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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


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    [complete]  By a blood moon oath [Amarine]
    #1

    And when all the lights are broken, You keep the fire going

    Nearly all the way up the mountain was when the sun died. Yanhua had his head low to the ground, beard caked with ice and nostrils flaring when it happened. The round disc of the moon curved oddly over the sky and then, without warning, covered up the low-lying sun. The world went dark, and the early winter winds howled in angst against the mountain that stood in utter defiance of them, pushing Yanhua to stop and lift his eyes to try and search for what they’d lost.

    “Amarine?!” He twisted his neck to look behind, where moments before the jewel-encrusted mare had been following in the track he left as he guided them along the narrow, winding path around the mountainside slope. In his voice was unspoken fear - clenching his throat with invisible claws that stole the breath out of his lungs. He could hardly see, what with the wind whipping his forelock into his eyes and the bitter sting of icy pricks that drove him closer and closer to the sheer wall of icy rock to one side of them, but thanks to the dim glow of his tail he could at least make out the shape of her face and the glint of light reflected in her glassy eyes.

    The children, he worried. Normally an echo would follow suit, but in the midst of the swirling storm and closer to the heavens where the eclipse hung stationary in the sky, Yanhua found his ability to project inhibited. He couldn’t send Amarine those wordless thoughts of terror, and so he clenched his teeth together and reminded himself of a promise he’d made to Lilli - that they would be safe.

    Their children were in the playground; Both he and Amarine had seen to it that they’d been dropped off safely, and when the pair had left Reynard and Cheri to their games, all seemed well.

    Now the mountain was more quiet than ever before, and the sky was starless and foreboding. Cheri and Reynard were miles and miles below them, and Yanhua could only guess how his beloved children were filled with thoughts of their parents returning to rescue them. Little could they have known just where Yanhua and Amarine would’ve ended up, far adrift in the snow where only the fae seemed destined to reside over them all. Stuck at an impasse, unable to turn back on such a narrow path.

    Yanhua didn’t care. He’d try anything. Nothing - not even the change he dreamed up for Taiga - was worth leaving his children behind, so he turned his head back toward the nothingness in front of them and stepped sideways as carefully as he could to search for the rock wall that had been there moments before, only to find his shoulder meeting with … open air. He took a step and slid forward, crashing down on one knee while the other three legs struggled to keep balance, and the faint glow of his hair illuminated the slope of the rock nearest to him: it curved away into darkness, revealing an unseen passageway that cut into the heart of the Mountain’s snow-capped crown.

    Quickly, Yan rose again. He was sure that he had cut himself, but the sting was a minor concern as he called out to @[Amarine] that he was fine. Though he was barred from communication with her in a way that would be seen and not heard, Yanhua was sure that if he kept his mind and body open Amarine would find a way to communicate where he failed. Speaking aloud was nearly impossible, and he was already taking slow, dragging steps onto the dark path. He found quickly enough that it was a cavernous hole; the wind was behind him, the air around him stagnant but cold, and the darkness even more complete than before. Only his mane and short tail were kept aglow, albeit dimly. In a world of total black, they were the only pinpricks of light.

    “Ama,” Yanhua breathed quietly to his mate, huffing gently from the exertion of a day’s worth of climbing, “Are you alright?” He searched for her blindly with his nose, standing still even if it stiffened his frozen joints. Yanhua refused to be at peace until he found her, until the familiar smell and welcome touch of her skin was warm beneath his lips.

    They were here, wherever that was. Perhaps the place where some had gone before them to appease the fae. Only one path had led them, and try as Yanhua might to gain information from passersby and friends alike, no two stories were the same when it came to the exact spot for requesting aid. Whether it was or wasn’t would be decided in due time: Yan intended to support Amarine and stand here for a moment, catch his breath and let her craft their prayer to the faeries (she was better at this sort of thing, he’d only muck it up), and then he would head back in search of their children as fast as his legs would allow him to.

    And when all the nights feel like they're closing, You're leaving an opening



    OOC: Updated & closed since the SWP is over and Taiga's flora/fauna have been updated <3
    #2



    Tornados from a butterfly's wing


    She followed behind him, only a couple paces back, and that had been alright. She'd been alright when the kids had kissed her goodbye, ready for a day of parental-free adventures. It had been hard to leave them, but truth be told she was deep-down excited for the change of pace. A mission, when her days had been settling into a rhythm more like domestic serenity. 

    She and Yan had talked this very day to death, discussed every conceivable outcome, the possible failings, the snags and troubles they might come across. Yet they were still taken by surprise when the sun went out. 

    Ama blinked, wondering what the odds were of spontaneous blindness striking her. Very low. Frozen in her tracks, the little mare shivered in place, hoping her wings didn't shatter in the cold before they sorted this out. "Yan, I can't-" she chattered, before his own exclamation cut her off. There was panic in his voice, and that frightened her more than the darkness. 

