05-20-2021, 01:21 PM
And if you're homesick, give me your hand and I'll hold it.
Music was something that had colored the champagne mare’s very earliest days. Some of her oldest and fondest memories were filled with its sound in the grove that her family occupied. To hear songs and to sing them would always hold a special place to her, but in her eagerness to hear more of the song, she had committed one of the gravest wrongs in interrupting it.
As soon as her head emerged from behind the large frond and the sound stopped, she was met with the tensed glance of the goaticorn before her. Although she had offered an explanation and hoped that he knew she liked the music, it appeared that she had stopped it (If Marcelo had been here, he certainly would have told her it was a bad idea to run towards it, but then, between the pair, he had always been the more reasonable and responsible). She dropped her head and looked towards the ground, not sure if she could take meeting his azure gaze. The guilt strangled her heart in her chest as she suddenly felt so small in comparison to the one before her.
“I was, err, practicing.” He held laughter back in his throat, and the invisible wall that stood between the pair (the one that Ori had so innocently, accidentally constructed), grew larger, but also formed a crack as the golden girl heard the lack of anger or agitation in his voice. She managed to find the courage to lift her face and green and brown eyes to more steadily meet his, and in those oceanic eyes, she could not find any irritation or sternness as she had originally assessed, only a guarded expression of having been exposed to an awkward encounter. She could breathe a bit easier as she offered a silent apology before smiling, and the wall disappeared on her end on finding it returned.
“I sense something in you.” Although the phrase itself was spoken in a polite manner, there was an undertone that something was about to happen. Ori cocked her head slightly as she tried to understand exactly what he meant by that, observing as the taller stallion of brilliant bronze and gold approached her. He took a deep breath and seemed to observe something, and although the exact nature of that something was unknown to Ori, she could recognize it was likely some magical sight beyond what she could see, and waited for whatever he was looking for to be made clear to him.
She stood like that, watching him, trying to figure out exactly what he was attempting to find before he broke the silence. “You knew my mother.” The statement was frank, surprisingly matter-of-fact, considering the pair had just met (although the champagne had an inkling that some kind of magic had been involved, it was still strange to hear) and Ori nodded. (She noted the ‘knew’ he used, but simply assumed it to mean that she knew Lilli as a child, which was true, and it was also true that it had been a while since she had seen Lilli, and much had happened in their time apart) After that statement, his expression warmed, and Ori couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“She told the most wonderful tales about Murmuring Rivers, Paraiso, and her family there.” He sighed, and Ori could feel her heart go out to him. He was family, and the way he carried himself implied some air of responsibility, it was similar to how her brother and cousins would carry themselves, tall and strong, protectors and beacons of stability to be followed. She also knew that often meant there was a lot carried on their shoulders, so she offered her kindest, softest smile, the one she always reserved for Marcelo, her mother, or whoever else she felt needed it after a long, hard day. “Well, they were wonderful days, and even more wonderful souls to be around.” She offered, her voice soft and nostalgic, but with a gentle note of happiness underneath. Those days were gone now, and this wonderful - if at times tumultuous - present had come in their place, and Ori was thankful for it.
“I’m Yanhua.” He stopped before her, and it was easy to tell how much he outranked her in the height category, even though their eyes could meet from the small hill she found herself on. She perked up a tad for finally having a name to his face. “A pleasure to meet you! I’m Ori.”
“Have you just arrived in Taiga, or am I truly the worst at my job?” He laughed, and the ease of the sound cemented to Ori that their awkward encounter had been left behind (or so she hoped), and there was an easy reply to be found. “Wha- No! Absolutely not!” She laughed as she shook her head. From what she could already tell, @[Yanhua] took his duties as seriously as any knight or guardian of Paraiso, and she refused to believe that any of them were bad at their duties.“Lil- your mother,” she began, correcting herself from using the crimson mare’s childhood nickname in front of her son, unsure if it would be entirely appropriate. It was taking a bit of time to get used to referring to Lilli as a mother, but the champagne swore that she’d get it right next time, “led me here during the eclipse, so I’d say I came here fairly recently.” She knew that the eclipse had been very hard on everyone, and although she wasn’t really sure what had been going on, she knew that she hadn’t been under its shadow for as long as many of the Beqannan residents. She didn’t know much of the frantic efforts to fix things, but she knew that everyone had been busy doing their part and wouldn’t hold it against anyone to have not known of her coming. The only thing that mattered to her right now was the meeting that was happening, and hoping she didn't mess up too badly.
