"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
Aziz did not rush as he gathered the strength to meander closer to the water, his dark legs slowly pushing against the dry terrain as he clawed his way to the stream, his laziness had gripped him just like the plague was gripping onto Beqanna, the lack of will to do anything being a central part of his life at this point in time.
The bay man now hung over the small stream of water that was separated from the main river, possibly due to an overflow of water or just because the earth around the river was being shaped once again. His head dove into the stream, his nose lightly touching the bottom as he began to drink the cool blue liquid. As he raised his head into the air he stared at the large expanse of trees and green grass, after he had awoken from his deep sleep everything had changed, he was no longer the ruler of a kingdom which was nowhere to be seen and all the people he once knew had vanished.
The change was sudden and hard to comprehend, but Aziz had to slowly piece everything together eventually.
The large warmblood huffed heavily as he moved away from the stream, a little more activity in his walk this time as he moved off into the cover of trees, the stallion exhaled heavily as he stared at the area around him, it seemed pretty empty and he was quite tired, nothing out of the ordinary.
The stallion shut his eyes, a smile tugging at the confines of his soft muzzle, the stallion began to tense up as his legs slowly sank into the ground, covering his hocks entirely in dirt.
Suddenly two large pillars made from dirt, rocks and minerals rose from the ground, rising high into the air. The stallion opened his eyes momentarily to stare at the creation before shutting his eyes and continuing, once his eyes closed the stallion inhaled and exhaled rapidly, the pillars shrinking in size but expanding in width, suddenly cutting off at the top to create a dome-like structure in front of him.
The bay male then calmed his breathing, allowing a few moments to pass before three holes appeared at the front of the structure, one middle entrance and two small holes to allow light to pierce the dark inside.
The male opened his eyes and smiled, he was almost ready to free his legs, now only one more detail was left to fix, it still looked quite hideous.
The bay male closed his eyes for the last time, his body tensing as the dirt beneath nearby grass began to move, sliding on top of the house, almost concealing it among the terrain.
The stallion was now satisfied with the creation, his smile full as he stepped out of the earthly shackles, the stallion entered the dome and lay in the centre, the light carefully looming over his peaceful body. Although this was quite a peaceful and enjoyable way to spend his time, Aziz still longed for more, he longed for adventure, he longed to rule once more.
Glaciers melting in the dead of night and the superstars sucked into the supermassive
Free - was he? Alone, he’d finally found the time to go for a walk outside either kingdom. Perhaps he’d find a trace of his son, either one, or his daughter who he hadn’t seen for a while now (but was hopefully, relatively safe with a young man who had cared enough about her to actually yell at him - though mentally. The alternative involved a kelpie and he didn’t want to think about that).
But walking around the river, despite this land being relocated, also brought memories of mares and foals and the broken mares he’d found here, too. Hiding. Similar to Briseis in a way; they’d been so anxious. He wondered if Eilidh was doing okay... but she had seemed the stronger one - the thing Willa would become in time.
Needless to say, with the new ruling business, the roan is rather happy to be out for the day, even if he met no-one; but the distraction of earth being moved does not go unnoticed, and he perks his ears to follow the sound. Rounding a corner, he’s surprised but, not negatively so. It’s impressive. But why?
”Redecorating, I see.” he starts with, walking up to the entrance (following the male’s scent there and finding him easily). Tilting his head, the ice-drake male looks at the bay questioningly. ”But why in the middle of nowhere?”
you set my soul alight
HTML by Vanilla Custard
@[Aziz]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
The bay male peeks his head outside the dome as sound floods the entrance, he is not alarmed but also isn't entirely sure about the new voice, the stallion emerges with slight hesitation as he comes into the view of the other male. Aziz smiles warmly as the stranger mentions his structure, his words followed by a posed question ”Well, I haven't settled quite yet, I have explored a few lands but I am not comfortable enough to stay there” his tone is deep and serious but he manages to include a smile, his mouth re-opening as soon as it had closed to speak again ”I am Aziz-” he feels like he has more to add to his name, or at least he used to ”It is nice to meet you” he breaks the momentary silence, a smile already following in the wake of his words.
