"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
Don't wait for the storm to pass. Learn to dance in the rain
Tlali emerges from the home Aziz had built for them with a yawn, he pauses outside the entrance of the home and inhales deeply, the air is filled with the scent of sweet flora mixed with a slight hint of salty air that must originate from the salty springs. A swift breeze also hints at the scent of moss that hangs around the trees and the dome structure he now calls home, the earthen smell of their house also overpowers his nose as he turns to face the house, he can also smell the smoke that emerges from the chimney, it is hot and carries the smell of burnt rock.
The foal scans the area to see if his father was around, but it doesn't seem like he is, at least he had been getter better at not treating him horribly, he no longer tripped him up or abandoned him, it seemed like Tlali's hardships with keeping up with his father were all slowly fading, he knew it would have been worth it in the end, and now it was all slowly coming together.
Loess was still unfamiliar to him though which brought hardships of its own, in other places he lived he would map out the land using his echolocation, using landmarks or significantly large trees to mark where he was, this way he made sure he wouldn't get lost, but now he must do it all again, especially if he wants to satisfy his thirst.
The foal begins to march forward, bumping into things as he walked, though at this point he was almost used to it, he still needed to learn how to use his echolocation to his full advantage as he was bumping into things before he could even identify them, which was not helpful.
The foal finally manages to identify dips in the landscape, usually, this is where water would reside, though Tlali becomes confused, the air is mixed with the scent of sweet and salty water, at this point, he didn't even know where he was.
Tlali slowly edges closer to the water, he feels some steam and heat rush toward him, he must be at one of the springs he could smell earlier, though he did not know which one.
The small foal arches its neck to take a sip of the water, moving it in his mouth before spitting it out in a hurry "Definitely salty" he says aloud, his tongue hanging out of his muzzle in disgust.
She only moved when she had finally admitted to herself… that she was curious.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know what Loess did, or heck, it’s not like she hadn’t been there before a few times so she is not curious about what it looks, feels, or smells like. No - not even did she want to know what Castile had accomplished; she knew that. She came now, because after all he’d said, she was curious about his residents - mostly the young ones. Would they like him, look up to him, was he a good leader to all kinds and not just those that had already acknowledged they wanted the unrest, by joining him - no, it’s the young ones, born there or moved there without much of a choice, that she is curious about - what effect does he have on them?
And what about the aftermath of war? What did that do to the Loessians? Did they all hate Tephra now or would they be satisfied now that they’d won? That - that’s what she comes to investigate. And only partly because she likes Castile and wants to see if his pride of this land is something she can live with. Only partly.
It is with those questions that she carefully skids along the border until she finds a spot to trespass with minimal or no eyes on her. She knows it is wrong, in a way, but then again Castile probably would encourage this kind of behaviour, he would just be surprised she was the one doing it.
But she hadn’t come to see him, and she knew he’d know her scent by heart, and thus the avoidance game should be played, at least a little while.
Scouting around, she soon found a small figure in the distance, seemingly alone, and so she beelined towards the colt, snorting softly before speaking. ”Hello, you. I’m Ilma, a visitor today. How are you doing?” she wonders, looking from him (and his stuck out tongue) to the pool - only now realizing that he didn’t quite look at her. She decided not to comment - probably all the other children, and most adults, already had.
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Tlali]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
Don't wait for the storm to pass. Learn to dance in the rain
As he curses at the salty water in his mind a snort suddenly sounds to his left, at first his muscles and body freeze up and stand still, though the foal quickly turns to face the voice, emitting his high pitched noise quickly to try and figure out what was approaching him.
The sound quickly bounces back to reveal the faint shape of a horse approaching, with this information and the calming voice the foal quickly relaxes and focuses his direction toward the voice.
"Uh, Hi there Ilma. It is so very nice to meet you and to know you do not want to eat me, though that hasn't quite been established yet" he throws an unsure grin "I am doing great! But I can't find the sweet water, it is all salty! Who invented salty water and why?! Who would even drink that? Bleh!" he snorts loudly before returning his attention toward the mare "How about you? How are you doing? Can you see me? cause I cannot see you, unfortunately, what do you look like?" the talkative foal asks, his smile vibrant as he moves around excitedly.
He didn't really feel any pity for himself for not being able to see, he felt like it made him more explorative, even though he could not see he still wanted to smell everything and touch everything there was to be touched.
