"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 secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
She heard rumours, confirmed by her last trip to the field. Something’s not well within Taiga; an inner split if you will. A tendency to pull back and be a free land had been turned into a tendency to not care about the rest of the world at all, to think of themselves as an island in the storm.
And yet she had had no chance to meet any of them within their own kingdom. Her mother would very much frown upon her from drawing her conclusions on a single meeting, and so, she sets out to enlarge the number of meetings.
Instead of going out, the rose-spotted and -maned mare had stayed home. Of course, this had a reason; trips had worn her out, and when she had arrived last winter, she had had little to no flesh on her bones; now at least she qualified as a relatively healthy-looking mare again.
Deep down she had always been a fighter - yet only when pushed hard enough.
When she enters Taiga, she does not immediately stop at the border. So long as Nerine still is kingdom in the north, she has every right to treat it as the same land - yet after a few yards, she hesitates, realizing it is impolite in the current state of events.
She calls out softly, and stands. Looking around, she wonders how long the redwoods may fool her into thinking they will never change.
12-11-2019, 03:44 PM (This post was last modified: 12-11-2019, 03:53 PM by Reia.)
no one really knows what the ocean hides but you and I, bird, we’re gonna find out
It finally happened.
The child that burdened her has finally gulped her first breath of air, and she is walking. No longer does Reia waddle from one place to another with aches and pains clawing her body. Finally, she is free.
Of course, Adarra clings tightly to her side. The role of motherhood is foreign and so very new, but Reia pushes past the daily aggravations. It doesn’t come naturally to her, the instinctual protectiveness or adoration. There have already been multiple instances in which she left the child asleep for to hunt. Others, she merely wandered off forgetting about her small daughter. Adarra is patient, however, and occupies herself during the moments of solitude or occasionally explores her immediate surroundings until she is found again.
In this rare moment, Reia is actually heavily observant of her daughter as they quickly weave through the forest toward a scent that has been lost in her memories for years. Despite the abrupt turns and momentum changes, Adarra hugs her mothers side. She only takes pause when Reia halts her and tucks her behind a shrub. ”Stay,” she murmurs, her tone hushed. The child nods, but ignores her bottle-length tail flicking back and forth beyond the bush’s reach.
Reia turns then. Her steps meticulously place in avoidance of sound as she trains her eyes on the intruding woman, realizing who it is almost immediately. It doesn’t stop her however. Nothing rarely does.
She pauses.
Her breath nearly stops.
Hunter and prey.
One last, slow breath is drawn in after another moment of scrutiny before Reia lurches forward. Her hooves thunder across the remaining distance, stopping only to half rear in front of Eurwen. Her jaws clap together threateningly. ”No one invited you into my home! Go back to the border!” Reia flares her wings open as she rears a second time, buffeting air and narrowly missing the outsider’s face. ”How rude of you to waltz in here! You don’t own it! Get back, I say! Then we can chat!” Agitated, she presses on to force Eurwen back to the nearby border, snorting defiantly as her wings slowly fold back against her sides.
”Tsk, tsk, Eurwen. I know you’re smarter than to think this is the playground,” Reia’s eyes flash similarly to her jagged teeth as they predatorily bare. She would wonder if the girl remembers her, but how could she not? Reia always makes a large impression.
The blue flames along her crest crackle as they blaze to life in reflection of her aggravation, but she forces herself to simmer. As much of a struggle as it is, her lips manage to lower just barely from their snarl. Her cerulean gaze remains hooded and mistrusting. ”My forest, my rules. Number one, don’t gallivant past the border like you live here, because you don’t. Now, tell me what brings you here.” Somehow, the sharpness of her voice softens, but barely; it’s complimented by a plume of smoke rising from her nostrils as their gaze meets. Memories flash across Reia’s mind, but she does not breach them. With a forceful breath, she suppresses the childhood images threatening to surface, but the feat is made easier by the distraction her daughter provides.
