she walked in moondust
and stars were sprinkled in her hair
She was wildness and untamed storms bound in the skin of a warrior woman. Her blood roaring for sweat and tears as she found herself training, beating at the air in quick movements as she maneuvered around an invisible opponent. Hooves clicked and slid against the smooth stone of the court yard; her muscles bunching underneath her ebony skin with each calculated hit against her imaginary target. She breathed smoothly, her body graceful as she moved like a wraith through the shadows that had gathered with the onset of night. Inhale; she spun on her side, her wings tucked close to her lithe frame. Exhale; she lashed out, smacking the air with a ferocity that mimicked primal anger.
The stormsinger was in her element, her grunts the only sound save for her breathing and the soft clicks of hooves on the stone floor. Calligo had blissfully claimed the night, spreading her wealth of stars above her; a sea of shining pearls set into the obsidian shadows of her beloved goddess. The moon was full, a silver ornament hanging in the delicate balance of the violet sky above her. She had chosen the time and place on purpose, having picked the night when Solis stepped away and slumbered deeply to allow his sister to take over the skies completely. Surrendering, in favor of shadows and smoke and beautiful stars. For now, the glimmering pearls and the moon her only witness.
She often found herself training deep into the night, favoring the depthless darkness and still quiet over the hustle and bustle of day. Even now, despite the cold that slowly blanketed their lands and turned their lush greens to gold and fire. Aislinn was a Child of the Night, after all, a true daughter of Calligo. She would never falter, never find herself afraid of the darkness. After all, the stormsinger had grown in a tribe of warrior women; the daughter of the Warden, the Mother, and the dreamer that had dreamed tenfold for every soul that called themselves Rahilah. Now, even in the same kingdom, away from her true home, she was a Maiden. A living, breathing storm in the flesh; a destroyer of worlds, a protector, and now a defender of a king she had once come to love.
For months she had thought she was the only one; the only gypsy to have braved leaving the tribe in search of self-exploration. But then, she had heard of another. Another Rahilah gypsy who had departed their tribe, wishing to call the court of Night, Reichenbach's court, a second home. Her heart had swelled when the rumors had touched her ears, her lungs catching on oxygen as her brain began to rattle off the many names and faces that flashed before her bright blue eyes. She had not heard a name, not one. Only the whisperings, and since then, she had wondered when she would come face to face with her Sister. Her familia not bound by blood.
So she trained, deep into the night. Both as insomnia and nightmares threatened to keep her from the sweet bliss of sleep, but also in small hopes, that her Sister would emerge to join her. For there was one thing that bound them, crafted them and held them close in heart and soul.
A Rahilah could never ignore the allure of Calligo's moon and stars.
@Morrígan I'm sorry for the wait, darling but here you go ♡ "Aislinn speech."
orrigan did not know what drove her out of the warmth of her home that night. Perhaps it was the moon, shining and full, a cold sun that gilded everything in sight in its pale glow. Paired with the stars that twinkled with their own light against the inky sky, the view called to her very blood, and made her heart ache with the insatiable need to be among them. Soaring and free. But trapped down here in mortal flesh, without wings to give her flight, she had to content herself with merely gazing at the sky, a faint, wistful smile on her face. Stepping down from her doorway she began a comfortable trot down her street, her hips swinging and gait light. Everything was awash in the purples, deep blues and greys of the night, and occasionally the shadows were penetrated by the soft glow of a candle flickering from within a window, heralding the presence of other nocturnal creatures. Morrigan herself switched between being nocturnal and diurnal frequently, depending on her need for quiet and darkness. Currently she was in a daytime oriented schedule, and as such her impromptu midnight walkabout was quite a hiccup in her sleeping pattern, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
A few minutes later, Morrigan pricked her ears as the tell tale sounds of someone training reached her. Altering her path, she veered away from the road and weaved her way through houses and shops before finding herself standing at the edge of a courtyard. What awaited her take a step forward, her breath caught in her throat and eyes wide. "...A-Aislinn?..." Her voice was weak and filled with hope, unlike her usual confident and snarky tone. While she couldn't see much of the pegasus' features, her movements were proof enough, Morrigan had spent countless hours studying that technique, and knew it as well as her own. While she had left the gypsies primarily to find herself, and a place where she truly belonged, another important factor was that she wanted to find her. When Aislinn left, Morrigan had felt as if a part of her had left too, for while all of the Rahilah Gypsies were her sisters, there were none she was as closer to than Aislinn. Rushing forward on unsure legs, joy abundant upon her face, she skidded to a stop a few paces away from her sister. "Aislinn...". A smile spread on her face, soft and kind. She cocked her head and the smile morphed into a wild grin, lighting in her eyes. "How's it going soul sister?"
she walked in moondust
and stars were sprinkled in her hair
Sweat glistened along the ebony of her coat in a fine sheen in the starlight. Her swings timed as she fought her invisible opponent. Grunting and sliding along the stones in fluid movements; a dancer shadow boxing the night itself. Her attention was honed, almost too much so, as she hyper focused into every spin and punch with calculated grace. She was a warrior, through and through. The delicate curve of ears flickered at the slightest sound as Calligo's shadows swept into a collected hush, allowing one more Child of the Night to enter into the courtyard. Without turning, she knew.. a silver chord tied around her heart and decorated in the same coins at her throat tinkling, pulling her, tugging her, to look behind her. To the gypsy that she knew was standing there.
A-Aislinn?
She panted, the sweet ecstasy of endorphins lacing through her blood and bones, a hint of a smile, of hope, gracing her lips. The sound of her name had her whirling, and a heartbeat later her wings furled close to her sides, her brows raised in surprise. Oxygen caught in her lungs as she held her breath, wondering who, who could the voice belong to. Which one of her Sisters, her kin, had found her here, just as she knew they would. The flaming blue of her eyes burned with warmth as they landed on the slithering darkness, and the figure who's frame almost glowed at the edges beneath the silver moon. And there.. in the starlight, a trembled gasp fluttered from her lips.
Aislinn..
The milk chocolate of her coat almost shimmered under the stars as the gypsy stepped forward on unsure legs, but the stormsinger didn't care. Didn't notice anything except the shock and happiness that flooded her veins, her heart, and down to the marrow of her bones. Any one of the Rahilah would have been enough. Any one of her Sisters, her beloved tribe, would have sent her heart soaring into the heavens. But before her now, her notion proving right, her gut instinct proving true, Aislinn was elated. The rumor could have been anyone, anyone.. but it was her. Her friend. Someone she would have laid her life down for; someone she knew since she was young. Someone who knew the darkest parts of her and still stood at her side.
How's it going soul sister?
A smile broadened over the gypsy's face, soft and kind and wonderful to see, a matching grin blossoming over Aislinn's own features. She stepped forward, her wings tucked at her sides as she moved and took in the woman's face. Joy cocooned her in a warm glow as she tucked back the braids in her hair, the blue of her eyes shining bright as flames. "Mor.." she started, one wing unfurling as she tucked it over the woman's star-kissed back, neck brushing her in a sidelong embrace. "Mor.. I'm well. Really well, thank you." The stormsinger leaned back, crown tilting to the side. "But Mor.. tell me about you. I heard rumors that there was another gypsy here.. but I didn't know. If I had known, I would have found you myself," she bit out, her voice breathy as the words tumbled out in quick strings, her excitement barely contained.
She could barely believe it.. her friend, her childhood friend, her sparring partner. Here. In the heart of the Night Court, in the City of Starlight. Now she was not a Maiden, despite her title.. but a gypsy. One Sister to another, gathered under a sea of glittering stars.
