❝drifting apart like two sheets of ice frozen hearts growing colder with time
when we were in flames, I needed you to run through my veins❞
This was the grey lady's favorite time of year. Despite being a summer-born foal, she much preferred the bite of autumn's air to anything else. The change in color was also something that fascinated her, keeping a mental record when certain types of trees changed their leaves over not to mention the colors they chose to mix into the fire-colored canvas being painted by the great mother right where they all stood. Back home her herd was no doubt celebrating the harvest in their own way as well, probably dancing and singing songs of their ancestors. But Ygraine remembered distinctly how she celebrated the harvest with her one-eyed mentor.
Thus why she now stood in the middle of an open clearing, the night just barely settled over the land. Sunlight still made the feeble attempt to break through the dark, so she could still see somewhat clearly for now though it would soon disappear. The grulla witch stood before a small circle she'd made with stones, a pile of dried wood and proper kindling gathered in the middle of it. She grasped a few pieces of long grasses from the top of the pile, placing it down on the ground where she struck a dark hoof against one of the stones with enough force to cause a few sparks. It was enough to light the bundle of grass on fire, rather enough to make it smoke and start enough for her to move and start her fire properly. Leaning down, she blew gently until the smoke started to glow and a bit of real fire began to start, to which she grabbed the bundle and threw it into the kindling. Thankfully the air was dry and calm, so it didn't take long before the rest of the circle became sparked and grew into a strong bonfire.
Ygraine threw her head in joy, prancing like some playful filly in her place before she decided to stand there a moment and revel in her accomplishment for a few moments. The grulla mare then began to dance clockwise widely around the fire, her steps rhythmic and calculated while her head moved to and fro with a slow cadence. All the while, staring into the fire she sang the chant she remembered her palomino mentor had taught her long past. Ygraine's heart was filled with happiness during the dance, the reality of samhain coming upon her, fully reveling in the power of the harvest night.
"Fire red, summer's dead
Yet it shall return.
Clear and bright, in the night,
Burn, fire, burn!
Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's a-turning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallows-time,
When the fire's burning.
Fire glow, vision show
Of the heart's desire,
When the spell's chanted well
Of the witching fire."
---
Here’s text.
”Here’s speech.”
tag: open! Just pop in and bother her dance! | music: HERE | table credit: HERE
Battle Type: BATTLE Prize: BRAGGING RIGHTS Contact Made: YES MY FRIEND YES
Character #1: @Raglan Bonded: no Magic: no Armor: no Weapons:his disarming wit and charm! no
Character #2: @Mila Bonded: no Magic: no Armor: no Weapons: no
It wasn't as if he hadn't told anyone he was going to be here.
He'd told one of the younger recruits, a scrawny looking filly with a smudged face and bruised knuckles - Crow through and through, even if she didn't know it yet - to disperse information through the ranks. A spar, he had told her, Tellem it's a good old fashioned brawl. Spit and grit and bloody teeth. The winged rogue had even given the girl a coin for her trouble! Pursing his lips and attempting (then failing) not to roll his eyes, Raglan stared balefully at the land surrounding the arena. It wasn't that it wasn't beautiful in it's own way, it was that Raglan was having a hard time paying attention to the uniqueness of his surroundings when he was so busy pouting.
Scuffing the dry earth with a pale hoof and squinting up at the autumn sky - crisp and blue and all things fall - the lad huffed a sigh, disappointment rearing it's ugly head and pressing down over his lean muscled shoulders with the weight of Maxence's big fat ego. At the thought of Maxence, however, the horned Crow perked up a bit as his imagination took over. Pushing out his thin chest and stepping toward the center of the ring, Raglan envisioned the Desert King standing before him in all of his cocky glory.
"You think you're so big and tough, Maxence. Coming into my lands and threatening my First Crow?" He threw a laugh at the imaginary commander, full of bravado and confidence, "The only one that gets to talk smack to Reichenbach is me! Engarde!" And with that, the boy rushed forward only to rear back and strike at the air in a series of jabs with his hooves. "Take that you smelly sand sucker!" He cried, a wild grin plastered over his rust stained face, "And that, and that!" Spinning about and giving a kick with his hind legs, Raglan began to laugh, a boisterous, full bodied thing, erasing all memory of disappointment from his mind and giving a spring to his step.
