The mare had taken to long walks along the edge of the forest as soon as the morning frost started to cling to the barren limbs of the trees above her. It reminded her of when she first arrived in Novus, and in its own way it felt as close to home as she would ever be again. Despite having been in this new land for several seasons, she had not yet made any true friends. A random encounter here, a conversation there- as for concrete relationships? None.
Though she loathed to admit it, the woman hadn’t quite come to terms yet with the change. If she accepted fully that this was her new place in the world, that would mean believing that all hope was lost to see home again. To see her tribe, her family. To walk the halls of the Sage’s vast library and to learn about as many lives as there were fish in the sea or stars in the sky. If she were to finally settle in and call Novus her home, that would mean saying goodbye to everything that had come before it.
Change had never been a strong suit for anyone blessed by Gaia, though perhaps that was just the comfort of her old teachings. She wrapped herself in those words of wisdom like a warm blanket, some semblance of the life she knew before. Even if many of her old teachings had never sat right with her to begin with.
And so Torielle walked, leaving a trail behind her in the dusting of snow. It had not been much, but the winter season had only just begun and she expected there to be much more on the way. The morning air was crisp but clear. She scanned the horizon in hopes of seeing snow laden clouds, but there were none. Save for the small wild things that came to soak up the golden sun, the mare felt alone on the edge of the wood.
Anyone who did not know her at a distance might have thought her some sentry walking the bounds of Delumine. Her hooves wore a path into the earth from countless methodical steps- or so she liked to think. The veil in her hair and the silver that adorned her antlers would have marked her otherwise, the bells woven through the branches trilling lightly with each step, An entertainer, maybe, or a researcher or scholar. Perhaps someone of noble birth. Her dark pelt was a beautiful splash of colour against the cool landscape, the auburn tones of her hair contrasting with the dull hues around her.
In any case, the mare had to acknowledge that she had grown lonely. After arriving in Novus she had lost contact with her goddess. In that way, she had lost part of herself. She had lost her guide, her belief in goodness. She had been abandoned, and that more than anything had been the barrier between moving forward in this new land and pushing away all new experiences. The grief, it seemed, had been too much for the mare.
Step by step she continued to pace the same trail at the edge of the forest, in hopes of feeling just a little bit closer to home. Perhaps it was time for her to move on- to see new lands in this world, to learn new things. To stagnate was to die, after all, and Torielle had been stagnant for far too long.
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
Her life was starting to change.
Small things stretched beyond the increasing comprehension of the language the beings of this world spoke. Her time up on the mountain, merely basking in the air, in the charged atmosphere of the gods, had done much to settle so many issues she had been feeling. Standing before the visage of Tempus, the god of the gods, had made so much progress in the star's wayward sense of loneliness and loss. The gods had become a point, a significantly narrowed point, of stability. But it was a start for the star to find her place in this world. An advent to where she would be able to move along. An opening for where she could go from here.
A dedicated life to offer to another.
Not that she expected ever to meet one of these 'others.' In fact, Veil expected never to meet one of the gods face to face, instead of to be a silent devoted who would share her secrets with them, in the comforting knowledge that they would at least hear, and hold onto them. They would be her sanctuary, a reason for existing, for being stuck. And as the star made her way from the mountain, she was already eagerly planning her subsequent return to that place of worship.
But for now, she will let herself be distracted.
She was making her way to Dusk Court to see more of the world. She knew Night and Day fairly well - had fully explored many of the 'in between' lands. But Dawn and Dusk were but names that she could associate with times of day (and the gods and goddesses that reigned over the grounds). Oriens and Vespera; for Dawn and Dusk, respectively. She wondered briefly what the god and goddess were like, themselves. Did their people mirror their personalities? Would she recognize any gods if she came across them in person? Would she know it was them?
Would she fall prone, or would she rise in worship?
How do you properly worship one who has become your reason for existence? So many questions for a being who was only beginning to comprehend these advanced thoughts, whose mind was warping and understanding more, even if her capabilities on speech were slower on the catch-up. Still, she meandered about before abandoning her way to Dusk to take on Delumine first. It was closer, at least, and while she'd met individuals from Dusk, Dawn Court was a mystery. The star let her hooves carry her, those delicate wings folded close to her side, enough feathers missing from one side for her tribute to the gods would keep her from flying until she could regrow them. A worthy sacrifice to the gods, if she would so say so.
Her steps carried her closer to the forest Delumine was known for.