Adarra approaches sweetly. Innocence glistens in her eyes, but she says nothing, providing only a quiet and observing presence to the conversation at hand.
A fluffy red tail dangles from the left side of her mouth, the last remnant of a fox squirrel that had been just a hair too slow. Celina is bringing it back to Elio, but she pauses in her journey toward the center of the forest when she catches the scent of a stranger. Her father has been teaching her the importance of protecting her home, and Celina is eager for an opportunity to show Wolfbane that she is taking his lessons to heart. The squirrel tail forgotten, the pale two-year old canters toward the border. The sound of her hooves muffles the conversation ahead of her, and by the time the white horse reaches the border, Adarra is just stepping toward a spread-winged Reia and whomever the intruder might be. Celina can;’t see them behind the impressive spread of her sister-in-law’s wings. Only when Reia folds them and Celina comes nearer does she see the stranger.
It’s a pretty mare with pretty spots, quite reminiscent of the sunset boy with whom Celina had often played with. His recent visit to Taiga is fresh in her memory, and the green-eyed girl edges closer to the conversation with curiosity in her eyes. Of course, curiosity looks rather like hunger on the face of the crocodilian creature, and the smile she turns to give her family members is simply a more intense baring of those teeth. Celina likes teeth, though, and she also likes Reia. She is not yet sure how she feels about the pale filly that stands beside Reia. Adarra is her niece, she knows, but she does not smell like a hunter – not like her mother. Celina will give her a few months to grow into it; she’d eaten her share of greenery before her adult teeth had come in and the urge to stalk had been encouraged by her sire.
Celina looks admiringly at the faint wisps of smoke that rise from Reia’s mouth. Pteron had picked an excellent wife, Celina knows. Better than he deserves, really. Reia is terrifying, and Celina does not envy the unfamiliar mare who she faces.
“You two know each other?” Celina asks, her words slurred as always, pressed through those protruding teeth. She almost says something else, but instead tilts her scaled jaw curiously, glancing back and forth between the two older horses.
celina i'm that bad type, make-your-mama-sad type make-your-girlfriend-mad type, might-seduce-your-dad type
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
It takes a few heartbeats... Then, as soon as she opens her mouth to call out, a winged woman is upon her, still smelly with Loess, mother’s milk, and smoke - but enough of the Taigan mist about her to be noticed, had Eurwen had the chance to further analyze her scent.
She does not; the woman rears, spreads her draconic wings like a shield, and keeps on pushing until Eurwen is practically back at the border. The rocks on the forest floor seem to tremble as if in warning, and for a moment it feels like the wind is reacting, too - but she drops it. There is hardly a choice when one gets attacked like that, predator or horse, but to back down: hoofs are terrible when they hit your face, regardless of what damage one does in return, regardless if the other has teeth or fire at their disposal or not. She knows this, and is not foolish enough to try a young mother’s wrath, however unjust that wrath may be.
It is when they reach the border, that suddenly the other mare calms down, and Eurwen finally registers what was said, recoiling without caring for the diplomatic approach she had had in mind earlier that day - before she was practically attacked for walking a few yards beyond the border. ”Your forest? This is the North, and I happen to live in the North! Longer than you, I might add.” Long enough to know the alliance says free passage for Nerinians, and freedom for Taiga; no interference from Nerine where it concerns internal matters. She doesn’t recall Lepis or Pteron changing that. Her tone grows a little dark, her near-black eyes on fire. She does not have to take this - she’s not gone to save the world to be treated like this, she’s not some carpet to be waltzed over. No deer in the headlights, no. The dragon-like mare may be a real danger, but the spotted mare puts that knowledge in a far corner of her mind. In fact, she is by far not as terrifying as the monsters in the Cove, or the things that happened at the Mountain, which were even worse; Eurwen may be shaken a little initially, but she refuses to be scared any longer than the first few seconds - no longer than necessary. It is smouldering anger, just about kept in check, that is projected at the other in the moment.
