"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
Your beauty is beyond compare - oh, if I could hear but one song from you
I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
Ah, family reunions. Aren't they wonderful?
Well yes, sometimes they are. Most of the time however, you end up hearing things that you think you should have known about half a year earlier, or perhaps you hear things have happened that you did not like to know about at all.
Either way, it's still family, so you go, you visit, you hear those stories and you help them through. Or just sit there and nod that you understand.
Vi then - his older, younger sister. She has returned too; she's lucky mother had found her first, and now she's in Nerine, being cared for because, here's the twitch - she cannot see. On top of that she has a baby now, and neither of their parents could tell who the father is, and Leilan wonders what happened to her - did she get raped or, is there some other reason she won't tell?
Well, put that all aside - now that he's here he can't help but visit. Or check on her. Why is it always so hard to find that in-between word?
Trotting through the beach kingdom, he searches for her scent. "Vi?" he looks around and twists his ear. Come on, she's gotta be around here somewhere.
there's something here that doesn't make sense
let's go and poke it with a stick
@[Vi] @[Drustan]
I need to chip this family into separate threads xD
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
She is standing upon the ledge as she always did when she hears a voice peculiarly familiar upon the crest of her ears. Tentatively he searches for her, his curiosity reaching her as she stood upon the wind-broken field of seagrass. Still, she doesn’t move. Smiling she pictures her face as she’d once saw it lost among the heavy foliage of the jungle. He had been her older brother at the time and, though their birth order still remained intact, she found herself in the rare position of being the elder.
Their time together had been short as he grew to maturity when she was still quite small, but the memories she did have of him filled her with warmth and love.
“Leilan,” she breaths his name onto the breeze knowing that he could use the sound of her voice as a guide to her place.
Nearby the sound of Drustan’s play filled her with warmth. Although only a couple of weeks old the colt had grown unusually keen in such a short time. He had a warrior’s spirit and, already, the horns upon his head protruded farther out. Often times their growth would give him a headache and she would lovingly lick the crest of his head until he slept. Fearful of losing him as she’d lost Reshi, she rarely allowed him to stray out of her line of hearing and he was quick to obey. Already he sensed that there was something different about his mother. She lacked for much, but Scorch was always willing to fill those blank spaces in his education. Likewise, Hestoni acted as the father that she could not provide him. And, now, it seemed he would gain an uncle.
05-26-2018, 11:29 AM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2018, 11:29 AM by Drustan.)
He had soon learned that his world’s – one of the way he refers to Vi – vision was poor. It explains why she had, upon his birth, mapped his body out through touch. Unable to see, it had been her only option to get a faint idea what he looked like. And, of course, through the description her mother – his grandma – had given her. But that’s all in the past, and Drustan holds no clear memories of the day he was born. It is all a blur, from which he only remembers how he felt about her.
It is the only reason why he agreed to stay close to her. Or well, perhaps not the only, but that is what he likes her to believe. Like this she could not only keep a figurative eye on him, but the dragon colt could also keep a very close eye on her in return. Okay, half of the time that is. Like any child, his thoughts easily wander and Drustan is engrossed in his little game of chase the butterfly, as his mother’s name is called.
His hoof hovers above the ground, the butterfly fluttering around it before disappearing to who knows where. It no longer holds his attention. Leilan. The name is unfamiliar, yet, his world seems happy to hear whoever it is approach them. A bit too happy, if you would ask Drustan.
“Mom?” he calls questioning, but more than happy to have her attention switch to him, instead of the unknown and as of now still faceless stranger. The blue roan colt does not hesitate to sprint over in her direction, slipping to a stop right in front of her and playfully rearing to lip at her cheek. The horns growing from his head now clearly there, but the ends not yet sharp enough to do any harm. “Who’s here to visit us?”
Your beauty is beyond compare - oh, if I could hear but one song from you
I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
Oh, and he loves his baby sister. Loved playing with her, though perhaps he had not been around enough for her to really remember most of it. Mother had left her alone back then, but he was a young stallion too and was keen on roaming the world so, yes he had left earlier than he should have. And apparently also returned way too late to Beqanna, to maintain their age gap similar to birth order.
