ARAXES

TENDER HEART

How long had it been since she'd stepped hoof in Solterra? Years, from what it felt like. Since before she was pregnant with the twins.

Yes. Years.

It felt odd to press her hooves through the sand, her wings lifted from her head, covering the top as she shaded her eyes and her face, finally coming in to contact with green once more. The oasis. A miracle in the middle of a desert, with swaying branches of trees that bore sweet fruits, the aloe plants that grew along the waters, and the many grasses that sprouted up to provide a lovely tropical paradise.

The season of autumn meant the sun wasn't so harsh, and her pale body made its way toward the edge of the oasis, wings pulling and gently folding at the sides of her neck as she took in slow sips. She felt the cool trickle down her throat, and she lifted her head as she licked her lips, closing her eyes and taking a moment of respite among the turmoil that had gripped the entirety of Novus.

Walking deities, destruction, tensions. It was all so heavy on her shoulders but she wanted to push on, to rise up, to help and heal. She wasn't so innocent as she had been before, but she was not calloused to the world. Nothing would be able to do that to her, she knew that much. There were people that had hard edges but soft interiors, softer thoughts. Or there were some that were hard through and through and cared only for themselves. There were even soft edges and soft thoughts, open to the world, as she was.

She had seen all of them. Met all of them.

Sighing, the speckled mare moved herself, stepping forward to dip her legs in to the oasis and stand in the water instead, her heavy mane and tail dipping in before wafting about her, floating lazily. It was nice to visit another court, to finally stretch her legs and relax, to feel more comforted than she had in ages.

ARAXES

TENDER HEART

It felt good to cool off even in the autumn heat of the desert, where the sun would leave its mark on her if it tried enough. Her sensitive skin would pinken more and likely remain a little tender to the touch, but that was alright with her.

Perhaps she was hoping to see the flashes of ivory and amethyst she had come to love, even lingering here in the oasis. Torstein.. she hadn't seen him in what felt like ages, and she ached for him. With their children taking on their own lives, she had been left in Denocte to read and learn, to share her knowledge among the people and help those that needed it. Tending wounds and teaching words and writing.

She missed her family. She missed Tor.

Her heart seemed to ache for him, a dull pain in her chest that felt years old.

Araxes was lost in her own thoughts when she heard the voice, her head lifting from where her chin had tucked against herself, her wings fanning out slightly behind her ears to release more heat while she could. It took even a little longer for the words to process, and when they did, the speckled mare was smiling just softly.

"A traveler. Solterra is not my home." Her words were soft as her smile, and she took a step or two in the water, stirring up the sand underhoof in to a small cloud as she did, and wading a little deeper. It was nice to remain in the water, at least, even with the sun beating down on her back. She had missed this, missed being part of the world. Being locked away had changed her in ways she could not fathom.

"I am Araxes, of the Night Court." Her title at the moment was meaningless without a regime to hold her to it, though she attempted to be the best she could at her position. It was hard, when you were the only one left, other than the Warden of Denocte, and even Rosti seemed to have vanished for the time being.

She could not blame him.

ARAXES

TENDER HEART

He was a strange thing to her, though not exactly strange enough to drive her away. Araxes had been around a long time, and seeing someone wearing a skull was not new (she had heard tale of the Ilati and their dabblings, their skulls and masks and bones). His necklace is something that seems to make, but she merely smiled as she looked at him, a softening in her face evident.

"Well then, a pleasure to meet you, Kauri." She kept her distance, well aware that he had not provided her of what court he bound himself to. That was his own business, however, wherever he belonged. She had not seen him in Denocte, so it had to be one of the other three. Perhaps it was here in Solterra, where they had happened to meet.

Even as he spoke, she flicked an ear to listen, dipping her head down to touch a pink nose to the surface of the water, if only to let it ripple out in slow movements, growing bigger and bigger until ultimately vanishing as they reached their limit. Slate eyes lifted, just as her head, and her wings tucked against the sides of her neck as she offered a small smile.

What had driven her here? "The tug of a heartstring." For Tor perhaps, or maybe she thought she would run in to one of her children here. Perhaps they had sought him out. She hadn't any idea, as she hadn't reached the Court itself yet, laying nestled just a little deeper in the sands of the desert than this oasis.

"And yourself?"

ARAXES

TENDER HEART

She supposed colder seasons in Solterra offered some sort of relief, though even now in autumn, the sun beat against her spotted back, dancing heat over her. It glimmered and shifted on the sands, dancing far far away in shimmering waves that tricked the eye. As for understanding... the oasis brought a solace to one when they found it, especially if they were alone and contemplating. It was a good place to come, at least in her mind.

Araxes flicked and ear, her wings shuffling behind them, gently spreading out a little and ruffling for a cool breeze that came through over the water. She listened a moment, mildly amused. Entrapped, not entirely. She was a willing victim, following the tug of her heartstring wherever it led her. Most of the time.. it was here, where she'd bumped in to Tor previously, eating sweet fruits from the trees and enjoying one another's company.

"I have not seen their face in a while. The Night Court closed its gates a while ago. They only recently reopened." Her tone took on a bitterness that tasted caustic, burning the back of her throat. She still didn't forgive the old regime, and she likely never would. Neither forget, nor forgive. It would be carried with her the rest of her life, those memories, those actions taken upon their people.

Shaking her head, the speckled mare pushed the thoughts aside, flicking an ear toward Kauri, tilting her head just the slightest as she did, causing a ripple of her mane that danced all the way to the water. "I wonder if perhaps they are still even here." A subtle mourning pricked at her, her eyes stinging just slightly with the thought. It would be her luck, that he had vanished somewhere... but she doubted it would happen. Tor was many things. Sometimes, he didn't like to stay in one spot.

Perhaps she was aching too much now, and needed to see him. It had been what felt like eons.

ARAXES

TENDER HEART

No?

Araxes blinked at the word, though by looking at him, it was obvious the word was not directed at her, but someone -- or something -- else. Perhaps a memory or a thought, something only he knew of. Instead of poking her nose in to it (something she would have done a long time ago), she watched with slate eyes as he stood, making his way toward the trees with their heavy fruits that dangled. He sought the shade, and she remained in the light of the sun, cooling off bit by bit, just by having part of herself submerged in the waters.

She would seek shade soon enough, perhaps to nap under before making her way deeper in to the Day Court.

As she lowered her head, dipping her nose in to the water, he spoke again, and her ears twitched in response. Drawing another sip of water, she lifted once more, smiling slightly. "To the south of here, through the Arma Mountains. There's a pass that leads to the Court." Though Arma currently carried the damage of a dragon that had lit it aflame for no reason, the bones of innocent animals buried under the ashes. It would grow back -- nature always did -- but no one would forget the terrifying display and attack of its own kind.

Shaking her head, she nudged the mental image of the charred trunks in the back of her mind; she would see them again when she made her way home. Instead, she ached with the thought of her own lover, wondering what had happened while Denocte had sealed its gates. Her children, she had heard that Cynix was somewhere, doing well on his own. Siavax? Jaxis? She hadn't a clue where they were, how they were.

Her tiny little family had been torn when the raven gates had sealed. Now they were open, but her family was still scattered to the winds. "One can't help but wonder regardless, and perhaps hope they are safe."

Oh, Tor...