating, excited heart. When she emerges from the edge of the horizon, she is the very same soft, downy wolf he had come to know so long ago – the same one he had followed into the dark shadow of the woodland, where he had found her, traveled with her draped in the dark navy of her mane – where he had made love to her, in a time that seemed so very far away.
”Circinae!” he breathes, his throat constricted for a moment before he is calling out again, a deep echo of a voice held restrained for too long – rough from disuse, and ragged with emotion, as he is suddenly towering over her, circling her, the broad plane of his nose pressed flush against her, buried in the thick and luscious fur of her canine form.
”Circinae, how ..?” He begins, but he cannot bring himself to finish, finding that he did not care – only caring that she had found him (that they had found him, but he cannot yet bring himself to look away from Circinae long enough to notice any other standing near), that he was no longer tethered to the isle that had caused so much heartache. ”I’ve missed you,” he whispered, consumed by all that he wished to say and not knowing where to begin - but finally, his hazel eyes settle upon the curvaceous, lustrous female lingering along the waters' edge, curious and wary at once. "you've come with company?"
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all, then I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you.
There is a tense heartbeat or two where Circinae's doubt begins to creep up on the pair, to stalk them like the beast who pursued Jah-Lilah in her nightmare, the beast who helped her gain her newfound talents. The red mare's chest swells with pride when the girl grunts and snuffs him out, planting her hooves and pulling yet another trick out of her bag. Circy's body shrinks, twists, contorts into the lupine shape she wears so comfortably. As soon as her paws hit the beach she's off, bouncing down the water's edge. Jah-Lilah adopts an extended trot behind her now-furry friend, hoof prints following paw prints, leaving a trail for the birds behind them. The wolf quickens her pace, and Jah lopes along behind to keep up. She can tell by how that wet, black nose is tilted upward that something is going on, Circinae's bound to find a trace of him.
The air around them is jumping with little dashes of energy as my electric eel halts to reconvene with her newly acquired partner in crime. Jah-Lilah's extra internal energy is manifesting as literal energy all around them, jumping and dancing in wide arcs. She looks around confidently as Wolf-of-the-Water suggests splitting up, nodding her head in agreement. "Perhaps. Anything for us to scout more land and find your consort." She can't help but smile as her friend describes her mate, her voice becomes dreamy and forlorn all at once. She reaches down and bumps the little brown smudge. "I've seen him around, and your boys look just like him. Words don't do him justice, friend, I know." She laughs along with her, then returns to scanning the horizon to look for leads.
Their brief moment of light heartedness is cut short by a strong breeze that caresses Wolf's fur and dances with Jah's feathers. A faint scent drifts into her nose, and it must be the right one, because the next thing Jah-Lilah knows Circinae is bolting down the beach in a frenzy. My little firefly whinnies and launches herself forward, sand stinging the underside of her belly as she digs in to catch the lobo in front of her. She whinnies again, attempting to mimic the sound of Circinae's voice, but unable to. The desperation in her tone is heart-wrenching, and it tears at Jah-Lilah as it reverberates in her ear drums.
Suddenly there is a sound of hoof beats, but not the echo of her own. He bursts through the tall grass, answering Wolf-of-the-Water's cry and instantly Jah knows who he is. The tawny male is everything Circinae described him as, and more than Jah-Lilah remembered him being. She'd never seen him up close, she'd never seen him this expressive. His wings are gorgeous, even pressed tightly to his sides, and taut muscles ripple beneath his skin. His midnight mane is tousled and dreaded like her own, cascading down his neck like a waterfall. Jah-Lilah knew exactly whose father he was, my Goddess he could have been nearly triplets with his sons. If only he knew how much they mimicked him, even in his long unplanned absence. He bounds to her little mousy companion and is muzzle-deep in her fur, and my red mare melts. She can sense the bond between the two immediately, and is suddenly hit with an unfamiliar and uncomfortable pang in her chest. She pulls up, sliding in the damp sand. She hangs back, not wanting to impose or intrude on their deeply personal moment. As she watches them reunite, she is draped in a sense of privilege at being allowed to witness such a pure demonstration of love. It warms her instantly, and she begins to emit a soft glow of electricity. She shuffles her hooves and looks away as he inquires about her, abruptly sensing that she's infringing on their privacy.
oh, my love, don't forsake me. take what the water gave me ..
Heaven is tangible. How could it not be when she feels so close to it now? There’s the experience of his lips, his face, buried deep into her fur (if that isn’t heaven she’s not sure what is) mixed with the sensation of her soul nearly bursting free from her body. Her back arches, tail quivering for a moment with the simple pleasure of his muffled voice, his smell, his presence, and then she's shifting upwards to hold him as equals might. It feels more numbing than anything and in her eagerness to be near to Canaan she finds that her colored nose is searching every dip and rise of his body. Her lips, unable to express the joy drowning her heart, murmur soft compliments and wordless moans.