For him it hasn’t bene that long ago, but time in Beqanna moved faster than Beyond. Similar but unsimilar to Volcan, it seemed.
Her voice is eager, however she does not seem to move because he doesn’t hear her doing so. But she doesn’t have to. He realizes that she is positioned somewhere above him, a ledge he had not seen at first. Grinning, he makes his way up the slope. When he nears, he sees the baby colt running up to his mother, seeking attention not unlike the bay roan himself would have at that age (though the attention-drawing game had mostly been won by his twin sister), and upon seeing his blue roaning coat he instantly recognizes his little nephew.
He ignores the boy at first though - he needs to learn that sometimes his mother will indeed need her attention on something or someone else, even if briefly. So, he steps close enough for his sister to see his shadow, and reaches out to touch her nose. ”Glad you’re home, sis.” he tells her, and then looks at the colt. ”And you must be Drustan. Welcome to the family, kiddo. I’m your uncle, and I’m not even the only sibling your mother has.” He’d better get adjusted to the fact that he has many family members about, he will probably not be Vi’s only visitor.
there's something here that doesn't make sense
let's go and poke it with a stick
@[Vi] @[Drustan]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
The jovial sound of her son at play filled her with a warmth she hadn’t felt since her return to Beqanna. The gentle patter of his hooves brought a smile to her face as she imagined her beautiful blue boy as he galivanted throughout patches of roughened sea grass. At the sound of Leilan’s approach, however, silence overtakes his game. Still quite young, Vi had noticed that her son was not particularly fond of unfamiliar faces. She imagined that the hulking figure of her brother as he strode towards them could be a point of worry for her son. His voice was laced with curiosity as jumped up to plant a reassuring kiss upon his mother’s cheek.
“My brother,” she answered his question as simply as she could. “He will not harm you, my child.”
Leilan’s scent grew stronger until the sound of his hoof-falls stopped directly before them. Vi could barely discern the shape of his shadow in the lowering light of the afternoon. The curves of his face shot up from the depths of her memory and she remembered his boyish grin as it had once been. For a moment it felt as though they were back in the fold of the Jungle once more, with her so desperately trying to fill the void her loneliness left her. If felt odd to be reunited with him so many years after their final and devastating goodbye. Now she stood before him as the elder – even despite the order or their births.
As he speaks, his tone still clings to the carefree verbiage of his youth. For a moment she imagines his smile and she returns the expression loosely upon her face. It was difficult to forget that he had left her, just as they all had in turn. Her smile faltered as the heaviness of her past, known and unknown, weighed down upon her. It felt like a cruel twist of fate that she would leave and return aged while the markings of time remained lost upon her older brother’s features.
Vi does not speak as Leilan turns his attention to little Drustan. The spitfire of a colt had been the best possible gift to come out of so many lost years. Although she did not remember his conception, she imagined that she had been reunited with her beloved Astray in the beyond. The colt resembled his older sister so completely, it was easy to forget the ways that they were different. When Reshi had entered the world she had laid eyes upon the beauty of her daughter, something that she would never be able to do with Drustan.
“Brother,” Vi chuckled as she forced erself back into her current reality. “Don’t overwhelm the child. Even I have not yet met all of our siblings.”
To no fault of your own.
Her upbringing had not resulted in the easiest of childhoods, but she found it difficult to place blame upon the shoulder of her parents. They’d faced challenges of their own and Vi had merely been a victim of their circumstances.
He has not met many others. There had been a male and female upon his birth, that had showered both him and his mother with love, but other than that they had never really strangers visiting. This one smells masculine too, so maybe he, too, will focus most of his attention on him, instead of his mother? With that Drustan could surely live. He had rather liked his grandfather’s deep voice.
Despite Vi’s reassurance, he stays close to her side. His shoulder is pressed against her chest, body under her neck as he intently looks at the bay intruder. Both his dark ears point forward, and his intense blue eyes shimmer with curiosity, already eager to hear a similar greeting as Hestoni’s.