There are several ways in which the foal is… quite strange - but not strange for Beqannan standards. It’s just that the way he turns around quickly, or the noise he emits, offsets the white woman a moment; when he speaks he still sounds nervous, saying things that honestly, to Ilma sound a little strange still. Eat him? ”Have you met others who tried to eat you?” she wonders. If that’s the case, things are worse than she had imagined.
Still, the foal is lively - excited to meet someone perhaps, which is a good sign - it contradicts his remarks on being eaten. He talks about the water in this pond being salty (the mare knows this, as it is a pond that’s close to the sea; the right term would be brackish, but she doesn’t correct him because it is more salty than the sweet waters further towards the foresty areas). She nods, but then notices his eyes aren’t focused on her at all, though he previously honed in on her voice. He confirms her suspicion quickly however, and she outs a short, warm laugh. ”I can see you just fine, - what’s your name? - I could tell you I’m white and have wings made of the sunlight, but I don’t think that’s helpful to you. Here, come closer. Use your other senses.” she stretches her nose out to him, softly brushing her velvet nose over his crown. He won’t ever be able to know any of the colours, unless he finds a bit of magic to aid him, or someone else goes to the Mountain for him. But she can let him know she’s here and what she’s shaped like, and he’ll have to learn how to get through the world by touch, hearing, and smell more than others.
She muses over his other question - how about her? What is she even doing here? Honestly, she isn’t quite sure why she wanted to see Loess for herself - but perhaps if all is indeed as peaceful here as Castile believes, she can let the subject go. If not, she will continue to visit and try to make it right, no matter what he tells her. She knows he will not really hurt her; in fact she is not a threat nor his enemy, whatever he believes about his two sides in the world - either with him or against him.
To distract herself, she now focuses on helping the little colt. ”I think the water is salty because it’s not meant to be drunk - the sea is vast and can drown us, so we’re not supposed to get close to it. I’ll help you find a sweet water pool instead, further inland, if you like.” she offers - it’s honestly not like Ilma has anything better to do than to watch the kids; as always that is her first task, ingrained in her brain and soul from a very young age, and not something she would give up under any circumstance.
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Tlali]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
Don't wait for the storm to pass. Learn to dance in the rain
The colt centres his focus on the mare, pinpointing where her voice is "Of course! Everything tries to eat me" he says, though perhaps a little over-exaggerated "I think the trees are alive, when you're not looking they are always trying to trip you up and cause you trouble" he huffs, pointing toward the bruises on his body caused by tripping over various fallen trees "Whoever made the playground needs to think a little more carefully about those trees" he laughs slightly, his small tail wagging behind him.
"I'm Tlali, though honestly, I think that is a weird name" he shrugs, reaching out to meet her "Sunlight? Are you sure you're not just an angel? My dad says those are created out of sunlight" he hums exuberantly.
"I see, but what is the point of having water you can't drink, or water that can drown you" he shivers at the thought of drowning, falling into a deep void of nothing, unable to breathe and unable to see the exit, though his attention quickly returns to the kind mare "Yes please! I am very thirsty, I've been helping my father with his building antics and it makes me very hungry and thirsty you see" he nods quietly, emitting the same familiar noise as usual to try and figure out what was in front of him, taking a moment to scan the landscape "Lets go!" he says enthusastically as he trots ahead, emitting the high pitched noise every so often to make sure he wouldn't trip over anything on the ground.
Ilma chuckles a bit at Tlali’s answers, though she doesn’t interrupt nor correct him about things eating and tripping him. Instead, she focuses on his last remark. ”Any next time I see a fairy, I’ll remember to alert them to the issue. Until then, the trees make a great boundary for you to stay in the playground’s meadow, wouldn’t you think?”
Ilma tilts her head at Tlali’s opinion of his name, but realizes he can’t see it. ”Names often fit us more than we think. I’m pretty sure yours refers to both earth and sunlight, but in different languages. So that means you can choose which one you like - either fits you one way or another, depending on if you make it yours.” she explains to him.
Leading him away from the water, she chuckles at his abhorration of the larger, saltier water. ”Tlali, ny dear, you forget that the world isn’t solely made of horses. Some creatures prefer to fly, others to swim, and some like us, walk.”
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Tlali]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
