lorious, blissful darkness. The inky black of a sky so clear the stars glittered brilliantly, dying supernovas that sprinkled the ebony ocean above her like shining pearls. Nimue basked underneath the expanse of stars, reveling in the sweet shadows of night. She was wondrously alone, the life at Court quiet and sleeping. Standing atop a small hill crest, Nimue stood as still as a statue. Her lids heavy and closed, the night air like spun sugar in her mouth. Marvelously alone with herself and her thoughts.

Blinking slowly, she opened her haunting eyes to the night, silently petitioning the gods. The only light save from the stars pulsed at her throat, the chunk of amethyst glowing a soft violet light onto the rosy femme. She meditated, clearing the cache of thoughts filtering through her. Her mind hyper focused on the sounds of the deep night, the hooting of an owl, the rustle of leaves in the cool spring breeze. Slowly the tension released from her muscles as she began to relax. Her ears flicked and honed onto the many sounds of the nocturnal wildlife. She smacked her lips together, her throat dry. Oh.

A simple fix. The soft sounds of running water rang in her ears. She trotted silently across the dewy grass towards the tree line, dipping her delicate crown underneath the branches. Each hoofbeat was precise, the woman's one blue-violet orb adjusted to the perfect obsidian of night. The silver moon hid her face on this night, a lack of moonlight guiding her way. Uneasiness did not course through her veins however. Her court was sleeping in their castle. Who else would be awake on such a night besides a witch?

The rush and trickling of water grew steadily louder. Only several meters now. She broke through the tree line to a clearing with a lovely view of the starry sky, the creek snaking through the trees. Her hooves dug deep into the damp earth, breath catching in her throat. She was not as alone as she thought she would be.. a muscular blue body stood up to his knees in the ebbing water, drinking from the sustenance. His body reflected with a smaller scale of the stars, bright as the night hanging above them. A familiar rush of -- love? -- anger burned in her veins. So much for meditation.. a physical materialization of her damnation stood before her. Either that or a mocking replica of the reason of her lost immortality from the gods. Damn them. Damn them all.

The world turned red around her as her anger surged into something sickeningly tangible. Her knees became jelly, wobbly, and at the same time, her muscles tensed until she was poised to strike. His head snapped up, turning towards her in that smile she -- craved? -- resented blooming on his face in welcome. "You." she spat at him, "Who sent you here? Did the gods bring you here to mock me?"

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@astarael I'm sorry in advance for Nim's love/hate bi-polarness but yassss let's play <3

he glade had become washed in bright crimson before her eyes. Anger broiled in her blood, longing sang in her soul, and anguish shredded the strings of her heart. He stood there, in the flesh, not more than a few meters ahead of her. Not a figment of her imagination, a barely-remembered dream, a memory.. no. Physical, tangible, and breathing.. looking at her and shaking his head slowly. The crimson in her vision began to ebb away, fading back to the natural colors of night around them. Her breath came out slowly through her mouth as she exhaled, ears twitching as she awaited his reply.

Her heart was heavy in her chest, a rocky crater with fissures that grew wider with each of his words. His voice.. the sadness there nearly undetectable, if the mare had not once watched the beginning, middle, and yes, even the end, of his life once before. In another place, another timeline, when she was once a goddess of the Sight. Reality crashed around her in ruins. Of course.. of course they would not have met. Not physically. She had only watched him from afar; falling madly for him with the folds of space and time between them. Her love for him was her damnation; a true seed of hatred burning in her mortal core now because of it.

Astarael. A name. He had given her a name. To hear in his voice made her knees wobbly, and she tensed her muscles to hide that very fact. The stallion was ever the polite one; the far opposite of her rudeness. The rosy mare simply watched in disbelief as the starry male stepped out of the water, closer to her than she expected. She stepped back a pace, flicking her tail, trying to hide her nerves that were firing wildly. Her name. He wanted her name.

A simple, polite request; not a surprise for supposed strangers. But he was not a stranger to her, although he did not know it. How could she admit how she knew him? Could she lie to him? A dangerous cocktail of rage and longing swirled in her gut. She looked downwards, before her gaze drifted upwards again through heavy lids and thick eyelashes. The witch knew now how she was going to play this game. "I'm Nimue."

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@astarael I feel like she's gone love-struck schoolgirl on me imsosorry x)

dangerous, wicked mix of her fury and frustration partnered with the bittersweet tang of longing and heartache as she looked at him with haunting eyes. She wanted nothing more than to continue her rampage of anger and crimson rage; but in her heart she also desired to be so so close to him. To become drunk off of the heat from his starry skin, to be lost in his voice. To truly know him, instead of being the once-immortal goddess who had fallen in love with a mortal man, damned to be bound and caged in a dying body in the same timeline as he. And here they were, supposed strangers; a blissfully unaware man and a star-struck witch who had no inkling of how to handle her own emotions.

Can you tell me anything about this place? Have you been here long?