It didn't matter if Crows showed up, he could keep fighting this daydream, at least that way, he'd always come out the winner.
Summary: fake fights maxence and waits for someone to show up
The festival is spinning and churning beneath strings of light, with fire illuminating all of the dark spaces inbetween. Laughter fills the air, jubilant cries and warm voices cutting easily through the crisp fall evening. Bodies dance around a large bonfire, and she watches keenly from the sidelines, the golden glow from the flames tracing her sculpted face and illuminating the edges of her wings with an ethereal sheen. A small chorus has joined in, their lyrics and music calling to her, and with a joyous laugh she leaps into the dance, turning and prancing and shifting her wings in a graceful attempt to match the tempo surrounding her.
There have been few times she has found such happiness, though this may be the most exuberant feeling she has ever experienced. As the light reflects upon the silken sheen of her coat, she seems to glow, all glistening dapples and neatly preened feathers. She is just growing into herself, leaving behind the lanky awkwardness of youth and joining the other yearlings in their new-found swan bodies. Akeli has found peace here, and though she thinks often of her family, most of all Ktulu, she prays that perhaps her adoptive mother is also enjoying the beauty of the night, wherever she may be.
As they all spin wildly beneal Caligo's beautiful night, the tongues of flame and flying embers play with the girl's vision. Within the fire she sees the swelling of tides, towering trees. She sees a phoenix flapping glorious wings, she sees a bear, she sees a unicorn mare. She closes her glinting amber eyes and tosses her crowned head, pulling her mind away from the captivating fire's pull, and she continues to dance until her sides are heaving and her cheeks ache from smiling. She spins upon graceful heels, turning away from the group, and as she does the light burned into her retinas still hold the shape of a mare with a blood-stained horn and a warrior's heart.
She steps free, moving away from the pack with a graceful highstep, and the air cools the further she gets from the flames towards the form, the illusion, that the fire still plays for her. Her breathing slows, and suddenly her ears are perked, golden eyes wide, and her wings clap anxiously against her sides as they had so many seasons ago when she had first seen the woman who would raise her. A smile then, slowly creeps upon her face, and at first she says nothing, simply watching, waiting, praying this isn't just a trick of the light. When her mouth finally opens, it is a wish she breathes out, hoping it's really true.
she walked in moondust
and stars were sprinkled in her hair
She was a wraith cloaked in shadows and smoke, the stars above her glittering as dusk collapsed into night. Calligo stretched her long arms across the sky in beautiful hues of deep indigo touched with her sister goddess' gold; the sun slowly falling into a stupor as the light began to fade. Striped alabaster hooves carried her through the mountains, her gypsy soul craving movement, wandering. The Arma pass towered on every side of her, a boundary of solid rock that defended her homeland with a stone fist. Autumn's chill curled gold-dusted fingers down her spine as the leaves fell all around her, softening the underbrush beneath her as she traveled. Wind screamed through the skinny trail, tossing her wild mane and kissing every feather of her wings; an ache to fly a burning thirst she could not quench.
High above her, she looked up to marvel at the stars, and the single, bright constellation that showed her true north. Her blue orbs reflected those shining stars, as she finally broke free from the mountain pass as the beaten path began to wind down down down, to a place she had not yet explored. She had traversed every nook and cranny of her home, Denocte, since her birth. Had seen even the far reaches of the continent when she had traveled to the court of Dawn. But she had not yet tasted the forbidden sands that lay just above the Night Court; had not yet dared to cross the borders into the kingdom of her enemy. Her king's enemy.
Either the stormsinger was not thinking straight, or sleepwalking, she did not know, but her hooves toed the sands that lined the dying grass just outside of Denocte's borders. Boulders littered the grass as the land leveled, the foreboding mountains at her backside. Ahead of her, as if in a dream, an endless sea of scorched earth that seemingly was not touched by the change of the seasons. Solis had laid waste to these lands, parching the desert floor of life, as her hooves touched the soft earth as it gave away beneath her legs. She pushed forward, despite the warning bells that rang through her skull.