Aziz studied the male in front of him, observing his colours that were quite appealing to his eyes, the colours in his mane and tail also catching his eyes.
The new Stallion also seems to have a few qualities to himself, he smells a lot more different that anyone else he had ever met, although this of course wasn’t going to pose a problem. Unless he was here to eat him.
Behind the pair the structure begins to crack and fall apart, Aziz isn’t particularly fazed by this since he knew his structures wouldn’t always stand if he wasn’t constantly draining his energy into them, the Stallion allowed the structure to pass, the dome slowly caving in on itself, dust rising into the air violently.
(@[Leilan] Hey Sorry this is probably quite messy and short but I’m in the car and I’m on my phone so apologies if it’s a bit weird to read!)
Glaciers melting in the dead of night and the superstars sucked into the supermassive
His remark is met with a peeked-out head, slightly insecure, but the gold-and-icy male isn’t bothered by such behaviour. It’s better than a broad range of alternatives anyway. He smiles a bit, while the other contemplates his follow-up question. Hasn’t settled yet. Hmm, isn’t that an interesting fact.
”What would make a home comfortable, then, I wonder?” he asks, genuinely interested. Perhaps too many horses were in there already? Too many mares? Too many children? ”Since I happen to have one available, I’d like to know what keeps people away.” he adds after a short while, a greenish-eyes grin following. The change in his eyes would indicate a change in emotion, but perhaps the bay cannot know this.
The way the other stud tells him his name, makes Leilan blink one time extra, but otherwise he just lets it slide. Clearly there was a past here one wouldn’t easily share with a stranger, wouldn’t the roan know it. There’s parts of his own life he’d rather forget about, after all.
”My name’s Leilan,” he starts, but doesn’t feel the need to add whatever title. Actually, he quite dislikes them, because they imply someone stands above another, and that’s something he’d perpetually avoid. Before he could even begin to explain anything else though, the structure makes an alarming sound, starting to fall apart quickly after that, effectively stopping conversation from happening for a moment.
The roan looks at the other male with a joking smile. ”Guess you’re in need of a home sooner than you expected. I’m curious, have you ever tried to work on frozen ground?” Perhaps, a semi-iglo would hold structure better - or a hole, like Heartfire’s. Or perhaps neither would really work but, the idea of building some more shelters for the people on the frozen island would not be a bad one, Leilan thinks. Unless one counted the pinewood forest and equally-frozen crevices, nothing was really comforting and warm.
you set my soul alight
HTML by Vanilla Custard
@[Aziz]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
What makes a home comfortable, a good question, Aziz was unsure if he was able to answer it though, he had never lived in a kingdom that he did not rule, perhaps he was just too full of himself, too high of himself to accept a normal role. Or maybe he just wasn’t used to it at all, he wasn’t taught how to fit in, before his fall Aziz valued the exchange of respect, always sticking to the same old motto he had created, but what if he was straying from it now, he shook his head lightly and looked back up at Leilan “I’m not quite sure to be honest with you” surely he could reverse his thinking, imagine what it would have been like to live in his own kingdom. Leilan asks him another thought provoking question, one the Male had a tough time thinking about “I’m not sure on that one either, I guess as long as the community is well built nothing can go wrong, right?” Wrong, why did everything go wrong for Aziz if he stuck to the same idea, why did everything change so rapidly.
The Stallion now introduced himself as Leilan, Aziz smiled and gave a nod “It is nice to meet you, Leilan” the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite figure out from where.
Soon enough the close stranger had brought up the crumbling home behind him, Aziz smiled briefly as it all disappeared into a cloud of dust “I guess so” he answers the stallion’s implication which is soon followed with a bother question, frozen ground, Aziz had never really thought of it “No I haven’t actually” the Stallion wondered about it briefly “The forest frontiers never really had extremely icy ground, so I guess not. I wouldn’t be afraid to try” the Stallion raised a brow quietly “I seem to be able to work with dirt, rock, minerals and generally just the ground itself most of the time” he stated, unsure of if Leilan needed to know but at least he did now.