Only the stranger pointedly ignores him and instead addresses his mother. Disappointed, and confused, his ears flick back, and his muzzle finds his mother’s shoulder before travelling up at the underside of her neck till the point he can reach. This he does not understand. He does not like it to be ignored either. The stranger’s attention he does not care for, but his mother’s attention is a privilege that has to be earned.
So when the tall bay finally turns his attention to him, Dru can only stare up at him in half sulking. Something he is not able to hold up any longer once his eyes catch the shimmer the sunlight causes on his silvery and golden mane. “Ooh,” he exclaims, having no ears for whatever Leilan has to say, and instead already reaching out to touch the golden strands with his muzzle. What to say? He is rather curious. “It twinkles!” he says much to his delight, horned head slightly tilting and his short neck extending as he lowly rears. He wants to touch.
Your beauty is beyond compare - oh, if I could hear but one song from you
I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
Leilan does not wonder where Drustan came from. His siblings all have lives of their own, and it is only good that they at least have some joy in their lives or at least, he hopes that such is what leads to babies running around and even if not, the joy of having a child has not yet come to pass for him, but he imagines a lot of love would be involved whatever had caused the baby to exist.
The blue roan colt takes after his mother, but the silver bay and gold wonders if perhaps he also takes after his grandfather; which would mean he would also take after himself in a way, because rough-and-tumble is what he remembers from his sire before the stolen twin and loss of his wife had him decide to leave the world of the living just like Scorch. That man always cared too much, Leilan thinks, and he wonders sometimes if he will ever fall for the same kind of trap that life might lay out for him, or if he forever will be the uncle with no other purpose in life than bother his sisters and their offspring.
He hasn’t seen all of them for a long time, really. So he nods to Vi’s comment. ”Me neither. I’ve managed to meet with some of Noori’s kids a while back, Trekori and Takei in Ischia. And I hope to see Nihlus there sometime too, but he has a new boytoy so I doubt it. Not gonna sit around and wait for him all day. But besides you, I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing anyone yet. But perhaps my time Beyond has caused them to roam away and age just as much.” As much as she anyway. Scorch had apparently been dead for decades, where for him only months had passed and he wonders if his brother is even still alive or if he has died of old age. ”I wonder how old Wrynn is these days.” She could well turn out to be his elder just like Vi. Perhaps he should look more actively for her. But then again, she may not even be in Beqanna and when does he ever have time?
But today, his newest family member distracts him with a sullen look followed by a happy smile when the light catches his own mane. He grins at that, feeling a bit sorry that Vi is not able to see it. ”Ah, yes. I should have told you about my little adventure with the golden goddess. She is wholly made of gold like this, and she called us together for some games. Your grandma participated in those, too. Ask her about it. We came out almost equal, but as you can see from the gold, my team bested hers eventually.” He honestly would have heard it forever if he’d come in second after her, he’s quite certain. ”She also gave me a funny trick, want me to try it?” he asks the young boy. His Aura would be something Vi could feel too, that would be good; he doesn’t to exclude her for being nearly blind
there's something here that doesn't make sense
let's go and poke it with a stick
@[Vi] @[Drustan]
Sorry if it’s all over the place
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
The sudden drop in the temperature hinted that the day had grown tired and weariness clung to Vi as she stood attentively, her eyes staring blankly ahead of her. Her dark tipped ears followed the sound of the conversation, the only clue that she was not made up of stone. Leilan spoke with no hint of any reservation towards their turbulent childhood. Standing beside him, the musky scent of him assaulted her senses, drawing her back to a time of familiarity. She’d been young with the events of her past unfolded. There was much that she questioned and struggled to come to grasp with. He may have been able to move past certain events, but she felt herself holding on to her grief like it was an old friend.
Her brother was young yet, in body and in spirit. Beside him she felt her mind drifting farther away from the present. Yes, he had been there for her, for a short time, when the world felt as if was crumbling underfoot. Their parents’ untimely departure had left her filled with insecurities and questions. Emptiness and hopelessness had plagued her as she fought to find the answers she longed for. She couldn’t understand why everyone she loved seemed to leave her. After a while, it became clear to her than maybe she hadn’t been enough for them to stay. The absence and loss of Volcan had driven everyone away, blinding them to the truth of her existence. Vi hadn’t been enough and, still, she wondered if things had really changed. Perhaps that had been why she had disappeared for so many forgotten years.