She had to know.. had to see the kingdom that dared rear it's ugly head against the passion and might of Calligo's chosen. So she crossed that invisible line, the stars glimmering their prayers to their gypsy girl, as she entered the court of Day.
@inkheart longggg overdue love, I'm sorry <3
she just barely crosses the border because she's a strong woman who don't need no man a dare-devil. "Aislinn speech."
There were a million stars reflected on the glassy surface of the creek before her. The illusion was incomparable. It was as if the dark mare had been thrust up into the galaxy and was floating amongst the stars, despite standing perfectly still at the edge of the lake watching in dark silence. From where she stood she could barely hear the lapping of the water at the shore of the creek's bed. The stillness of the air kept the trees and the grasses around her from rustling or making a sound. With all the critters around her sleeping now that the moon was full and high in the sky, Lyra had truly been plunged into a dead silent night.
She watches the reflections of the stars on the surface of the water, not bothering to trace her gaze towards where her reflection stood. The woman was too dark to be seen, save for the pale silver eyes staring out from the dark canvas.
One would think that she was reflecting upon her past, or muddling through intricate thoughts, when instead, with a casual backwards flick of a ear, she was straining to hear a hint of any sound amongst the silence. There was no way that she was alone in such a vast land, as she had seen the others milling about during the day- perhaps there were few creatures that wandered during the night like herself. She had long ago learnt to embrace the cover of shadows, knowing that the darkness was the one thing (aside from her shyness) that embraced her without prejudice.
As she strained to listen for anything at all, there was a small snap and a gentle rustling, yet the wind did not pick up.
Dusk settled across the fields, and even as the sun embraced its descent into the horizon, each blade of plush grass within Susurro was kissed with vibrant light.
Vespera smiled as she pulled the sun from Solis' grasp, smiled as she cradled it lovingly. The vibrant and muted shades of her mane passed over the bright white star, casting the magnificent purple red hue across the landscapes as she tucked them into sleep.
Her breath was warm and stirred the environment into life; birds glided through the darkening sky while all the nocturnal life slowly woke from their day-long sleep. Insects buzzed through the air, scurried along the ground; forever unaware of the change in day to night. Except one.
The fireflies.
They slumbered all through the day, hidden away from all of the Terrastellans and foreigners passing through... but once the sun set, they were alive. Flitting through the skies, their glow lighting up the warm night air.
Vespera enjoyed them most. Their light of love, how they flocked to each other and danced.. their lives were short, but there was not a soul in the field that didn't know of their passion.
- - -
Maybe it was the fireflies that drew Damascus to that very field... or maybe it was something else unknown to both the goddess and Damascus himself. And as Vespera looked down upon the world from her perch high above, she certainly could not overlook him. The inhabitants she watched over that called Terrastella their home may be numerous, but she knew every one of them as if they were her own children.
Unique, young, but not naive, even though others may think he is.. she had seen him, watched him stumble through life and test limits. With each escapade, she sighed, waiting for the day he truly would hurt himself. A day she would rue, for while not always the most ... coordinated individual, the young stallion had truly done little to warrant what would eventually befall him.
An idea swelled within a rogue thought in the goddess' head, brought upon by Oriens' similar mischeviousness. She may not be able to protect him.. but she could bestow something that might.
- - -
The fireflies would swarm Damascus, tangle and nest throughout his hair as their glow swelled to an unknown height. But they would not bite, no... and should Damascus refrain from brushing them away, he would feel their warmth. It was an unusual feeling, truth be told - oddly comforting, even as the fireflies made the young pegasus a temporary, gleaming beacon. The feeling they would elicit was one that was... hard to place.
Vespera chuckled, and with a warm breath that washed through the fields, she swept them away.
When @Damascus wanders into the Susurro Fields at Dusk, fireflies will flock to him. They will nest in his hair, along the crest of his wings, and flicker alongside him - seemingly attracted to him as if he was a beacon. The number of them that Damascus will encounter is massive and may be intimidating, but the warmth that is (somehow) gleaned from their glow is comforting in some odd way.
