"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
Life - though cruel at times - can turn in the blink of an eye. The turbulent waves that threaten to consume you still, just before you are dragged to the depths of despair.
Drifting into the fantasies of her mind she dreamt the kindest of dreams. That finally she was home. Had a love. A family. It was all so real. Too real. The reality coaxed her from her slumber as the mornings ray stretched across the volcanic islands. Warming the creatures that called it home. Her dished profile was still creased into his strong nape. Auburn strands of his tresses mixing with the cream of her own. She smiled at his lids still peacefully shuttered. She hesitated to shift her weight in fear of waking him. But her wings lay heavy upon her back beckoning her the need to stretch. Ivory dipped hind limb lifted and extended back, a slight lift to her brilliant plumage relieved her some.
Her movement caused him to awaken as she feared but she was happy to have him back. Cream laced lips reached for him. Touching him reassuringly on his shoulder. "Morning," she coos softly. "Did you sleep well?" Her eyes meet his as she awaits his answer.
Turning her golden flecked eyes to the thicket they huddled in for the night she smiles. It reminded her of a place she had called home for a short while, the den. The left and forgotten children of Beqanna. Her thoughts wander to whether any are there now. A slight sorrowed look upon her face. It was always such a sad sight...
His dreamless sleep in interrupted by the movement of her pulling away beneath him. He does not falter, his eyes simply flutter open sleepily, and he lets out a yawn. The morning sun is warm upon his crimson pelt, and his gaze shifts gently to the toffee mare. A smile - so, she hadn't been a dream. She was still there, as beautiful as ever, in front of him. She stretches out her emerald and navy wings, and he takes the opportunity to extend his hind legs outward, wincing at the pops and cracks of his joints.
Her question prods at his brain - had he slept well? - and for once he realizes that he hadn't gotten that good of sleep in years. Usually, insomnia would keep his tired bones up until the wee hours of the morning, and the nightmares would jolt him awake after a short-lived rest. He touches her cheek warmly with his maw, nodding into it.
"For once, yes," He admits, happy she is here. She brings his crown in, orbs studying her face; he takes in the beauty of her dished crown, and the soft sorrowed look in her delicate navy eyes. He tilts his head slightly, body moving closer to her. He lifts her head so her gaze is locked on his. "What is wrong, Aurora?" He asks, worry clouding his features.
Her sorrow diminishes as he speaks. A kind smile creasing her cream lips. She looks to him kindly, "Oh no nothing's wrong. This place just reminds me of the orphans den. I spent a lot of my time there helping care for the young ones..." She paused, "It was always bitter sweet when they found homes." She retains her smile as she remembers them all so clearly.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind her ears perk. The morning songs of the many birds were lovely here. A tad different than the ones of the woodland forests. Watching them as they hop from branch to branch. Their colors were as vibrant and vast as her own feathers. Taking a step or two forward her gaze casts up with a grin.
Then the screeching of seabirds bring her back. Nape twisting to find Rou, "Can we go to the beach today?" She inquires gleefully. The tumbling of the aqua waves gave her a sense of peace.
The light in her eyes returns, giving him a sense of relief. As he listens to her speak of the children, his heart ceases, and his mind wanders to Kaiode once more. How he was abandoned by a mother who could never love him, how Diable Rouge tried so desperately to save him, only to be distracted by another mare.
He sighs, eyes shifting downwards. "Well...hopefully they found loving homes. And, lucky for them, they had you to protect them in those rough moments." He glances up to her, and smiles gently. Her face is light with anticipation of all the things Tephra had to offer, and when she mentions the beach, he nods his head. "Anything for you." He murmurs, gesturing to the opening of their tiny cove. The fog is dense as he emerges, as it usually is given the heat from the volcano. He leads her to the beach, where the air is slightly cooler and whales crest above the water for a breath. He inhales deeply, then looks back to Aurora.
He had a kindness that was often not found in Beqanna. Similar to herself in a way. His scars revealed a difficult life - much like her own scars - and yet he was kind. Too many grew bitter when confronted with a challenging life. She had her moments but a light always brought her back. Whether it was the innocent children or a caring old soul...
When his eyes looked back at her and he smiled, she nearly melted. The understanding in his voice as he spoke to her caused her heart to flutter. He agrees to her request like she was someone of importance. It made a girlish giggle creep from deep within as she turned to follow him thru the haze. Her cream and carmel profile aligned with his shoulder...
It's not long before they emerge onto the beach. The granulated ground shifted underfoot. Navy eyes looking out across the vast seas. The gulls flying overhead screeching at one another. The length of the beach was quite long, curving slightly. A grin finds her lips as she looks to the stallion briefly. Cream- laced muzzle reaching for his cheek playfully, as her forelimbs raise. Hunches pushing her forwards. "Catch me if you can," she taunts. Hooves digging into the damp sands...