Not that she was aware of that fact. Instead, pink galaxy eyes stared up at the towering trees in awe before her ears swiveled at the sound of another making their way through the snow. Curiously, Veil turned to see a figure seemingly trudging through the snow. The galactic mare turned towards the stranger with a curiousness that would not be sated unless she introduced herself. She moved slowly, wafting galaxy dust streaming off her like a veil as she approached, the necklaces around her neck clinging together, an amulet and a space rock, one from her original home, the other from this one.
Hello? She voices softly, but kindly.
She announces her presence from a distance, least adorned in bells and silk and glory, making Veil suddenly wonder if she's underdressed. Plain. Simple. If a mare crafted from the remnants of a nebula could ever be 'simple and plain.' She is still stuck in awe at how these beings decorated their bodies so beautifully, and not for the first time, and she ponders about the same thing, of drawing cloth over her form. The slight glimmer in her peripheral as her ears drop her she's not without adornment herself - earrings, bracelets, and necklace in silver and glowing space rock. But they were so subtle compared to this being's decor.
I am the Veil Nebula, she introduces herself.
The Vagabond then frowns, seeing the way the other is holding herself, noticing the subtle emotions on that regal face, Are you . . . well?" Her words forming together better, the more she talks, the more she converses, the easier she's finding sentences coming together. She is finally becoming better at understanding the citizens of Novus.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Torielle Notes:: Figured Veil could try to offer assistance :D
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
It was the flicker of movement at her periphery before the soft tones of the mare that caught her attention first. She was not expecting to see anyone else wandering the Viride, though it was well into the morning by now. The greeting met her audits and the bejeweled mare turned her head as her movements slowed so that she might take in the newcomer. She paused, breath caught in her throat, one leg half cocked mid-step as the woman continued her introduction.
Torielle had been told about the beings of Novus holding magical gifts. She had seen it firsthand when she had initially arrived here in the Viride. Then, she had mistaken Andras, the stallion who wore his lightning as a cloak across his wings, for some kind of God. He had swiftly corrected her and educated the confused woman on the nature of some of the denizens of this world. While some bore gifts that were clear to others, such as Andras, others held more secretive boons, like that of foresight or to meddle with the mind. These were often either birthright or bestowed upon individuals by the gods themselves through some trial or simply amusement, she wasn’t quite sure.
The deities of Novus were still quite foreign to her, though under other circumstances she would have leapt at the chance to learn about them. It was her homesickness and lack of connection with her own goddess that had deterred her from more than a cursory understanding. She knew that there were deities for each of the Courts representing the different phases of a passing day. She had heard their names in passing on several occasions, but mostly the information moved through her, refusing to stay. Perhaps it was her own stubbornness to not dwell that forced her attention to move along whenever someone had mentioned the gods.
While the mare was somewhat certain that the being before her was not a goddess herself, there was an unmistakable pull of something otherworldly about her. If memory served her correctly, there was a Goddess of the Night, Caligo, she thought her name was. If anywhere among the records there was tell of a daughter born from her, it would surely be this woman.
Gaia bless her, she was stunning. A swirl of galaxies far beyond the wildest imagination sculpted into the form of the humble equine. Where locks would be on any other creature flowing nebulas trailed, giving her a sense of aliveness unlike what Torielle had seen before. To her sides she had the shape of wings, the way the stars shifted and moved creating the illusion of feathers before these too trickled into nothingness. She wore such simple jewels, but it was almost unnecessary. While Torielle also wore her adornments for herself, there was also a measure of status, of her worth displayed in them. This mare before her would not need such things. Her unmatched beauty spoke volumes on its own- the jewelry she owned must have been strictly for her own pleasure. It was her eyes, though, that sucked the woman in.
The eyes are a window to the soul, and Torielle believed this to be true with every fibre of her being. One could see worlds and understand many things if only they took the time to look beyond into another’s eyes. She had gazed into many in her lifetime, but none had been so striking as those before her now. Soft pinks had always been associated with self love, of self worth and compassion. To love as equally within as one did without. Many of her tribe would adorn themselves in colours to draw the power and aspects of them, hoping to gain strength or wisdom or truth. Even Torielle, who’s veil was made of silver and blues did this- the silver being associated with the goddess, the powers of the moon, of mysticism, the blue with truth seeking, serenity, and a higher purpose within the universe. Her mother had known this when she had gifted it to her daughter before sending her to learn the wisdoms of Gaia among the sages. When Torielle gazed into the eyes of the Veil Nebula, however, she did not only see this love for herself, but the inspiration for love of self. Of curiosity and childlike wonder and passion. There was a newness to her that was pure- untainted by the trials of life like so many others. To be in her presence was like being born again. To be without fear. To be made of pure love and adoration for the world.