The Stallion wondered about Leilan’s implication of a home, he was most definitely curious enough to give it a try “If you are offering me a place in your home, I would gladly come along” the Stallion hoped he hadn’t read the conversation wrong, he also had an idea of where Leilan lived, he was pretty sure it was also surrounded by water, very cold water, but where there is water there is also the opportunity to build bridges, lovely warm inviting bridges, well away from the freezing water.
(@[Leilan] again apologies if the writing is a bit wonky, the car is shaking a lot lol]
Glaciers melting in the dead of night and the superstars sucked into the supermassive
Leilan listens to the other man but alas, no definite answer follows. Perhaps that would have been too easy anyway, he figures then. Aziz makes a remarkable statement though. As long as the community is built right nothing can go wrong? Hmm. ”Perhaps. There will always be some bad apples I think, but if the setup is right one might find them and get to know what’s wrong.” Though if more than one would work against you, then it simply wasn’t up to you any more. Sometimes people just disliked the way their leader was. Leilan could only hope his own ideas of somewhat-equality would be good enough.
There’s no position of power he could tempt the male with, even though the scaled roan suspects he once had some. The idea was simplicity and as much equality he could muster - turned out though, that the Isle had, perhaps due to it’s barren landscape, attracted more males than females for the time being. In time though, perhaps such might change. One could hope.
Aziz admits to never having worked with permafrost ground, and Leilan flashes him a small grin. ”I hope it’s a little sturdier if it’s frozen. I could make you some, see if it works, but the Isle is full of it. Perhaps if you like a challenge, you could see if you could rearrange some of it’s rocks and things so that there is a place of shelter. Right now, the Isle’s very much a challenge to live on.” Not that Leilan himself minded - the ice on his body never seemed to melt, one indication of such - but he knew Breckin secretly did.
The bay picks up on the implications of such, so the silver bay roan nods. ”I wouldn’t want to force you. It’s cold and due to that, also doesn’t always provide a lot of food, so it’s not for everyone. But there’s a benefit to being a territory of Nerine I suppose. We’re free to move back and forth. And, we could use some more of those shelters, if you’re up for it.” Not directly or in one day, for sure. But it could be their little project. Even just a rounded wall to create one plaza-like thing with less wind to hold small meetings, would be sufficient, or something to start with anyway. Little would he know he could ask his youngest daughter, too, but she had other things to attend to at this moment. Besides, everyone needed a purpose. Aziz maybe even more than anyone else.
you set my soul alight
HTML by Vanilla Custard
@[Aziz]
They can also stay here for a while to talk more if you like. Whichever you prefer!
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
Leilan seemed to have a good way of talking about this new kingdom, it was truly intriguing to Aziz, the fact that it was barren and hard to live on could help him learn to live amongst others in a civil fashion, using his Earth molding capabilities to help others in times of need, Aziz was almost fully sure he wanted to come along with Leilan, although it was cold it still sounded like it would be interesting there “I would be happy to help you and the horses living there” his answer is sturdy and confident as he speaks “I’m very intrigued by this land, I would be glad to come along” he offers a smile and a nod.
Aziz would be very happy to use his magic to help others, although it may take some time to build large structures with the capability of protecting others, of course these buildings would also have to be strong and be able to withstand anything nature throws at it, the danger of it crumbling and failing could be devastating. “A wall would be fairly easy for me to make, shelters may take some time but I’m sure I can make them safe and habitable” the stallion offers another smile, fully content on leaving the river and visiting these new lands “I would also probably be able to get started right after we arrive, the bigger and more demanding the structure it the more I’m drained of power and then I can’t do very much, it’ll refill of course but I’m not sure how it’ll behave in cold lands” the Stallion speaks truthfully, it could turn out that his energy refills slower in such cold lands, he would just have to see though since he did not know just yet.