They are there, together, and feels as though nothing else really mattered - there was no past, only the present and the future that he hoped she would remain in. She is next to him in a matter of seconds, body so close but still too far from him, and he feels the need to use his tail to brush the pesky flies off her rump. The ocean feels quiet when they are together, and he takes the opportunity to lip gently at her creamy mane. How beautiful was she? A sight for his sore eyes, her presence is light and airy around him - he cannot get enough.
And then, she is trotting away, taunting playfully with a flip of her mane. Navy eyes boring into his own two-toned hues. A smile stretches across the expanse of his lips, and he is chasing after her, not afraid to nip lovingly at her hide.
"You're it!" He shouts like a child - like he had with Kaiode. His eyes darken for a moment, remembering the life that could've been there with him. He supposed everything happened for a reason (even if that reason had been unclear for so long). He is now ahead of her at a smooth lope, looking back and waiting for her to catch up.
Not more than a stride in front of him she crests the edge of the tide flowing to and fro. Droplets of salt water splash against her flesh as she dashes forwards. Carmel ears perked in challenge. He easily catches up and her victory is short lived. The pace she had maintained quickened with a burst of energy as she feels his muzzle across her hide. He shouts a challenge back that she gladly accepts. Crown lowering in determination.
Racing along the shore lines the breeze lifts her gown of bright feathers. Sending them streaming behind her. They were useless in flight. Too long and flimsy. In their absence you can now make out the scars that crossed her carmel coat. They traced along each bone, outlining the skeleton that laid underneath; shoulder, ribs, hip... She is lost in their game so she hardly notices. Seeing him slowing and waiting for her she laughs. She does not slow but increases her speed. Coming up quickly to his side then matching his stride.
There is a bend in the shoreline just ahead. So as they come up on it she slows. Rapid breaths heave from her lungs as she slides to a stop. The sands and water splash upwards against her underbelly. Casting her eyes across the open waters she watches a pod of whales crest the surface. The breeze tossing about her tresses and feathers. Soon he joins her, returning to her side. A grin appears on her lips as she reaches out to him, a soft touch to his cheek. In a sweet but flirty tone, "No... You're it."
He cannot help but smile when she is around him - she brings a sort of light airiness to his otherwise dim existence, she brings him from the depths of his depression to happiness. As they stop at the bend in the beach, he leans into her soft touch, and she embraces her gentleness with a tender embrace, his neck over her withers.
"How did I get so lucky..." He thinks out loud. He felt like the luckiest stag alive today, to have the stunning peacock-winged mare in front of him now, held tightly near him. He releases her, and traces his lips against the muscles of her shoulder up to her satellite, just as he had done the night before. He smiles into it, and whispers "For me, you're always it." before he nudges her softly.
10-16-2017, 08:10 PM (This post was last modified: 10-16-2017, 08:10 PM by AuroraElis.)
As she reaches out to him to place a gentle touch on his cheek her eyes melt into his. Where there had been so much darkness was now light. Even as he leans into her kiss near the chiseled bone her gaze does not faultered. A longing in her eyes that had yet to be sated...
As he wraps his neck around her to place his head upon her back, she leans into his chest. Content on remaining in this moment forever but knowing it is fleeting into the next. Perhaps even a better one. She smiles at his kind words and though it is worded as a question his tone suggests it needs no answer. So she is content on the silence that envelopes them.
The moment passes as they so often do, his body pulling away from hers slightly. She feels the soft velvet of his lips trail along her delicately sloped shoulder. Slowly brushing along her carmel hide. Cream tresses fall gently as he passes through them and arrive at her poll. To whisper sweet nothings in her ear. With a tuck of her dished crown she smiles almost bashfully. "Oh Rou," she coos. Sliding a step forwards she tucks her fragile frame against his chest. The wispy ends of her vibrant plumage gliding against his flesh. Cream laced lips playfully nibble at his muscular deltoids, before turning her crown to place a soft kiss near his throat latch...
He had known many mares, many who claimed to love him, many who he thought were "the one." But, none of them quite compared to her - in beauty and personality, she exceeded all of them, and he wasn't quite sure how he had received this blessing in the first place.
Maybe Beqanna had seen his hardships and granted him with something that was permanent - something that wasn't a fleeting moment, that would be gone the minute he got distracted. Or maybe, it was just pure luck that they had stumbled upon each other that day. The day when he was mourning his son, and she came along like a golden angel to comfort him.
He sighs peacefully as she places her delicate frame so close to his breast - she was closer to his heart in more ways than one. She nibbles almost playfully at his ear, and he chuckles as her vibrant wings tickle his sides. He plants kisses on the small of her back, and gradually advances to gentle bites. What he had with Aurora was once in a lifetime, and he wanted her to know that...somehow, some way...
AuroraElis