Torielle realized she had been holding her breath as her lungs began to burn. Slowly she lowered her raised limb back to the snowy ground. She must have looked like a startled deer, staring at the woman the way she did. Veneration was the word that came to mind, though part of her believed that she most likely came across as a madwoman. She was unsure how long she had been frozen in place, taking in the beauty of the mare. It took the woman a long moment before it registered that she had been asked a question.
”Are you well?”
It was such a simple query, and yet it brought tears to her eyes all the same. Those tears then overflowed and froze to her cheeks and dusted her lashes as she tried to blink them away before the chill could force her eyes closed. She never wanted to close them again. She had a burning need to not lose sight of this woman, the gnawing fear that she might be some illusion sent to trick her, overwhelming.
Her response caught in her throat as she struggled to find the words. Finally, the strangled sound of a chuckle left her lips and a weary smile adorned her face. “No, I suppose I am not, Veil Nebula. It has been…” she took a deep, shaky breath, moving herself so that she might face the woman more properly. “A very trying few years.” She shook her head, half to clear the last of the tears from her eyes and half to clear her mind. The bells among her antlers swayed and jingled merrily, the coins at her neck cool points that grounded her once more.
“I think, though, it’s about time things started looking up.” This time she maintained steady eye contact, her smile more genuine and warm. “I am Torielle, but you may call me by whatever you would like.” She bowed deeply, the tips of her antlers brushing the snow. If she was wrong about her assumptions that Veil was not a god, she certainly did not want to show any disrespect. She held the pose for a moment before returning to her full height.
“Would you care to walk with me?” The invitation she left open, the sincerity in her voice speaking that Veil could choose to take it or not without any consequence. Though the mare would be saddened if the woman declined, she would not hold it against her. The offer felt the right thing to do. After all, if she was a goddess, the forest was much like a cathedral, and a cathedral was a place of contemplation and worship. Torielle had always felt that she was most connected with her deity while moving, and frankly, if she stood much longer in the cold she might become frozen in more than just awe.
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
The star's ears pitched forward, expression curious.
The other had turned towards her, but it was the sudden pause, caught in mid-step had the former nebula's confusion increasing. What would cause the mortal to pause, to freeze, to cease its movements? Was something wrong? Everything always seemed to be in constant motion. The planets swirling around their stars, the twirl on their axis, the constant force of gravity making things always keep sweeping, keep turning, keep moving. Had something caught the mortal's gravity in a mess? Or was she trying to align her knowledge from the heavens into this world on a rock? Did the same things have meaning and cause here? Gravity was the driving force in space - what was the driving force on a planetary object?
Her mind different fluttered with an abundance of knowledge.
A connection to a higher force struggling to reconnect, to help her fill in the blanks her mind was creating. The universe was eager to assist its lost child, despite Veil's connection still splotchy at best. Her reconnection with the stars was unfulfilled, a disconnection that would remain until she could find her own balance on this earth. While she felt so disconnected from where she came from - so trapped by this planet's gravity - that disconnection would remain. Veil forced her attention back to the other being at this point. Realizing she'd distracted herself with trying to figure out why the cease-all on this mare's movements had happened, and hoping she hadn't missed something. With her struggles to comprehend the noises these beings made, missing anything was detrimental to her wading her way through a one-sided conversation.
She then felt the attention, the observation.
Like a trickle of rainfall across her skin, swirling up her stardust, and caressing her pelt. It wasn't the first time another had stopped to stare at the star, and the celestial being couldn't blame them either. Her time on Novus had proven one thing - there wasn't another like her. Not truly. And so she let herself hold still, as that star dust wafting off her form seemed to slowly trail off to more of a slow drizzle that collected around her hooves, exposing more of the soft, dark purple curls that framed her face, bouncing with each slight movement she made. Was this decorated being noticing how plain she felt in her modest jewels? The glow of her necklace, and gems washed her chest in an additional swirl of color, pinpricks of glow from elements not of this earth. Simple, unique, but nothing so flashy as what this being adorned herself with.
So many others adorned themselves with cloth and trinkets.