As soon as her head emerged from behind the large frond and the sound stopped, she was met with the tensed glance of the goaticorn before her. Although she had offered an explanation and hoped that he knew she liked the music, it appeared that she had stopped it (If Marcelo had been here, he certainly would have told her it was a bad idea to run towards it, but then, between the pair, he had always been the more reasonable and responsible). She dropped her head and looked towards the ground, not sure if she could take meeting his azure gaze. The guilt strangled her heart in her chest as she suddenly felt so small in comparison to the one before her.
“I was, err, practicing.” He held laughter back in his throat, and the invisible wall that stood between the pair (the one that Ori had so innocently, accidentally constructed), grew larger, but also formed a crack as the golden girl heard the lack of anger or agitation in his voice. She managed to find the courage to lift her face and green and brown eyes to more steadily meet his, and in those oceanic eyes, she could not find any irritation or sternness as she had originally assessed, only a guarded expression of having been exposed to an awkward encounter. She could breathe a bit easier as she offered a silent apology before smiling, and the wall disappeared on her end on finding it returned.
“I sense something in you.” Although the phrase itself was spoken in a polite manner, there was an undertone that something was about to happen. Ori cocked her head slightly as she tried to understand exactly what he meant by that, observing as the taller stallion of brilliant bronze and gold approached her. He took a deep breath and seemed to observe something, and although the exact nature of that something was unknown to Ori, she could recognize it was likely some magical sight beyond what she could see, and waited for whatever he was looking for to be made clear to him.
She stood like that, watching him, trying to figure out exactly what he was attempting to find before he broke the silence. “You knew my mother.” The statement was frank, surprisingly matter-of-fact, considering the pair had just met (although the champagne had an inkling that some kind of magic had been involved, it was still strange to hear) and Ori nodded. (She noted the ‘knew’ he used, but simply assumed it to mean that she knew Lilli as a child, which was true, and it was also true that it had been a while since she had seen Lilli, and much had happened in their time apart) After that statement, his expression warmed, and Ori couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“She told the most wonderful tales about Murmuring Rivers, Paraiso, and her family there.” He sighed, and Ori could feel her heart go out to him. He was family, and the way he carried himself implied some air of responsibility, it was similar to how her brother and cousins would carry themselves, tall and strong, protectors and beacons of stability to be followed. She also knew that often meant there was a lot carried on their shoulders, so she offered her kindest, softest smile, the one she always reserved for Marcelo, her mother, or whoever else she felt needed it after a long, hard day. “Well, they were wonderful days, and even more wonderful souls to be around.” She offered, her voice soft and nostalgic, but with a gentle note of happiness underneath. Those days were gone now, and this wonderful - if at times tumultuous - present had come in their place, and Ori was thankful for it.
“I’m Yanhua.” He stopped before her, and it was easy to tell how much he outranked her in the height category, even though their eyes could meet from the small hill she found herself on. She perked up a tad for finally having a name to his face. “A pleasure to meet you! I’m Ori.”
“Have you just arrived in Taiga, or am I truly the worst at my job?” He laughed, and the ease of the sound cemented to Ori that their awkward encounter had been left behind (or so she hoped), and there was an easy reply to be found. “Wha- No! Absolutely not!” She laughed as she shook her head. From what she could already tell, @[Yanhua] took his duties as seriously as any knight or guardian of Paraiso, and she refused to believe that any of them were bad at their duties.“Lil- your mother,” she began, correcting herself from using the crimson mare’s childhood nickname in front of her son, unsure if it would be entirely appropriate. It was taking a bit of time to get used to referring to Lilli as a mother, but the champagne swore that she’d get it right next time, “led me here during the eclipse, so I’d say I came here fairly recently.” She knew that the eclipse had been very hard on everyone, and although she wasn’t really sure what had been going on, she knew that she hadn’t been under its shadow for as long as many of the Beqannan residents. She didn’t know much of the frantic efforts to fix things, but she knew that everyone had been busy doing their part and wouldn’t hold it against anyone to have not known of her coming. The only thing that mattered to her right now was the meeting that was happening, and hoping she didn't mess up too badly.
-- ori
Sorry this took so long! <3