She was drowning in his voice, and almost forgot to reply entirely. Perking up, Nimue shook her wild and flowy mane, blinking rationality back into her bones. "Longer than I would have liked to be," she answered, honestly but vague. If she had any say, she would have ripped this world until there was nothing left but ash and dust. Except the only thing stopping her was the lack of guarantee she would just return to her previous existence. So she waited, bidding her time, until she could at the very least regain her own immortality; whether the gods wanted her to or not.

"This place is like all others.. on the edge of war and promises made and broken, a place where magic only exists to those who believe in it." And know how to find it, she added to herself, a wicked thought. But the truth all the same.

Tell me, Nimue, is this a peaceful place?

Her heart swelled and threatened to burst at the seams as she heard him, his lips forming her name and breathing them into something that was so so sweet. She shivered.. head over heels and unable to properly tell him how she felt. Hot air blew threw her nostrils in a snort, and suddenly realizing her rudeness, the mare dipped her crown in a half-attempted apology. Her eyes drew upward, unable to look at him in her embarrassment; instead staring at the intense darkness that lay between each glimmering star. "I wish I could say it would stay this way for all time, but alas, I am not sure."

Somber, she flicked her ears, tilting her head as she continued to look up up up into the heavens. "You haven't told me your name," she mused. Although in her heart, she knew it was forever tattooed there, but she had to ask. It was all apart of the careful game she played.

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@astarael awe it's okay lovely!! Gosh, I hope everything is alright!

he was quickly becoming tired of this careful game she played; but she knew the risks. Her heart and soul were laid bare, unbeknownst to her company, but naked and bleeding all the same. His patience was welcome and gloriously lovely compared to her own unpredictable joy and rage.

But they did not deem her a Witch Child for nothing.

Her gaze flickered over his coat of starry skies and galaxies; a shred of longing stabbing her in the chest as she took note that the flecks of white on his navy skin did not move. The rosy woman's lips pulled with a phantom smile tinged with sadness, and nostalgia; for she would never forget when she Saw him before, once upon a dream. His coat would have mirrored the skies high above him, but now.. the slumbering magic in this world stole that enchanting beauty from him, and her heart thundered with that very knowledge.

My apologies. I am Astarael. I have no recollection of how I came to be in this place – I simply awoke, and here I was.

She tried and failed to hide the sharp intake of her breath as his lips formed his name. Now, they were no longer strangers. One step closer to the something more that her withered heart and old soul burned for. Nimue had been an immortal goddess once; a guardian, a solitary watcher alongside her twin, her other half. But now, she was chained and cursed inside a mortal body, with very, very mortal feelings. The hatred of her damnation was flesh and bone and breathing not a few feet to her side; however, her greatest joy -- save for her brother -- was also that same starry man that reflected the galaxies all around them. A universe, perhaps, mirrored on his skin of navy blue; something that had her heart thundering the more and more she noticed every star on his skin like ivory freckles.

Nimue despised the game she was playing then; and only for a moment, before sensibility wrung through her like a harsh drum of reality. She could not tell him the truth.. not now, maybe never. How could she possibly explain to him that she had fallen in love with him eons ago; watched his life from afar and tipped headfirst into mortal romance; before because of such a thing, she was condemned to this life now? How could she?

No.. she could not tell him. Not yet.

Her sharp gasp was audible this time as Astarael moved closer to her -- side by side to her now -- the two of them galaxies and rose-colored thorns. The witch's delicate ears flickered at the rumbling growl behind her, before her good eye caught the sight of several wolf pups in the darkness. Their mother fae toed the tree line and shadows, her warning heard and serious as the pups braved the water's edge. From the corner of her gaze, Nimue saw her -- lover? -- company smile towards the mother dam, and instantly a shred of warm found it's way in her cold, shriveled soul.

Magnificent creatures, aren’t they? And so brave at such a young age!

A soft, albeit impatient grin touched her lips and furrowed her brow as she, too, watched the pups play on the shores of the river. "Yes, yes they are," she replied, mindlessly and barely audible.

I hope I do not intrude, but have you any of your own?

His sidelong glance had her swooning, but his words sparked a new blaze of wildfire that had her huffing. Her delicate crown jerked at the very thought, the intrusion of such a question, such an inquiry. She moved immediately, creating distance, creating waves, an ocean between them. The glade was burning in crimson all around her; her gaze narrowed and pinning him down where he stood. She barely heard the whimpers of frightened pups as she rounded, the glowing amethyst at her throat pulsing faster and faster as it illuminated her face in a haunting, indigo glow.

Truly now, he would come to see why her court called her a witch. A title she wore with pride; but now he would know.. least of all, forget.

"You are in no position to ask me such nonsense questions," she spat, her anger broiling, a tempest of flame and rage the color of scarlet, "we barely know each other. Don't you ever, ever ask me such things again."

And in her fit of rage and simmering anger, the Witch Child disappeared; galloping into the darkness and leaving Astarael with no more than a second thought.

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@astarael ohh my lanta I'm so sorry for her bi-polar ness! If you'd like we can close this thread up and start a new one?