It's a feeling that Damascus cannot place, and just when he gets used to the sensation, a warm gust of wind will blow the fireflies away. But even then, he cannot seem to shake the feeling that something is.. different.
Damascus may, or may not, be aware of his new immortality.
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❝Now I have been here before though I know I am lost;
The same place that filled me with joy was just a road I'd crossed❞
She hadn't been to the sea in a long, long time.
The grey lady could recall some many moon cycles ago she strode along some foreign shoreline with the daft palomino mare she called her mentor, though the weather wasn't beginning to settle and cool like it was currently. With the thick breath of summer being whisked away by the bite of the fall air, the cool sea-breeze coming from the rolling waves nibbled at her skin with more intention than it might have while in the nadir of the warmer months. Ygraine remembered standing at the edge of the beach, the waves crashing around her young limbs and threatening with each push to pull her in and down with the current. The one-eyed, slightly crazy mare had performed a ritual with the young grulla by her side, tossing a stone into the sea to purge bad thoughts from the mind. As of late Ygraine had no need for such a spell in her current travels, which was quite a good thing; for now that spell served as merely a memory of times long gone.
The coming autumn was right on the heels of the foaming waves slamming into the sandy shore, but oddly she didn't mind it. It was a welcome change from the oppression of summer, the grey lady appreciating it whole-heartedly and it showed. A subtle grin turned up the sides of her pale pink muzzle, her eyes closed and turned up to the wind as she breathed the salt-filled air deeply. The sting in her sinuses didn't annoy her, rather it invigorated her; she reared up and her fores whirled in the air, head tossing this way and that in pure glee before she made a short sprint along the beach. She weaved back and forth as if playing with the waves before finally she grew bold enough to divert her path and go straight into the water. A loud splash followed as white foam geysered up from where her body and the waves met, even though she only went deep enough to cover her knees and hocks.
She felt like such a child gallivanting about, yet she enjoyed herself too much to really care. So the normally reserved grey lady kept dancing about in the waves, her playful laughs echoing across the water and down the immediate length of the beach.
The trip to Dawn Court was full of nostalgia for Evangeline. Traveling through the Viride Forest was bittersweet, but the orange mare felt a sense of peace and comfort beneath the canopy. It reminded her of the Mystic Woodlands. Of home. She had taken her time as she meandered through the forest, pausing every now and again to inspect certain plants, or to listen to the rustle of the wind through the trees. She traveled slowly, but eventually she made her way to the Dawn Court's citadel, where the festivities were being held.
Evangeline had been hesitant about leaving the relative comfort and safety of the Dusk Court to travel to Dawn Court for the festival. The Aurora Basin had held similar events in Helovia and she had never gone to them. So why now? Why would she go to this festival in a land that she didn't know anything about? Why did she even care about what the Dawn Court celebrated?
Those were the questions the asked herself over and over again as she stood by herself observing. There were so many different activities going on that she didn't even know where to start. Everyone was so loud and cheerful that she didn't know what to make of it. She didn't know how to insert herself into any of the activities without looking like an awkward, clueless, outsider. Instead she stood beneath a tree, an awkward, clueless, outsider.
"."
autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower
There are moments when time ceases to have any real meaning. What, in reality, only lasts minutes seems to last for hours, instead. In the moments leading up to the birth of a child, not matter if it's your first, second, or third. When you've found your companion and your hearts and souls entertwine and you become one being. But most notably is when death is on your doorstep, knocking relentlessly, and beckoning you forward, welcoming you into its icy embrace.
We stood frozen in place, watching the horror as it unfolded before us. It took no time at all. Bodies disentergrated into nothing, families were destroyed, and it all took place in a matter of minutes. But it felt like so much longer. Maybe it's the terror and the sense of absolute hopelessness that makes everything seem like it lasts so much longer than it really does.
There were many things that I didn't understand. Why would our gods take lands that didn't belong to them? Why would they not make sure that the gods that came with the lands were completely destroyed? How could they be fooled so completely by a thing that claimed to be a god that none of them knew? Why would Kaos give us a way to escape? I questioned that the most in the short time that we stood watching him destroy our friends and families. A part of me suspected that it was a trap, the moment we stepped through the portal we'd all be dead ... but hope was what drove me to push my children through it. Hope that they would live. Hope that they would have a future. Hope that they would grow and love and have their own families to nurture.