Distracted from the building darkness around her, she listened intently to the details of their sibling’s intricate lives. Name spilled from his lips, many of which were unknown or unheard and she felt nothing but apathy towards these family members that had strayed so far out of her reach. Still, she smiles and nods in response. Whether she’d met them or not, she was still glad to hear that they were doing well.
Before Vi can steal a moment to respond, the sound of Drustan’s exclamation drew their attentions. A smile plants itself upon her lips as she listened to her son’s inquisitive remarks upon one aspect of her brother’s appearance. Enraptured, she imagined her roaned son leaning forward as Leilan spoke of the golden streaks throughout his mane and the goddess who had placed them there. Beqanna truly was a magical place and she was grateful that her child would grow strong there within it’s protection.
It felt odd that so much could happen and change while she’d been away. Once again she found herself feeling a separation from reality. Detached and unsure.
They speak of names, places and times he does not know. Or better said, the bay and golden male does speak of them, his mother barely seems to respond to whatever his apparent uncle was rambling off. The guy surely seemed to like to talk a lot. Very different than what he is used too. Drustan zones out of it, instead locking his pale blue eyes on his Vi. Seeing how ‘out’ she is of it, his eyes narrow. Too broody for his liking. He wants her to smile, and be happy. He especially likes it when he is the one to make her smile, takes pride in it too.
But before he can think of anything to cheer her up, Leilan’s sparkling locks demand his full attention. “Golden goddess?” he repeats after his uncle, eyes only flickering to Leilan’s for a short moment, the sparkles being much more interesting. “It’s so pretty mom!” Again, the male starts to ramble, and Drustan is only half listening to it as he takes a step closer. His weight is lifted from both his front legs and carried by his hind ones as he rears, neck extending and muzzle reaching out to catch the golden strands in his mouth.
He tugs on it, not really aware that it might hurt, neither does he realise that it might not be appropriate. Drustan had just decided he wants some, and if it’s not given to him, he’ll just have to claim it himself. It really is a shame his mother cannot see it. But that does not mean she shouldn’t enjoy it. “Mom! Mom!” he exclaims through clenched teeth, refusing to let the few stolen strands to go, turning to Vi. Again his hind legs carry his weight, but this time he does not attempt to pull some strains, but instead he tries to wave them into Vi’s forelock, somehow succeeding to tie it into place. “Pretty!” Fully content with himself he’s grinning, taking a step back as his ears point forward to look at her. The gold really did compliment her dark complexion. Still smiling widely Dru steps closer to her, his nose pressing up against hers.
Only then he realises that uncle Leilan has offered to show a trick. How could he have forgotten that? His horned head swirls around, and his ears point forward, eagerly awaiting this said trick. “Yes! Yes! I wanna see!” Having never learned to ask for things, his words aren’t followed by a please. A not too big deal, right?
Your beauty is beyond compare - oh, if I could hear but one song from you
I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
While he tried to entertain Vi, he ends up entertaining her son; he would muse over her lack of response if he hadn't been distracted, so, he turns to the younger fellow. "Don't touch me then, it could hurt you." he says. Taking a step back, he's quick enough to build his new Aura - freezing air on a late spring day isn't too hard, he's had the trait for some time now. But he surely radiates a cold that is unmistakable. "So, cool or what?" he grins at the young colt.
He's quick enough to let go, and when it's all gone he touches his sister's shoulder with his nose. "Perhaps we should talk later. Good luck with the kid." he smiles at her, winks at Drustan, and trots away. There's someone else he should probably bother.
there's something here that doesn't make sense
let's go and poke it with a stick
@[Drustan] @[Vi]
I'm going to close this one since it's old (:
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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![[Image: drustan_by_devinsxdesigns-dclvkwd.gif]](https://orig00.deviantart.net/ed69/f/2018/245/1/c/drustan_by_devinsxdesigns-dclvkwd.gif)