It takes her a while longer to place the mare, now that she looks calmed down. Six years have passed in Beqanna, but the woman mentions her name and the playground, and so she racks her brain for a name, a meeting. ”Ah. The girl who needed to prove she was a dragon.” A snort. ”What’s that about this being your home, Reia? Aren’t you Loess’ princess any more?” She knew of Lepis being here, but surely she had not brought Reia with her - oh, look! The rose-spotted mare tilts her head at the small child, distracted by the movement; the blue sheen the only thing marking the filly different from her mother - and the lack of scales and such. That must be why she’s no longer home, she thinks. A lover. She looks to Reia with the question in her eyes - cast out or moved willingly? Little bit of both?
They’re interrupted by another mare, or filly, or… well, let’s say teenager. She asks if they know one another, and Eurwen, much calmer now, shakes her head. ”We’ve met, but I wouldn’t go that far.” And that was about all to it, she thinks. She would not claim to know the mare well. After all, if they had been actually acquainted, Reia could have known that the Nerinian royalty (after all, her cousin was still the queen) was not here to harm her land; she could have known she wasn’t here to hurt. This however, seemed an awful lot like their very first meeting - Reia insulting her and treating her as lesser and her prey, and Eurwen defying that very idea but never really coming through a certain someone’s thick layer of opinions.
And neither predator has any idea who or what they’re messing with, it seems.
Eurwen knows of magic - not the kind her mother has, nor the kind her father is (not unlike Reia herself). She carries their makeup, however. The spotted mare has become more of a warrior than she or anyone else knowing her or her mother, would have predicted when she was young. More like the adult-self she and her cousins had become when they fought the monsters, she would notice later on - and perhaps, the fairy had been right. Stubborn as a rock, to go against Reia’s proclamations in the moment.
01-14-2020, 10:18 AM (This post was last modified: 01-14-2020, 10:18 AM by Reia.)
no one really knows what the ocean hides but you and I, bird, we’re gonna find out
Reia is brash, unafraid. Her very nature, woven into the strands of her DNA, scream for her to oust the intruder. The loud rush of air when she unravels her wings buffets Eurwen. Each motion is deliberate enough to bring them to the border. Only then does Reia still herself, her wings coiled and her breath labored. Seething, she hisses through her jagged teeth. ”I don’t care. Even I know how rude it is to waltz into someone’s home uninvited. You’re a Nerinian, not a Taigan,” Reia lifts her chin, looking down her nose at Eurwen and scoffing, ”I would think a kingdom dweller would have better manners.” Hypocritical of her to say considering the amount of times she blurred the lines between Loess and Taiga to find Pteron. ”Taiga and Nerine aren’t on the best of terms, so please, try telling me again why you should have free passage?” A primal snarl lifts the scaled edges of her lips, revealing the jaws like her father, and his father before him. ”I’m not a princess,” the title always angered her, always brought her blood to a boil. Her teeth clack together, tempting fate, but the crack of a nearby twig provides distraction and pause.
Celina steps forward, her own toothy grin similar to Reia’s, and addresses them questioningly. Although prepared to respond, Eurwen takes the liberty. A low chuckle claws from the fiery depths of her core, spilling from her lips freely, unbothered by the quip. ”As you can imagine, we didn’t think highly enough of one another to stay in touch,” they each had their contrasting reasons, but she doesn’t delve deeper into the matter. Just another grain of sand on the shoreline.
Breathing in Celina’s scent, Reia more accurately defines her and offers a Cheshire grin in mirror of hers. ”The Nerinian thought herself free of border regulations because she also lives in the north,” there is cruel amusement rising in the tone of her voice as her cerulean eyes dance from Eurwen to Celina, curious as to where the kelpie stands on the matter. Neither of them seemingly fit in line with kingdom expectations, their lives skewing awry depending on how they arise each morning. They are feral beasts straying from the popular norm by free choice alone.