...
Hope that I would see them again.
Darkness enveloped me as I stepped through the portal and then I was falling. I tumbled through the darkness, head over heels, wings flailing, eyes squeezed shut, mouth open as I tried to scream. My lungs were burning and my throat was raw, but no matter how much I screamed there was no sound. I was trapped in a void, falling, and the terrifying thought that I would be stuck there forever cemented itself in my brain.
Then, suddenly, I could feel wind in my hair. I could hear a blood curdling, terrified scream. And I realized that I was still falling, but I was no longer surrounded by darkness. That it was my scream that I was hearing.
And then I hit the water.
I was below the surface before I could even take a breath. Water filled my open mouth, blurred my vision, pulled me deeper and deeper beneath the surface. My wings flailed and I kicked my legs as I fought my way back to the surface. I needed a breath and the minute I broke through the surface of the water I greedily sucked in as much oxygen as I could. I coughed and spluttered as I made my way to the shore, desperate for the feel of something solid beneath my hooves.
When I finally did make it to the shore I stood there, my legs trembling and my sides heaving as I tried to catch my breath. I looked up at the sky and watched the swirling portal, waiting for the rest of my family to come tumbling through into the water. They didn't. The portal began to close and dread settled in my stomach like a lead weight. Where were they? Letha, Requiem, Gabriel, Geronimo, Dragomir, Mara ....
Where were they?
"No..." I whispered as the portal closed and none of them came through. "No, no, no..." My knees buckled and I sank to the ground, wondering what I was going to do.
"."
stood at the coal face, stood with our backs to the sun
i can remember being nothing but fearless and young
I used to be a darling starlet like a centerpiece
Had the whole world wrapped around my ring
I flew too close to the sun that's setting in the east
And now I'm melting from my wings
She had never been to Delumine.
Quite honestly, Israfel had rarely ventured outside of Terrastella's borders, save to meet Diarmuid at the Steppe for their friendly spar. This was the furthest that she had ventured from the Dusk Court lands, but to put it simply, it was nice. It was beautiful. The trees were beginning the stunning transition that came before winter's merciless grasp, the leaves shifting and changing colors, beginning to fall and collect upon the ground in great piles of multi-colored heaps. Reds, greens, oranges, yellows... It was beautiful, a breathtaking backdrop in a land so lush with fertility and richness.
She had not yet met a member of the Dawn Court, but she hoped that after partaking in their Harvest Celebration, that she would. With every Court receiving the warm invitation, the Sun Daughter was eager to go and partake in the festivities. It sounded lovely, and so she, along with other members of the Dusk Court, traveled to Delumine and to the broad Citadel, admiring the lights strung up, the scents, the sounds, and the smells. Decorations littered nearly every surface, stands for games and fun set up in various locations. Pumpkins littered the area, some carved, some whole. Stands of food and drink aplenty sat nestled a ways away, and already there were so many who had gathered before them. Laughing, singing, dancing... Everyone looked positively thrilled, and their excitement was contagious.
Israfel couldn't help it. She laughed. It was a melodic, tinkling sound, like chimes on a breeze. The Daughter of the Sun's vermilion eyes were lit up, sparking bright and joyous, gilded wings unfurling and stretching out as she took a few prancing steps forward and into the courtyard. Beautiful! It was beautiful! Never in her life had she ever seen something quite so grand!
"How marvelous!" She cried, joyous and thrilled, looking back to the other members of the Dusk Court that she had traveled with, "Where should we begin? It all looks like so much fun!" Innocent. How long had it been since she had allowed innocence to flood through her veins, purging the darkness from her heart? Too long. There had been no time since her rebirth, since death had released her from its cruel grip, but now in the heart of an autumn festival, Israfel finally felt it; freedom. New beginnings. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, and she had every intention on grasping it and taking advantage of it.
Here the fun would start... But first, she just needed to decide where to begin.