He’s alive. Alive and well, and apparently missing her too.
Still, observant as ever, he notices Jah-Lilah and for the moment, Circinae’s tender affection is laid aside. Blinking rapidly she retreats, (she hadn’t even noticed that she’d been crying) though she doesn’t pull away. “Why, yes.” The trembling mare states, head tilting over her own shoulder while her bruised-blue mane tumbles curtain-like over the crest of her neck. It strikes her then, how natural Jah-Lilah’s presence has become over the past few months. So natural that it didn’t seem odd to have her here, sharing the moment of lovers returned to one another. “This is Jah-Lilah,” The pony-mare croons, choosing now to step away from her golden paramour.
Instinctively, unthinkingly, she reaches out for the powerful mare. How could she ever explain to Canaan that, were it not for her constant comfort, Circy might not even be here today? The shifter only knows to show him, so she intertwines herself with the third-party member. Around her hind and then slowly curling about her other side, Circy comes to rub caringly against the cinnamon mare before halting gently to her right. Together, they make a rather striking pair. “I owe her much more than I’ll ever be able to repay, so it’s my intention to keep her around.” She laughs.
“Forever.” She thinks, silently, while her eyes bore into Canaan’s. They could discuss time already passed later, though - for now, all she wants is to drink him in. Again, her legs send her back to the comfort of his embrace and it’s there that she finally allows for her walls to crumble. “I thought you had abandoned us. Your sons, me, even your mother, Ellyse.” She murmurs softly into his shoulder, not finding it necessary to explain the details of meeting his dam. Quivering once more the mother begins to weep; it all seemed so unreal, that they should keep meeting one another like this, time after time. How cruelly fate had treated them both!
“Where were you?” She demands, voice thick with anger and exhaustion. Her sparkling eyes flicker back to his face (that angelic, impossibly wonderful face) while her lashes grow heavy with fresh tears. “What happened to you?”
And maybe, I'll find out a way to make it back someday. To watch you, to guide you through the darkest of your days.
His heart is pounding, hammering against his ribcage while the blood pulsates through his veins, and with every gentle touch and caress of her mouth roving over his own and over the length of his gilded body (touching all that she can along the surface – longing to know that he is real, that he is tangible) and he cannot subdue the crooning from rising from the depth of his throat.
He, in turn, presses his pale mouth to the gleaming sheen of her vividly colored skin, tasting the salty brine of the sea in the gentle ridge and curve of her hipbone, and along the slope of her spine. There is a desire stirring within him, awakened by the heat of her lips, the urgency of her touch – but he suppresses it. Savoring the warmth of her breath, and the taste of her under his searching mouth, he reminded himself that he would have all of the time in the world to show her how he had missed her – and oh, show her, he would.
But beneath the mirth and relief of finding him, of finding her, the inevitable had come – the insecurity, the uncertainty frothing thickly, like the forceful and powerful tide lurching onto the pale and sandy shoreline, lapping at the surface of her entire being – threatening to swallow her beneath its depth. He could see the faint staining of tears streaked across her cheek (how can he not? Such a stark and beautiful emerald, his Circinae), but he does not acknowledge it – there is only the pang of guilt and longing left in its wake, yearning to have the time that had been stolen away from them, from their small but beautiful family, though it can never be reclaimed.
In the very same breath, she has murmured a name (Jah-Lilah, so wild and free) as her feminine body began to wrap around hers, her curves melding perfectly along the deep ridge of her hip. She is pressing herself against her the way a lover might, and it is not lost on Canaan – but his heart does not pine, nor does it fester in jealousy. There is a light flickering within the golden flecks of his gaze, steady upon them both. Stunning, each of them, one leaning into the other with an electricity that is so much more and so much deeper than any power Jah-Lilah wielded – the chemistry is unmistakable, and he can see that Circinae is so very taken with her, and his heart surges – a warm and genuine smile tugging at the corner of his pale mouth.
”Jah-Lilah,” he breathes, and nothing more.
Circinae's laughter is an echo, and when it reaches him, enveloping him in its distinct sound and warmth, he is altogether longing to hear it again – it had been so long, and the stifled emotion of all that he had lost has already begun to surface, flooding him with feeling he had long since buried. When she finally draws away from her striking companion – oh, his gaze had roved over her for a moment, sensing the sheer power and allure in her deep, moving eyes. Jah-Lilah was impossible to miss, with an energy of her own coursing through her veins. He can do little else but offer her the warmth of his smile, a quiet and unspoken expression of gratitude, for giving the wild spirit of his Circinae (of their Circinae, it would seem) all that he could not.
There would be time later to find where he fit in the dynamic that had been birthed in his absence.