Licking the lips contemplatively, Reia slowly turns her head back to the Nerinian, her gaze narrowing. ”What agenda item brings you so rudely into Taiga?” She chews idly, swallowing the saliva accumulation in her mouth as her thoughts stray to the idea of her next meal.
Other than the rise of her breathing, Celina is perfectly still as she watches the two mares. She does not need to twitch an ear to hear the conversation, or flick her green eyes to watch the encounter etch its way into the bodies of Reia and the mare she’d called Eurwen.
It’s rather thrilling, if she is honest, watching the way they interact. Reia is bold and assertive, not at all hesitant to use brute force (or at least the threat of it) to protect her home. Eurwen, despite backing down from a fight, quickly regains her confidence, spitting personal barbs at Celina’s sister-in-law that give a clear – albeit indirect – answer to her earlier question. When the mare with spots like Aeolus confirms that she has met Reia before, Celina gives a toothy smile in response.
Reia snaps at being called princess – of all things! – and Celina files that away. Perhaps one day when she is bored she will see how far she can prod Pteron’s wife before she snaps. Celina already knows her family’s limits, but Reia is a fresh target. The pale filly doesn’t particularly care about the politics that the two discuss. She is not interested in anything outside her home. That includes anyone who does not live there, which is most of the reason behind the disinterest in her cool green eyes as she looks at the Nerenian that Reia mocks. Celina care about agendas as much as she cares about the lives of horses on the far side of Beqanna (that is to say – not at all).
Celina’s quick eyes flick to Adarra, her only niece. The filly considers herself nearly grown, and playing with children is often beneath her these days. Often, but not always, and never when faced with the dull topics that Celina is sure will come up. If they get into a real fight Celina hopes she doesn’t miss it. She’ll keep one ear pricked for raised voices, but it the meantime she prods gently at Adarra’s side and tosses her head back. A clear invitation to leave, and the grin that follows is the habitual start of play. Celina is leaving, unless either of them call her back, and she doubts that they will.
celina i'm that bad type, make-your-mama-sad type make-your-girlfriend-mad type, might-seduce-your-dad type
the secret of walking on water is knowing where the rocks lie
Wow. Such a great border patrol - wait, did anybody with authority even know what Reia was doing, let alone approve of it? No, she doesn’t believe anyone would like her breaking custom so much. And that over a few yards and a fellow kingdom member crossing into a territory. She just doesn’t want to believe it.
It’s thus, that Celina’s boredom with the discussion - if it’s even to be called one - brings out a disinterest in Eurwen too. The spotted mare watches Reia go off again and again; when finally the dragon-mimicker is pausing, she retorts. Her voice is low and most of all disappointed. ”Then perhaps the next time this territory’s leader deems it fit to disregard a 7-year-old alliance with it’s own mother kingdom, they might deign to inform their Queen.” She doesn’t care if it was Lepis or her son who had thrown the alliance aside like dump - she doesn’t really care what Reia thinks or says at all, either. She wouldn’t care if they sent a diplomat or came themselves - they were simply not informed about it not being allowed to walk through Taiga freely. She remembers Lilliana from the Field and prays next time she runs into her instead of Reia, and makes a mental note to ask her about the border policy. The mare had never mentioned it changing, but perhaps she did regard Taiga as its own, separate kingdom already, without knowing of past agreements. It was this tiny chance that changed Eurwen’s mind; there would be no talking to Taigan residents today. No gaps to fill, no breaks to heal.
”If you run into Lilliana, can you ask her to visit me in Nerine, since I’m not allowed to leave it according to you?” The spotted mare doesn’t wait for a response - possibly another attempt to bite, kick, or even set her on fire; Eurwen isn’t going to wait for it to happen and risk her body. She turns on her heels, and steps casually back to the northern kingdom, giving the impression that she was merely taking a walk.
@[Reia] I think Eurwen just gave up on Reia being her friend haha
