The bewitched child seems stunned by the mention of sacrifices, and I wonder if I have made a misstep. Assuming her older than her shape like my unfortunate cousin, I’d not bothered to consider her actual age. Now I do look more carefully at her, attempting to peer through the layers of her ethereal appearance with a sharp chestnut gaze. Old enough to no longer need a nursemaid, but not a mare fully grown, I decide. Do they shield their young from full knowledge, I wonder, or perhaps her kind are considered too delicate to know? It is a puzzle within a puzzle, and I am ever more uncertain of finding a place here. It is the first, I find, as the brown mare enters the conversation between myself and the stallion. Though her shoulders are bare and her tail embarrassingly thick, I find the merriment in her eyes reminiscent of my sister’s and the smallest bit of unease disappears
Protocol dictates that once welcomed I must stay, but does protocol exist in Beqanna? Could it be they have different protocols, even, different things considered polite or strange or unwelcome? I smooth my face, imagining a serene blue sky, and smile back at Kukka from a land called Tephra.
“I am from the Empire at the Roof of the World, and the First Herd of the Huanzu.” I watch her face for a sign of recognition, then glance at the seal brown mare and then grey stallion. I notice the similarities they share, those short ears, those long manes and full tails, not to mention their height. Even young Kukka is already taller than I. It is an unfamiliar feeling – this being the loveliest in a group – but it does nothing to assuage my nerves. Those grow ever tighter, as the brown mare mentions witches and the stallion talks of sea monsters and ghosts.
I do not doubt such things exist here, having heard tales of this mythical place, but to hear the residents speak so lightly of them?
A strange place indeed.
The grey stallion, who has still given his name, asks if I had been searching for Beqanna, and for this at least I do have an answer.
“I am looking for a home,” I tell him, “A place that might make use of my skills as a herbalist and midwife. I am no longer needed in the Empire, but had heard Beqanna is a civilized place where I might ply my trade.” Civilized, I think, but still wild. The first Emperor had earned his seat by bridling the wild magics at the Roof of the World; clearly Beqanna had no such leader to reign in their devilry. I wait, hoping that the two adults might know of some place I might look, and am pleasantly surprised by the glowing compliment from the mare with the merry eyes.
“Thank you,” I reply, “Yours are quite nice as well.” They’re long enough for her to hear, anyway, even if I’ve seen marmots more impressive. It never hurts to be kind, I hear my Auntie’s voice, and it never hurts to listen long than you think you need to.
@[Kukka] @[Popinjay] @[Tarian]
Protocol dictates that once welcomed I must stay, but does protocol exist in Beqanna? Could it be they have different protocols, even, different things considered polite or strange or unwelcome? I smooth my face, imagining a serene blue sky, and smile back at Kukka from a land called Tephra.
“I am from the Empire at the Roof of the World, and the First Herd of the Huanzu.” I watch her face for a sign of recognition, then glance at the seal brown mare and then grey stallion. I notice the similarities they share, those short ears, those long manes and full tails, not to mention their height. Even young Kukka is already taller than I. It is an unfamiliar feeling – this being the loveliest in a group – but it does nothing to assuage my nerves. Those grow ever tighter, as the brown mare mentions witches and the stallion talks of sea monsters and ghosts.
I do not doubt such things exist here, having heard tales of this mythical place, but to hear the residents speak so lightly of them?
A strange place indeed.
The grey stallion, who has still given his name, asks if I had been searching for Beqanna, and for this at least I do have an answer.
“I am looking for a home,” I tell him, “A place that might make use of my skills as a herbalist and midwife. I am no longer needed in the Empire, but had heard Beqanna is a civilized place where I might ply my trade.” Civilized, I think, but still wild. The first Emperor had earned his seat by bridling the wild magics at the Roof of the World; clearly Beqanna had no such leader to reign in their devilry. I wait, hoping that the two adults might know of some place I might look, and am pleasantly surprised by the glowing compliment from the mare with the merry eyes.
“Thank you,” I reply, “Yours are quite nice as well.” They’re long enough for her to hear, anyway, even if I’ve seen marmots more impressive. It never hurts to be kind, I hear my Auntie’s voice, and it never hurts to listen long than you think you need to.
@[Kukka] @[Popinjay] @[Tarian]