And when she has returned to him, the glee has faded away from her deep and piercing gaze, and instead, there is grief and sorrow – the very same wretchedness he, himself, had felt for so long in the solitude of his captivity. His lips caress the line of her jaw, trailing soft and pressing kisses across the warmth of her viridescent skin, urging the melancholy remnants of her fragmented heart away (it was not broken, only battered, and bruised – he would mend it, with time – only time could mend the wound that time had created).
His heart very nearly seizes at the mention of his mother - an unruly blend of anger and tenderness roiling within the pit of his belly at the mention of her - and it clenches painfully within his chest at her soft and forlorn confession, and his mind is elsewhere for a moment, wondering of the sons he had never been able to know himself. She is asking so much of him, and the explanation is bitter and acrid across his tongue. He must collect himself, glancing between his beloved and her companion, with his voice unsteady and treading carefully into an unknown water.
”I foolishly fell into a trap. My mother .. she has a spiteful side, and she has made many an enemy over the years,” he says, with an edge of frustration in his voice. He loved her, and his love would never waver, but there is a small tinge of bitterness and ire in his tone. It is foreign, and it tastes of cyanide – poison to the usual calm and serenity of his wild and open heart. ”and unfortunately, I was foolish enough to not question when one of her nemeses came to me, alluding she had been harmed.”
He pauses then, his gaze flickering to the jagged, dull gray of the precipice lining the shoreline he had been tethered to for what felt like an eternity.
”She has some sort of ability to alter what is seen visually, and she disintegrated the tips of my feathers to keep me grounded once she had me beyond the border of Nerine,” he sighed softly, drawing a wing up along his side, glancing to the line of feathers that were still growing – once full and thick, there were not yet enough to provide him the ability to fly. ”and she threatened to disintegrate many other parts of my body to keep me here. More than that, she threatened harm to you, to our boys –“ and that is where the remnants of his anger and frustration lie – the thought of harm befalling any of them had been enough to keep him at bay, biding his time. ”all to make a point to my mother. To keep me here.”
His gaze is searching hers, now, observing the subtle shift from cobalt to cerulean, his lips brushing away the heavy droplets of tears falling freely, longing to put her at ease. His gaze flickers, observing Jah-Lilah for a moment, and with a faint but heavy nod, he is beckoning her forth. She is no stranger to him if she is so tightly woven around the heart of his beloved.
”I would never abandon you, Circinae, nor our boys,” he murmurs, wanting to ask of them, wanting to know every detail he had missed, but there would be time for that. ”I am many things but a deadbeat I am not. I am free now, and we cannot stay here – there is nothing good here in Nerine, and I don’t want to know what will happen if we stay.”
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all, then I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you.
@[Jah-Lilah] @[Circinae] omg so sorry for the book. :|
Effortlessly her shoulder friend shifts into her equine form and Jah-Lilah is breathless. The honeycomb male and the forest female mesh into one for a moment and all is right in the world. Jah silently thanks the Earth-Mother for allowing her to be present for such a raw display of pure emotion as the pair embrace in front of her. Their mouths exploring, rediscovering land and territory all over again for the first time. They hold each other so close, so tight, Jah-Lilah should be jealous, but she is not. For a moment she thinks...nevermind. She takes a step forward unknowingly, transfixed and hypnotized by the display of love before her. Circinae mumbles words she cannot hear, but Jah-Lilah doesn't care. She wants to be with them. Then she sees Circinae's beautiful crystalline tears, and she makes up her mind. She doesn't care if she can only offer companionship to the mare, she's found herself bound to her. Bound to love.
Her trance is broken only when he inquires upon her, and Circinae is snapped into the present as well. Wolf-of-the-Water turns and gazes her way, and the light coming from Jah-Lilah's pores grows brighter. Circinae speaks her name and her ears perk, jade eyes dancing from male to female and she takes another tentative step forward. She dips her head slightly to the male, licking her lips in anticipation as Circinae closes the gap between them. She begins at the jaw and wraps herself around my red mare like a cat claiming it's owner. Jah-Lilah closes her eyes and just feels. Her top teeth trail along the evergreen girl's neck, withers, back, flank, croup, until Jah-Lilah can no longer reach her any more. She winds her way back up, halting parallel to Jah, and the firefly turns and nuzzles her. She swallows hard before opening her mouth to speak for the first time. "You owe me nothing, Wolf-of-the-Water, I will always be by your side." She meets eyes with the goldenrod male, blinking slowly. Strangely, she did not feel the urge to hoard the seafoam siren, but an urge to welcome in the winged stallion.
She takes her time with him now, he speaks her name like he's always known it, and she is beginning to see the things that Circinae sees. The strength in his jaw, the slope of his shoulder. When he arches his neck, the way the muscles curve. His haunches are well-developed, powerful. His legs are straight, sturdy, he was an incredible specimen. As Circinae leaves her side, she follows hesitantly behind, coming closer to the Pegasus male. Jah-Lilah reaches out to inhale him, he smells of the sea and the air, like the earth after the sun has warmed it all day. She lifts her head to bump noses with him, snorting twice and exchanging breath with him. She tosses her head and emits a guttural noise, an interaction not unlike the one she had Circinae had exchanged upon their first meeting long ago.