    "It'll be o-o-okay," she tried to put as much reassurance into her words as she could. Just an eclipse. Not common, but not unheard of. The light would return soon. Very soon. She wouldn't even entertain the idea that it wouldn't, because that was absurd. Her companion seemed to have less confidence in the sun. 

    When he moved, she saw the faintest tracks his golden glow left on her eyes. Saw him stumble. Screamed his name. And when the dim light he emitted didn't fall away into the nothingness, she sobbed with relief, tears freezing to her cheeks. They had come so far. It would be devastating to lose him now, when she stood frozen and helpless on the mountain, and their children remained unknowing below. 

    The children. Oh gods and fairies, was it dark all over? Her heart beat out a count, every pulse that it remained dark a reminder that sun still hid his face. "I am. A-are you?" She asked weakly, feeling the breath she couldn't see crystalize as it left her. She screwed up her courage, forced her feet to slide the small distance between them until her face brushed against something soft and not nearly as warm as it should be. 

    She could only breath for a moment. Touch him, and shiver, and breath. The ground was flat-ish beneath her feet, no longer angled so punishingly upward. When she could inhale again without the air catching in her chest, she tried to bend her knees, one at a time. They bent, if reluctantly. "Now what?" She asked, even though she knew he had no more experience with this than she did. If the sky was dark, would the Fairies still be able to find them? How long did they wait, before going home or freezing into unseen monuments on the mountainside.

    ...Amarine




    #3

    And when all the lights are broken, You keep the fire going

    Nothing.
    Nothing, and then… something.

    The feeling of her nose brushing up against his flank, where the bone jutted out from the skin and shadows curved into his lean hips and narrow ribs. Yanhua let go of a breath held inside his chest and he curled as much as possible towards her, toward @[Amarine] and the darkness around her until they were reunited again. “I’m alright. I’m okay.” He lied.

    In the frozen darkness he searched for any part of her that was familiar to touch, feeling how her tears had frozen solid on her cheek, so he rested his mouth there - on the beautiful lines of her face - and stayed put, hoping that what meager warmth he could provide would be enough to melt them off her fur. He felt the infinite foolishness of all his desire to make this trek today in the worst season possible, when otherwise they had all the time in the world to be making this trip. His selfishness to complete a heavy task had led them into the uncertain night and now they might never live to see another day again, eclipse or no.

    He would never forgive himself for asking this of her.

    For a moment, all he wanted was to cradle her near him and rub life back into her frozen skin. The sound of her steady breathing was a mantra he could anchor himself to when his thoughts were otherwise tumultuous and sinking. Amarine breathed and Yanhua rubbed slow, circular patterns over her brows and cheeks. Amarine shivered and Yan moved closer, trying his best to envelope her in the physical light of his body that gave no heat for them to survive off of.

    Now what? She wondered, and Yanhua was silent because he had no immediate answer to give. Lilliana had warned them both; his life, Amarine’s life, and the uncertain future of their children stuck somewhere far below the Mountain now rested squarely on the next few decisions he made. All this time he’d grown up among the redwoods, seeking only to serve the purpose of a life fulfilled by duty, honor, love, and family - in a matter of moments, he could be the one who brought it all crashing down.

    He bent his frozen, furry chin and pressed the flat plane of his long face into Amarine’s body, unsure of where it was that he was pressing but needing the strength of her trust all the same. She believed in him, so did Lilliana, his children and Borderline as well. So many others, too.

    “We have a vision, Ama. That Taiga would become something better, something our children could grow and call their own someday. A place for the dreamers, lovers and believers. We have the blessing of our guardians, and the faith of everyone waiting for us to come home after this.” He spoke, trying his best to cover up the chattering of his teeth. In the dark where she couldn’t see, Yan smiled at Amarine.

    “We want change for Taiga, for the flora and fauna. But our children need us now. If the fae are out there, they won’t keep us waiting. If they aren’t…” Yan petered off, trembling from the way his legs were prickling with icy pain. The knee he’d stumbled onto felt like fire whenever the skin jerked from the cold. “Then the world will be dark and silent, and we’ll still have an important quest to fulfill.” He soothed Ama.

    Reynard. Cheri. Memorie. Borderline. Lilliana. Nashua and all the rest. They were still down there, waiting for himself and Ama.
    And the mountain would be twice as hard to descend, regardless of their outcome.

    And when all the nights feel like they're closing, You're leaving an opening



    Yan and Ama have come to request new Flora & Fauna for Taiga. They have the support of Lilliana!
    #4
    "There are more important things happening in Beqann right now," comes a voice, sounding not particularly pleased. She appears, and for a moment, Wysteria looks almost haggard. No one has considered what the most recent events might mean for the faeries, have they? Magic is a limited thing, after all, and when it goes to one place it must leave another. "I will grant you one thing, for now. Go, find me an item similar to that of the flora you seek and return here with it." She disappears as quickly as she comes, without the usual flourish of purple magic.

    ***
    You have received a quest for 1 flora of your choice. Have one thread where you find an item that represents the flora you want to quest for (i.e. a pine cone for the silvergreens or a crystal for the crystal flowers) and bring it back to Wysteria.




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