Veil often wondered if she was underdressed when in the company of such. And then the mare turned her gaze up, meeting Veil's eyes, and the galactic mare tilted her head, wondering what the mare was thinking, wondering what she saw. What she could figure out, what she couldn't. She seemed to be searching for the truth in Veil's being. The drop of the hoof back to the snowy ground had the mare's eyes dropping to observe the motion, blinking once, before glancing back up at the stranger, her head tilting to the side, and causing those soft curls to shift against her cheek, shedding off stardust with the slight movement. So, she'd asked if the stranger was alright.
The stranger began to cry.
Veil's eyes grew wider, confused, trying to understand the change, why the mare was leaking. Was this normal in mortals? Was she alright? Was she ill? Was this a sickness? And then the rumbly sound, but it sounded off. Not as carefree, cheerful as she had heard from others. This wasn't a free, wild rumble, this was a strangled one, captured in some sort of negative emotion. Wrongness, unease. The emotions filtered into her head, but she didn't know if it was related to what the mare was feeling, or Veil's own observations of how wrong that rumble-sound was. Then the other spoke, and Veil was once more left to try to decipher what the other was saying.
Thankfully she understood most of what was said.
Kind of. The sounds swirled around her head, and it was up to her magic to provide the missing context, "No, I [acknowledgment, sense, feeling, acceptance] I am [wrong, false, negativity, emptiness, black], Veil Nebula." Veil's muzzle shifted into a soft frown, pink galactic eyes gentling into concern. And then a series of words she had no meaning of, relying more fully on her magic to give her a grasp of what the other was trying to relay, Struggles, pain, difficulty, struggles, struggles, struggles. It was like a plow of emotion into the chest of the star, her muzzle dripping with more concern, even as she watched the other shake her head. The sudden jingle had the mare's eyes rising up to the antlers, eyes briefly wide with curiosity, before she remembered the emotional turmoil her magic was feeding to her on how this other was feeling.
Then, the mare spoke again.
This sentence was delivered with eye contact, an a genuine smile that had the star curious, as again her mind tried to supply her with the words she didn't understand, Assurances, new, bright, white and renewing. The monk struggled to understand, to put these thoughts, emotions, feelings into a context, but could only assume that what ever troubled this being was coming to a close, things were making a shift. She almost missed the next bit, but she still knew those sounds, and what they meant.
It was the sound for this being.
The sound they assumed for themselves, the defining noise. Torielle. the star repeats the name slowly, blinking back her surprise as the other seems to bow, confused by a motion she'd never seen before. Her ears flicked, her expression baffled, even as she lacked the words to ask why she made such an odd motion. Did it have meaning on this rock? The pose was held for a moment, before more words fell, and again Veil was silent as she struggled to understand the series of sounds she didn't have a meaning for. This time, the universe provided her with more information to fill in the information she didn't have. Visions, and emotions filled her head, Sense of request, offering, curiosity. Individuals traveling in companionship, journeying. She blinked the vision from her mind.
Looking back to this Torielle, Veil offered a smile.
Her limbs carried her forward, brushing through the snow and cold with little care. Where the other might feel the arctic temperatures, Veil grew in the icy expanse of space, where temperatures were far, far colder, and as she would approach, Torielle was likely to feel the subtle wafting warmth from the body that encased a burning hot star in its interior. The mare motioned for Torielle to lead the way, her gaze curious as it swept around the forest she had not visited before, You . . . there is a noticeable pause, a shift in expression, an obvious tell of someone struggling for how to express herself with limited vocabulary.
A limited vocabulary that trapped the secrets of the universe.
You . . . lost? There is a pause, as if the star isn't sure that's the right word, the right way to ask about her concern, and her gaze turns upwards, struggling. There's a brief pause, as her gaze searches the early morning sky, as if all her answers to communication lay above. No . . . lost, more . . . There's a twist to her features, a heavy sight at realizing she doesn't have the words to express what she's trying to, a voice of concern on how the other seems out of place, like stars, planets that have fallen out of alignment. Sorry. The apology is breathed out with a soft dread at the moment of failing, before she blinked as a different set of sounds came to her, only a few of them she actually had some comprehension of, the others seemingly coming from somewhere else in her memory for her to parrot back.
You . . . not connected.