She had instantly liked the young mother from the moment her twin terrors interrupted Jah-Lilah's grazing session, still suckling at their mother's teat. She knew there was something special in her, something destined for greater things. Her power was unlimited, her talents so varied, Circinae had no idea the potential she held within her. It took this wandering Pegasus boy to bring it out in her. She so desperately loved this stud, it drove her to new places to put her family back together. And she had done it. Jah-Lilah had never admired Wolf-of-the-Water more than she did this beautiful autumn day.
Her companion begins to interrogate him, and rightfully so. Jah-Lilah stands strong beside her, and as the tears begin to flow, Jah-Lilah rests a dark muzzle on her girl's neck. The pair begin to discuss things beyond Jah-Lilah, although the names and places she was familiar with. The War-Queen Ellyse, ah, now Jah-Lilah knew of that Amazonian mare. Short-tempered, moody, mean, but intelligent, determined, fierce. There was no other mare in the world who would protect and defend like Ellyse, but it came at a price. Clearly a steep one, she gathers as Spirit-in-the-Sky spins his tale. He mentions his wings and Jah-Lilah leaves the side of Circinae to get a closer look at the damage, relieved at his approval for her to be near them. She peers around at the stubbly feathers growing it, nosing and prodding at them a bit. She may be able to find some plant or two to encourage their regrowth once they return home(home?) to Taiga. She nibbles at the spot where wings meet flesh as he embraces Wolf-of-the-Water again, pleading for forgiveness. She is frowning as she listens, thinking of the boys and how they've missed him. Jah-Lilah is thinking of redemption for Sprit-in-the-Sky, and retaliation for Wolf-of-the-Water.
-Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-
Anguish, transformed to incredulity. In the span of a few breaths he transports her, quicker than her power could ever hope to, back in time to the very source of his capture. Ellyse, his mother - once (and only once) a woman that Circinae had looked at with reverent curiosity - had prompted all of this with the slight of her tongue? It enrages her; the thought of empty threats between enemies resulting in a lifetime of bitter regret for her children. Equally as upsetting: that Canaan should pay the sentence for her crimes, lackluster as they were. Her teeth are set against each other while he regales his adventure, grinding angrily at the mention of losing his ability to fly.
Only Jah’s tender, silent inquiry over his nubbed primaries serves to cool the raging inferno in her gut. Inwardly, she collects herself; she must, if she’s to make things right in their life once more. Anger and hate had no place at this reunion, they could be nurtured elsewhere. For now she settles into a stony sort of reverence, bright eyes falling from the path of Canaan’s stare and moving instead to where Jah-Lilah has placed herself. From here, the breeze mingles the three of them together to permeate her senses. She sighs; a sound as light and weightless as the wind, and her jewel-toned lids slide shut. “I was weak, to begin losing faith in you,” She begins finally, the supple curves of her breast warming underneath constant pressure from Canaan’s embrace.
Faintly, she can ascertain the rhythmic pattern of his heart as it beats, the sound lulling her into the state of peace she’d quietly been working towards. “Never again.” She promises, mouth forming the words over his gilded skin as she inhales the sensation of him; them. Behind their dark veil, her eyes pulse with weak light. Every shift of his body, tremble of breath, is heightened in this state and, drunk on every fibre of his being, she pictures them as she has thousands of times before this one: robed in streaming light, laughing and coy like the vagabond and his water nymph, immersed in the pool he had taken her to so long ago. Her desire rears its pretty head, heavy with the weight of need, and incredulity transforms to passion. Blinking, Circy gasps sharply with the force of her feelings and, afraid that new tears might break free, buries her slender head in the cover of his mane.
“We will leave. Now.” She agrees, tone thick with yearning. Her cheek presses flush to his neck, glides over satin skin, and draws her body closer to his before she peers over the sloping hill of his withers, where Jah-Lilah waits. “I can only take one … forgive me.” She pleads to her companion, needing her understanding and patience now more than ever. “Will you look for them - my boys, on your way back?” Circy asks. Crevan and Corvus knew Jah, trusted her as they would trust Circinae, so the pony-mare has no doubt that if the cinnamon woman were to cross paths with them, they would heed her story and hopefully return home to Taiga.
Canaan and the boys deserved their reunion too … but in this moment, her need outweighs their own. Decidedly she pulls back, vision rising to meet her lover’s as a thoughtful smile ghosts her lips. “Come with me?” The nymph murmurs, her request almost lost on the berating wind, drowned beneath the tumultuous waves.
