[P] River of Fire

[Jarek]

J A R E K

I heard from God today and She sounded just like me
What have I done, and who have I become?
I saw the devil today and he looked a lot like me
I looked away, I turned away

With the radiant warmth of summer already threatening to start to slip from his grasp, it was time for something more dramatic. He needed to see Phoebe and he needed to do it in a meaningful fashion. He needed to spend more time with her, this living between different courts was more challenging than he had thought. That his soul still yearned for the connection to hers. He had sent her a letter, to meet him tonight within a secluded spot of the Elatus Canyon - drawn on the back was a detailed map to find it. It was one of the more simple places to find, but clouded in seclusion all the same. 


As the sun had started to set, he had found himself deep with the belly of the rising rocks. The blanket of stars stretching out overhead. He wondered looking up at the sky, so clear and beautiful; what prophetical mare would think of this place. Perhaps sometime he would bring her here and show her. But tonight would be about Phoebe. About their future. The universe had drawn them close enough, allowing them to reach out and touch - fusing them onwards. 


The sky above reminded him of the beauty of the warrior mare he had found himself enraptured with. She was coloured the hues of dusk, purples to oranges with markings of the sky.  His mind remembered the meeting at the oasis,and how comfortable it had been in her presence. How perfectly they seemed to mentally fit together like jigsaw pieces.  He smiled, enjoying the moment as he collected firewood for their bonfire. It would start to become chilly in the desert before long, there was something miraculous about the presence of fire. 


He had already pitched their large tent and began to form the firepit. He hoped she would come. He hoped she would see the beauty that he had found in this place. The way the terrain was shaped felt mystical and how closely connected to the earth he felt. He hoped that Solis would approve of his choices.  It reminded him of how he felt when he had visited the temple previously. Perhaps this was just a further sign that their partnership was blessed, it was to be. 


He would keep collecting firewood into a heavy pile while he waited with growing excitement for her arrival.

Arms wide open

I stand alone

I'm no hero

And I'm not made of stone

@Phoebe Lets liquidy time this to shortly after they've met at the oasis? <3 Apologies about the delay | speaks

[Phoebe]

The second Phoebe had realized the letter had come from Jarek, she had screamed. There had been no containing the excitement that shot through her in that moment, but she'd been too high in the clouds then to care how many of her neighbors or passersby had been startled or concerned by the noise. The summons had thrown her into a flurry of activity in preparation for their timely meeting, and, when all had been done, left her wallowing in impatience until it came time for her to depart without seeming overly eager--never mind the fact she absolutely was. But she had a certain pretense she wished to keep up, a desire to show off her most dazzling self now that she felt a little more sure in her own skin, and she had carefully choosen a time and direction that would show the least on her frame by the time she arrived.

Now, as she reached the edge of the Solterra Court, she thought she'd done a decent job of it. Her sunset colored coat wasn't nearly so streaked with sweat or smelled so strongly of exhaustion; if anything, it still retained faint traces of the leafy soaps she now used with regularity thanks to the Adonis of the desert who introduced them to her. Her mane had been painstakingly rearranged into her best recreation of how Jarek had bound it for her during their initial meeting, roped into colorful bundles that rested against her neck and kept the long strands out of the way. After all, she was a soldier, and this was how soldiers were supposed to wear their manes--and tails, though the best she'd been able to do after not seeing clearly how Jarek managed that part was to plait it halfway and create its own sort of lazy bun.

She didn't feel quite so ethereal as she had when the stallion beautified her himself, but it was a strangely close second, and the confidence carried with her as she traversed the afternoon desert for the canyon. She reached up with her telekinetic hand for the piece of paper tucked within one of the binds on her mane, removed the letter sent to her, and reviewed the map on its other side once more. Taking quick stock of her surroundings again, Phoebe nodded with surety to herself. "Just as I thought. This way," she murmured, tucking the paper away again and proceeding forward into the canyon. In the fading evening light, the colors of the rocks seemed to mute and dull, the reds giving ways to purple and plums that drew smiles to her as she passed through them. Again it struck her how a place so desolate and barren could hide such unadulterated beauty within it.

Rounding another bend in the canyon, the little starry-speckled mare thought she saw shapes ahead, one dark and moving amidst a series of others. Her heart leaped and caught in her throat, and for a brief moment nerves overtook her. Was that him? Was that Jarek? Would he look as gorgeous as he had when she first met him? Would his piercing blue eyes, his winsome smile, have the same effect on her as they did that day? Would she live up to the memory of her he'd taken with him when they went their separate ways? Rather than be repelled by the jittery thoughts, they spurred her forward, and Phoebe couldn't stop herself from grinning outright in anticipation. Hopeful but also not wanting to spoil the quiet mystique of the moment, she called out to him in a soft, almost timid voice, "Jarek? Is that you?"

---

ooc: @Jarek So so sorry for the delay! Been recovering from tonsil surgery since last week, finally felt well enough to make words ;o;

[Jarek]

J A R E K

I heard from God today and She sounded just like me
What have I done, and who have I become?
I saw the devil today and he looked a lot like me
I looked away, I turned away

The serenity of the desert stroked his mind gently, it lulled him to a comfortable confidence. The length of time he had spent here was short compared to the time he had spent wandering to find Novus. However he felt his soul becoming stitched to the land and its inhabitants. He felt as though he had found his place, and it most definitely required Phoebe by his side. He had squashed the devils from even the darkest parts of his mind, he felt that both Phoebe and Veil had provided him the mental clarity required to do so. 


Veil had taught him how to see the world clearly, for the truths it held. Phoebe had ignited the passion within him, a personal attachment that caused him to strive for something more. He had already felt the need to have the desert recognised and appreciated for its value. Phoebe’s presence made it personal, that it needed to be better for not only the citizens, but also for their potential future children. He could feel his mind slipping deeper as the days apart passed. This was destiny is it not? Were their souls not destined to be bound? The old mental habits and grooves of his mind were still present, he had fought hard to overcome them. This however felt so right, he would not let his own paranoia detract from these rare moments of enjoyment. 


He had been gathering firewood for some time, he had collected quite a bunch without really realizing. He had been caught in his mind; working productively while awaiting her arrival. He heard his name spoken in the soft breeze. Was she here? She had come, he felt his heart thundering within his chest. He dropped the log he had been dragging to the ground and closed the distance between them. His blue iced eyes searched for her, to see a glimpse of her. There was no time to waste. “Phoebe” he called out as he made his way closer. 


There she was, standing in the shadows of the setting sunlight. The dusk coloured mare standing before him in all her glorious beauty.  Without hesitation he shifted his body closer to hers, aiming to embrace her much smaller form with his own; his crested neck and head reaching for her. He needed to feel the warmth of her touch. “It is.” he said softly letting a soft long exhale from his nostrils.  He had noticed she had tied her mane in the fashion he had shown her, it warmed his chest that she had taken the lesson to heart. She was here, it was all that mattered. He took a moment to inhale her scent and enjoy the moment. 


“It will be cold soon, so I have started to prepare a fire for us. I wanted to show you the beauty of these lands, of this place. Without civilization so close you can see the heavens above. I wanted to share all this with you Phoebe. There is much we must discuss, but for now; we can simply…be” he said softly, his voice speaking in an almost gravely whisper, he did not move his embrace while he spoke to her; he did not wish to let her go even for a moment.

Arms wide open

I stand alone

I'm no hero

And I'm not made of stone

@Phoebe <3 all good, I am so excited to be posting them! | speaks