The pink gaze had returned to the sky, as if she could stare through that blue-tinged atmosphere into the expanse of the heavens above. Veil knew that feeling, that struggle. She felt it when she looked skyward, so close she could see each pinprick of light, but no matter how hard she tried to climb, she could break the atmosphere, the gravity of this planet. Lost. The word repeats with more certainty, I am from the stars, sky. The simple sentence is easier to form, less conceptual, more fact, and filled with simple filler words she'd already picked up. Her pink gaze turns back to her new companion and she smiles softly, a touch of homesickness in her own pale gaze, I am lost too.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Torielle Notes:: She's trying to offer reassurances that she can understand haha.
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
Veil Nebula seemed concerned for her, and that brought a sort of pain to Torielle’s chest. She hadn’t wanted to startle or upset this being with her woes. Clearly this mare could feel things unfettered, if such simple conversation could pull at her heart-strings in this way. Or perhaps Torielle had been less careful than she had thought in keeping her emotions in check. Her family had always told her that she wore her heart on her sleeves, and that was one of the many things that the Sages had tried to reprimand and study out of her. The depth of her emotion had been something that she had begun to think of as the reason why she was no longer in contact with her goddess, yet she couldn’t help but feel things. Deeply, fully, in great magnitude. That was the reason for living, was it not? To experience things to the ends of the earth and back, in every way possible, the good and the bad? For what was the light without the dark so that one would know what it was when they found it?
Even as the mare had this swirling thought, worried that her emotional outburst would prevent this beautiful creature from wanting to accompany her, Veil moved forward. Though the air around them carried frost on it’s breath, the warmth that radiated quietly from the woman was enticing. True, any living being would hold heat around themselves in stark contrast to the cold, but Torielle had yet to meet another creature that seemed to generate such warmth. She instinctively moved just a bit closer, though she tried to keep in mind her manners and not close the gap too much. It would be rude to invade the woman’s space, even as they walked together in companionship.
Torielle walked slowly, her bells swaying softly between her antlers as they moved in step, making their way through the Viride on the same path that had become so familiar to her. Veil seemed to struggle some with her words, and she realized now that perhaps the concern from before was less to do with an overwhelming amount of emotion, but more to do with a lack of comprehension. She supposed that would be quite troubling, if one were put in a situation they were unsure of and had no way to communicate that they didn’t quite understand. It also explained the newness in her eyes, the freshness there. It had reminded her so much of the young buck she had met recently in the library, but it took her these few words to make the connection. Veil was new to this world, perhaps in more ways than most others, and while she held this beautiful curiosity, she was struggling to find ways to communicate with others. Clearly she had made an effort, as Torielle was able to understand what the woman was trying to tell her.
The mare understood her feelings. She understood being disconnected from everything she once knew. As Veil looked skyward, her words came more easily, more assured than before. She was from the stars, and she was lost.
The thought broke the mare’s heart. While Torielle had felt robbed of her goddess, of the life she had come to know, she could not possibly comprehend what it must be like for the woman in front of her. To be a celestial form compressed into an earthly body, and no way to clearly speak with others about her experience, to grow understanding and empathy and companionship. There was a deep ache in her chest as the realization grew, and the resolve that bloomed there, too. Even if it took everything she had, she would find a way to help Veil come into her own voice here within Novus. She would make sure that she had the words to express herself, and that people would listen.
“Perhaps, then,” the mare’s voice was thick as she tried to swallow her grief for the woman beside her. “Perhaps we can find our way together.”
She walked in silence for a few steps before venturing further. She’d already set time aside for Aeon, to help him learn to read and write. Perhaps this was the greater forces of the universe aligning. What were the odds that in this instance, after having walked this path hundreds of times since her arrival in this land, she would encounter this being of the stars? That she would have already resolved herself to teaching and lesson planning for another bright new mind when she met yet another that thirsted for knowledge? Torielle had never been one to believe in pure coincidence. For the first time since coming to Novus, things seemed to be falling into place.
“I am teaching a young colt to read and write,” she spoke suddenly, excitement bubbling up to replace the aching grief in her chest. “Maybe I can help you to read and write, too. Words are one of the wonders of the gods. To share stories and experiences with others. Perhaps sharing your story, and learning the stories of others, may help you to feel less alone.” She blushed heavily, averting her gaze from the woman at her side, feeling a bit foolish with her swinging emotional outbursts. She must have been giving the woman whiplash, with first her tears, the hollow ache, and then joy and anticipation. Suddenly panic and shame as words continued to tumble from her mouth.
