COME DOWN TO THE BLACK SEA SWIMMING WITH ME.
GO DOWN WITH ME, FALL WITH ME.
LET'S MAKE IT WORTH IT.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, the word ran over and over in her head to the beat of her hooves hitting the ground.
Just a few hours ago she'd run from a group of guards, guarding the gates to Denocte. Was she supposed to have left? No, but did she anyway? Yes. She'd wanted time away, craved it, and now look where it got her. Stumbling through the forest sick with fever and delirium, barely keeping down what she didn't toss up a few minutes later. In her delirious state, Lav had left the gates without telling anyone though she was certain the guards had already informed Reichenbach or Isorath.
Stupid stupid stupid, She continued her mantra of self-loathing, as it was the only thing keeping her going. She was lost within her own mind, using every last drop of energy left to her to keep herself going as she wandered through what normally would have been a very familiar sight to her. Amare Creek was a place she used to come to when she simply wanted to be away from prying eyes back at home, but now she was too unfocused to even notice she had come here. Shivering weakness from the loss of bodily energy from her run made her steps uneven, and kept her from realizing she was walking into a body of water until the stuff splashed up her legs and the slick moss made her slip and fall.
Her determination failed her then as she blinked through the haze at the clear water she'd fallen into. The cold water ebbed small waves against her, soaking her coat clear, a calm and gentle touch to take away the constant fire of her ruined skin. A dull throb pounded away at her head, and she thought vaguely that a weaker soul might lose themselves to pity and tears at being hurt and alone.
I've been alone before, She thought, lowering her head and gazing at her own reflection in the creek. I've dealt with worse.
@Raam have a slightly feverish Lavinia! speech color!
Time did not pause to consider my feelings. Tomorrow came faster than expected, and so did the day after. I did not expect it to wait for me, and yet- it all seemed so cruel. Personal, even. I suppose then that this is what it means to be mortal: To be a victim of time, a passenger and a victim.
How have I strayed so far from the favor of my gods?
At least I can say that I am becoming reacquainted with my body, and to my surprise it is not so unpleasant after all. I feel stronger than I remembered. I can travel quite far on nothing but grass and water, and there is something... something pleasantly satisfying about moving. Despite this body's size it is remarkably graceful.
I keep forgetting it is not just any body but my body, and I am stuck in it for the foreseeable future.
A loud splash disrupts my peaceful solitude. I raise my head, still chewing the grass in my mouth, and flatten my ears in annoyance. The audacity of some people! But my mood softens as I realize it is just a girl. I forget that I am just a boy now, I somehow forget even though I remember. My head is still fuzzy like that, like I am in two places at once. And maybe I am, maybe my magic is alive out there yearning for me the way I do for it.
The mare does not see me so I carefully look her over. She peers at herself in the water the way I did just a few days ago. I was looking at a mask, but she... I wonder what she sees, and if it is anywhere near the truth of what she is. I get the sense there's a toughness in there behind the beauty. It is that stubborn sort of toughness that, unlike most things, only grows stronger with time. I do not mind being interrupted by her.
"Enjoying what you see?" A sly smile. I take a step closer, head lowered in greeting, and slowly realize something might be wrong. She's just sitting there, like a discarded doll in the cold water. I frown. Mortals are confusing sometimes. "Are you... okay?" The last time I spoke was in birdsong- the sound of my voice now is a low growl, jarring to my ears. I try to soften my voice and it comes out now in a soft, sandpapery rumble. Better. "You must be cold."
COME DOWN TO THE BLACK SEA SWIMMING WITH ME.
GO DOWN WITH ME, FALL WITH ME.
LET'S MAKE IT WORTH IT.
Her ears twitch at the sound of someone speaking to her, at first she thinks it just her mind playing tricks. But as she lifts her head to look towards the voice, she sees him. A male of churning colors of white, brown, and black. If she was not in pain she might have made some comment about his handsome looks, but her pain addled mind could not come up with a witty response. With a slight glance back at her reflection, the singed fur and messed up locks of hair. She probably looked like something that went through hell and back which wasn't entirely a lie.
"There is nothing to like." She managed to speak, voice a bit ragged from her run and her smoke filled lungs. How stupid she was for running through the gates but she had done it. When she returned she'd no doubt be scolded and punished for it. Did she care at the moment? No. Returning her gaze back to the man before her she started to move out of the water, the water had been soothing on her burned skin. Her legs especially had felt better within it's cooling depths, but she was cold.
"I will be fine. Dragon fire does not agree with me apparently." She answered with a light chuckle despite the honesty within her words. Though she was not angry with Aether, it had been her own fault to go through the gates at that time to begin with. "Forgive me..it's rude not to introduce oneself so my name is Lavinia."
A frown tugs at my lips, because my problems seem much grander than hers. I should be the one pouting in the creek. Her self pity seems crude, and I have no interest in such baseless matters. But as she stands, my flickering interest is quickly caught once more- there is something very intimate about the way the water rolls down her body. And when I notice her body has been touched by fire, I know I should be disgusted but I am only intrigued further. The mark of flesh, the body's burdens, they seem more poignant now that I, too, am mortal.
"A dragon?" I forget for a moment the pretty face before me, and I do like pretty faces. Where there are dragons, there is magic. This I know with foolhardy certainty, and it sets me aflame. My chest tightens with hope and the ember in my eyes turns to hunger as I step closer to the freckled maiden. "Where?" I can hear the desperation in my shaking voice and it makes me want to vomit.
Her name is Lavinia. It reminds me of the night. "In all my life, I have not heard that name once." I suppose she does not understand the gravity of this compliment, but I am not here to boast of my age. I wonder then which name to give her, which face I will choose to wear. I have countless designations, some which I've been given and others which I've chosen for myself. However, there is one I go back to time and time again. I do not remember when I started to bear this name- perhaps it was before I was born. There are some things that were written before time itself.
"My name is Raam." I am thinking of the sun breaking through the storm, the brilliant light in a sea of darkness. I feel myself standing taller, prouder, a shell of my former self but still something glorious.
My attention turns back to her- I am feeling suddenly magnanimous and the world is looking different. Smaller, sharper, sadder. "What happened to you, Lavinia?" I generously give her my full, intense attention.
@Lavinia aha sorry he's a bit more of a douche than I planned xD just so you know I'll be out of town until next Wednesday, most likely without time to write <3
