He can see the emotions sparring on her face. At first he thinks he has calmed her, that his presence alone is the stopping power to whatever force she contains. He, too, thinks of their childhood. He remembers the running away, the wildcat, the river. He remembers the games of chase and of hide-and-seek; of listening to their mothers sometimes but disobeying in increasing frequency. How long those days seem away from them now. They are on the verge of adulthood, with plans having been already set in place by their parents. They have survived so much already, learned so much about themselves and others. But separation is imminent.
She loses it just as he reaches out to steady her. Ramiel pulls away as the cracks glow with their unbidden flames. The quickness with which he moves surprises even him, and he immediately feels sorry for it. It’s surely the reaction she dreads, this fear. How horses would see the flickering of a broken girl and be wary enough to stay away – fear of the unknown (and uncontrollable? he wonders) at its finest. He exhales a breath he hadn’t known he was holding before finding her gaze again. Gold meets gold, his own eyes staring back at him, the same alarm in both of their depths.
There’s a strength though, too; the strength of iron bars. The greying colt doesn’t think Joscelin can even feel it right now, but it’s obvious to him. She wields it unknowingly and pulls the shattered pieces of her mind (if not her body) back together, at least for now. Finally, the blasting light darkens to nothing. Only her broken egg-shell body remains. That, and a voice nearly too meek to hear. He is standing close enough to barely make it out, however.
Not anymore. Not anymore, but it had at one time. Not anymore, but when the cracks had opened, the agony of each inch of each line had been like hellfire. When the wormhole had failed me, I felt each moment of my shattering like a lifetime. Not anymore, she says, but he can see that she hurts still, in a far different way. She asks for help without a sound and of course he will oblige. Ramiel steps forward, his muzzle a soft whisper on the curve of her shoulder. His gaze leaves hers’ long enough to access the cob-webbing, to see down into the blackness where light had once shone.
A sudden sound startles Joscelin into motion. She moves backwards and the lights begin to come to life again. Anger heats the ghost-boy. He had been so close to breaking through whatever walls his sister has built up, so close to acceptance of her changes. But when he turns, his anger evaporates into the too-warm fall air. It’s only a girl, younger than them. A flowering vine meanders its way down the length of her stark, white back. More blossoms appear at her feet, growing heedlessly despite the late season. Ramiel doesn’t know what to make of her at first, but soon remembers himself. “I’m Ramiel and this…this is Joscelin. Who are you?”
He looks nervously between the two of them. If Josc suddenly loses it – as her skin seems to suggest she might – he will have to find a way to protect this young girl. She offers to find healing flowers (and the boy fully believes in her penchant for plants) but he’s not sure they will do anything at this point. His sister agrees, laughing darkly at the idea. Ramiel gives her a stern look as if he hadn’t expected her to be so dismissive of a little girl. “She means thank you for your offer.” He smiles at the ivory filly, but it’s brief and worried. “Who are your parents? Maybe you should find them for now,” he says, though not unkindly, wondering if she can sense the danger that had very recently damaged their clearing.
r a m i e l
what a day to begin again
ooc: of course not, the more the merrier! yay sibling thread <3