“Not that I want to imply that you can’t read and write, maybe you can, just not in a way that others can readily understand. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude or inadvertently speak ill of you. I just…” She paused in her movements, using the moment to ground herself before looking back to the celestial being at her side, seeing the same homesickness reflected in her eyes. “I would like to see you smile, Veil Nebula, and I would love to help you feel less lost in this world.”
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
The star was confused.
There was so many cues, and emotional context being delivered to her by her magic, to assist in translating, in helping her understand a language she was not familiar with, and yet she couldn't fully comprehend what was going on here. All she knew was that this mare, adorned as brightly as a star; was upset . . . and Veil wanted to help. So she wasn't going to leave this mare on her own. Instead, Veil moved forward, choosing to accompany her, choosing to stand by her side. Her eas perked at the subtle ringing of the bells from her antlers, or the way she'd shifted closer towards Veil's warmth. Veil kind smile never dims, even as she attempts to offer reassurances.
It's hard when you have only a few words to say.
There's a flush of embarrassment as she found her struggle increasing in an attempt to show she understood, before finding the words finally, the star able to try to offer what she could. THe other spoke then, Veil turning her head, pink galactic eyes looking into the blue of her new walking companion. She's not sure of the words, not all of them, some made sense, enough sense that she could smile and nod at the idea, Yes . . . It was more than affirmative, as the mare had no way to actually express her appreciation, so instead, offered something else, New . . friends? The question was so youthful, hesitating, uncertain. As if she was broaching a sensitive topic with out proper preparation. When was the right time to ask for friendship? Was this too soon?
She had one friend, Jane of Day.
But Veil craved companionship, moments to learn and grow . . . and Jane had been so . . . sparse in appearances lately - and they shared a home. Veil knew she was growing more lonely by the passing day . . . but what other options did she have? She didn't know very many - so now, with the chance to make a new friend, of course she would make it. And then the other was suddenly brightening, and Veil turned to look towards her curiously, ears perked forward, wondering what Torielle was suddenly thinking about. The words came fast, too many for her to understand, but the bright expression on Torielle's face told her it was all good things.
She doesn't interrupt, letting Tori talk, ears perked to catch the excited, bubbly words.
The mare did catch the last sentence well enough, help you feel less alone. Tori had glanced away, averting her gaze, and Veil reached her muzzle out gently, touching it to the lady's shoulder with a softness, her own hesitation in her gaze, Yes, please. She spoke softly, almost shyly in that moment, Less alone . . . good. She added. Tori was suddenly speaking again, though she couldn't understand, more sounds made she had no meaning of, but she offered a reassuring gentleness regardless, tilting her head, Okay. She didn't know what she'd actually agreed to, perhaps it would be obvious to Torielle, but . . . Veil figured, maybe this once.
Blind trust was okay.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Torielle Notes:: Veil's like, 'not sure what you said, but I like your energy when you said it, so sure?'
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
The simple statement, almost a query in the way that it was spoken, so softly and with a near childlike wonder, filled Torielle with a brightness. It had been so long since she had called someone a friend. There had been Lorelei, the only steadfast companion she’d known in many years. The one constant in her life before she had been brought to this new land, void of all knowledge and alone. Though she had been within the Sage’s temple for a majority of her adult life, she had never once considered them to be her companions, or many of the other students to be her friends. They had all been lacking in depth, though she’d not been able to pin down what exactly it was they were missing while she had been there. It was now, as she stood before Veil that she began to put those pieces together.
The many souls that she had surrounded herself with all had a desire for knowledge to be sure, but none of them burned with true passion and curiosity for its own sake. They held steadfast to purpose. Which, all things considered, was not necessarily a bad thing, so long as it left room for other things to breathe, to grow. But the studious equines that devoted themselves to research under the Sages’ watchful gaze did no such thing. They rarely indulged in knowledge for the simple pleasure of it. Pleasure was, indeed, quite frowned upon. It was something that she was sure had been sapped from those around her by some foreign means. She could not begin to fathom what had caused it, or if they had simply been born with this void within themselves. Yet, here with Veil, she could see that same yearning. To explore things for their own sake, because it interested her to do so, because it pleased her to do so.
Perhaps Torielle had been putting off developing new connections within this land because she had thought that to do so would mean giving up on the connections that she had within her home. Maybe there had been a secret worry that those of Novus had that same lack of passion, thirst for knowledge, the warmth that had kept Tori’s spirit alive in the vast darkness of the nebula as she walked between worlds. Her first handful of encounters did as much as confirm it. She felt the scar hidden just under her hair and veil at the shoulder tingle with the thought. Novus had been a strange and dangerous place when she first arrived, and it had nearly killed her. She had retreated, fear preventing her from reaching out again.
