01-31-2021, 01:50 PM
Yan grimaced at the ache in his knee, trying his best not to let the leg buckle. Amarine had done her best to help alleviate the sensation on their trip home, but even the cleverest magics had their limitations. Overshadowing the pain was Borderline’s concern, though. In the moment, Yanhua could forget the ache and breathe a bit easier: Memorie was fine. Borderline was alive, ragged and ghastly thin but alive.
“It’s alright.” The larger stallion soothed her, understanding her concern. “We made it up the mountain only to be waylaid by the eclipse afterwards. Things didn’t go according to plan.” Borderline’s mate sighed.
Amarine? The Twins? She asked, the words having some sort of effect over Yanhua when she said them. The chestnut horse stiffened; Borderline pulled away and he didn’t move with her. Amarine, the first question, answered for herself by trailing behind Yan and appearing from the black dinge like a quiet, curious mouse. Her hope - like Yanhua’s - had been that the twins were here in Taiga with Borderline, with somebody, but the crushing realization of the truth gagged their father. He was bound in stoic silence, a grim line hardening his expression in the near-dark.
Borderline had been here the whole time and hadn’t seen or heard from his children.
They weren’t here.
At least Ama could sum up her feelings into words where Yan refused to. He wouldn’t say what she was saying, but he felt the lashing truth in every sense. The quest had been a folly; hadn’t Lilli tried to warn them? Hadn’t he promised her that he’d keep everyone safe? What good was a promise broken? How could anyone trust in his convictions after this? He thought.
Defeated, beaten, hungry and tired, Yan flipped his ears backwards and dug his heels into what little resolve he had left to dig into.
“They’re somewhere. Someone knows where they are, or knows where they’ve been, and I refuse to wait another second to find out.” He growled. In his thoughts, the patchframe of a plan formed in his mind: Yan would ask Ama to pour a strong emotion into him - something, anything that would subvert the thoughts of pain from his mind and give him focus instead. He could ask Borderline to fashion him a makeshift shell from leaves, needles, whatever she could use with her magic. Perhaps if she made a hard enough exo-skeleton of debris around his knee, it would cast to his skin and keep the joints from moving around too much.
“You’re right, Ama. We should’ve never climbed.” The horned stallion awkwardly turned to face the butterfly mare, seeking no forgiveness. He couldn’t forgive himself, much less ask her to. “But I won’t rest until I’ve made things right.”
“It’s alright.” The larger stallion soothed her, understanding her concern. “We made it up the mountain only to be waylaid by the eclipse afterwards. Things didn’t go according to plan.” Borderline’s mate sighed.
Amarine? The Twins? She asked, the words having some sort of effect over Yanhua when she said them. The chestnut horse stiffened; Borderline pulled away and he didn’t move with her. Amarine, the first question, answered for herself by trailing behind Yan and appearing from the black dinge like a quiet, curious mouse. Her hope - like Yanhua’s - had been that the twins were here in Taiga with Borderline, with somebody, but the crushing realization of the truth gagged their father. He was bound in stoic silence, a grim line hardening his expression in the near-dark.
Borderline had been here the whole time and hadn’t seen or heard from his children.
They weren’t here.
At least Ama could sum up her feelings into words where Yan refused to. He wouldn’t say what she was saying, but he felt the lashing truth in every sense. The quest had been a folly; hadn’t Lilli tried to warn them? Hadn’t he promised her that he’d keep everyone safe? What good was a promise broken? How could anyone trust in his convictions after this? He thought.
Defeated, beaten, hungry and tired, Yan flipped his ears backwards and dug his heels into what little resolve he had left to dig into.
“They’re somewhere. Someone knows where they are, or knows where they’ve been, and I refuse to wait another second to find out.” He growled. In his thoughts, the patchframe of a plan formed in his mind: Yan would ask Ama to pour a strong emotion into him - something, anything that would subvert the thoughts of pain from his mind and give him focus instead. He could ask Borderline to fashion him a makeshift shell from leaves, needles, whatever she could use with her magic. Perhaps if she made a hard enough exo-skeleton of debris around his knee, it would cast to his skin and keep the joints from moving around too much.
“You’re right, Ama. We should’ve never climbed.” The horned stallion awkwardly turned to face the butterfly mare, seeking no forgiveness. He couldn’t forgive himself, much less ask her to. “But I won’t rest until I’ve made things right.”
@[Borderline] @[Amarine] I'm not sure how we want to make the connect between no twins -> twins back in Taiga, so I'm just rolling random with this thread until then, lol.