And in spite of this, she had met Aeon, a young mind who was in need of guidance, of a big sister, or a mother, or an auntie. A colt who didn’t know how special he really was, and unafraid of the world and with a great courage to explore everything it had to offer. It was as if the frost that had begun to creep its way into her heart had started to melt away. It had left her soft and open for her to meet Veil.
The mare smiled warmly, and if her expression could have been the sun it might have blinded them both. The star woman then did the unexpected. Her muzzle brushed Torielle’s shoulder, murmuring an affirmative. She, too, wanted to be less alone. The touch shot electricity through the dappled skin of the antlered woman. It was only a moment, but it left a tingle that danced across her coat and made its way to the strings of her heart, playing a joyous tune.
“Yes, Veil,” the mare spoke after a heartbeat. “Let’s be friends.” Torielle wondered briefly if her cheeks would begin to ache from the smile plastered across her face. She let out a bright laugh, needing to release the joy that had begun to build inside of her, lest she potentially combust on the spot.
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
The little star was growing more comfortable by the second.
And as she grew more comfortable, more delighted, more accepting of an unfamiliar and strange being, she also grew brighter. It was in her youthful, expressive features. Her vibrant smile. The way her stardust seemed to sparkle just a little more. And the way her heart shone warmer, hotter, as if straining against the confines of this mammalian shape. For once she didn't notice, didn't falter at how confining this shape was, perhaps because, like with Jane, this shape allowed her to be closer to this ethereal beauty who chimed with melody in each graceful shape, each flutter of that delicate shawl. Veil was an ample amount of time away from being able to start distinguishing emotions and feelings she may have for others, but she knew with each nuclear reaction in her chest; that this odd, gentle being was someone of importance. Whether that importance was to the world, or would be an importance to her - Veil wouldn't be able to know just yet. But for now. For now, Veil wasn't feeling like she was struggling in a sea of confusion. This being had offered her a raft, a chance of salvation.
And rather than let the mare hang off the side in the freezing waters . . .
Veil had moved aside on the raft, to Torielle could join her, while the isolating ship of loneliness and uncertainty could sink behind them, and allow a new ship to begin being built in it's wake. Because, Veil wanted to return the warmth she was receiving back to the chiming woman who moved so gracefully it was like a dance, and Veil had little to offer, but her friendship. It must have been the right choice, seeing just how brightly it made Torielle shine, bright enough to make Veil ponder if she really as the only star. But it wasn't just friendship Veil would come to offer. The promise, the chance to not be alone, to be able to communicate, to be able to experience the world, and be able to tell her story, the wonders and things she knew. She didn't have to divine to know Mercury was shining brighter down upon her, promising new adventures and a bright future of excitement. This would be the first step in securing her future on this rock.
And, she would happily walk towards the future with Tori's companionship.
She smiled, she couldn't help it when Torielle had agreed, the affirmative noise, the echoing, the conformation of friends. Veil didn't have words to express her gratitude, had heard the sound before, but it had been rare enough not have settled into her mind with meaning, and so instead the star smiled all the brighter, the small starlight captured in her flush-tinted eyes, the galaxies in those spheres seeming to shine brighter, warmer. Veil's ears than perked, hearing that soft, twinkling sound - her favorite of the noises she'd heard so far in this land, that reminded her of trickling streams, and the warmth of fresh baked, fruit filled pastries. In another time, another life; laughter may have been her first words in response to her love of the sound, and the way it lit people up as if they were stars themselves.
A final question, the sounds repeated from before.
It was enough to know she was confirming whatever travel Veil would do with her, to truly start this adventure and the star nodded eagerly, Yes. Let's. She was excited to see what came next, and as it was; she already trusted Torielle to lead her in the right direction, would willingly follow blindfolded if asked, but instead, her step gained an almost excited bounce, as she drew up next to Torielle's side, and walked step in step, enough of a lead given to Torielle for Veil to be able to follow with ease, but close enough that it wasn't just being led somewhere, it was a companionable walk to someplace new.
Because, to Veil's delight, they were friends.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Torielle Notes:: Veil's like, 'not sure what you said, but I like your energy when you said it, so sure?'
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
