S O L S T I C E
and at last i see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted
Spring had come to Novus, and with it came a rebirth of sorts. For Solstice, the season was largely symbolic of her own transformation, from oppression to freedom. She’d been here now for the better part of a year, and with every passing day, she found her confidence growing and her fear subsiding. Granted, it hadn’t gone away completely – but the Pegasus was truly coming into her own, blossoming as Ipomoea’s flowers did, their faces shining brightly in the sun.
She wandered through the blossoms, oblivious to the world around her, though there were children running gaily through the gardens with brightly colored flags and make-believe stories as they went. Not far from her, soulful strains of music rose from a golden mare playing a harp, and Solstice offered her a warm smile as she passed. The harpist simply nodded in acknowledgement, returning the smile without missing a beat, her melody sweet and harmonic as it serenaded the passerbys.
Something drew her out today, among the people, a luxury she so seldomly allowed for herself. The sky-hued Pegasus was painfully shy, though she was beginning to find her voice more and more. Forcing herself out of the comfort of her bubble and the few acquaintances she’d made so far, Solstice walks through the garden and tries to keep her head high. The false confidence boost is enough, as she offers timid smiles to strangers, pleased when they fail to address her and simply pass her with a quiet greeting.
It seemed that the day would simply pass with such pleasantries, until Solstice finds herself deeper in the garden, further than she’d ever ventured to wander before. She steps brazenly into a hedge maze, curiosity edging out caution as she takes the first turn, then the second. Deeper and deeper into the bushes she presses, until she finds herself sufficiently lost and alone.
She turns left and right, looking for the way she’d come, but finding only leafy brush around her. “H… hello?” The bushes whisper around her, dancing in the wind but offering no other voices. Her heart beats louder in her chest, tinges of fear setting in as she turns toward a passage on her left, racing forward into a large clearing in the maze, and finding little more than a marble bench with a flowered arch beside it. Even the sky above seemed foreboding now, anxiety locking her wings to her sides, fear keeping her from simply flying to her freedom as her eyes wildly scan the surroundings for life or for an excape.
Not finding any, anxiety bubbles in her even more, to the point where she could no longer maintain her composure, lowering herself to the ground and dragging ragged breaths into her chest to steady herself. One. Two. Three. She counts them, trying to control her racing heartbeat and breathing, but the calming procedure did little to soothe her fraying nerves.
And so the girl wraps her large wings around herself, a silver tear edging at her eyes as she whispers to the strange maze, begging to be found. “Help me… will anyone find me?”
As if answering the quiet prayer, her ears prick to a hushed mew in the distance, tawny eyes scanning to find the source as hope flickers within her… perhaps she wasn’t truly alone after all… and perhaps help could take more than one form, relief washing over her as another soul steps into the clearing. With a sigh of relief, she turns to the stranger and manages a sad sort of smile, the quiet mew forgotten for the moment as she addresses him. “Are you lost too?”
She wandered through the blossoms, oblivious to the world around her, though there were children running gaily through the gardens with brightly colored flags and make-believe stories as they went. Not far from her, soulful strains of music rose from a golden mare playing a harp, and Solstice offered her a warm smile as she passed. The harpist simply nodded in acknowledgement, returning the smile without missing a beat, her melody sweet and harmonic as it serenaded the passerbys.
Something drew her out today, among the people, a luxury she so seldomly allowed for herself. The sky-hued Pegasus was painfully shy, though she was beginning to find her voice more and more. Forcing herself out of the comfort of her bubble and the few acquaintances she’d made so far, Solstice walks through the garden and tries to keep her head high. The false confidence boost is enough, as she offers timid smiles to strangers, pleased when they fail to address her and simply pass her with a quiet greeting.
It seemed that the day would simply pass with such pleasantries, until Solstice finds herself deeper in the garden, further than she’d ever ventured to wander before. She steps brazenly into a hedge maze, curiosity edging out caution as she takes the first turn, then the second. Deeper and deeper into the bushes she presses, until she finds herself sufficiently lost and alone.
She turns left and right, looking for the way she’d come, but finding only leafy brush around her. “H… hello?” The bushes whisper around her, dancing in the wind but offering no other voices. Her heart beats louder in her chest, tinges of fear setting in as she turns toward a passage on her left, racing forward into a large clearing in the maze, and finding little more than a marble bench with a flowered arch beside it. Even the sky above seemed foreboding now, anxiety locking her wings to her sides, fear keeping her from simply flying to her freedom as her eyes wildly scan the surroundings for life or for an excape.
Not finding any, anxiety bubbles in her even more, to the point where she could no longer maintain her composure, lowering herself to the ground and dragging ragged breaths into her chest to steady herself. One. Two. Three. She counts them, trying to control her racing heartbeat and breathing, but the calming procedure did little to soothe her fraying nerves.
And so the girl wraps her large wings around herself, a silver tear edging at her eyes as she whispers to the strange maze, begging to be found. “Help me… will anyone find me?”
As if answering the quiet prayer, her ears prick to a hushed mew in the distance, tawny eyes scanning to find the source as hope flickers within her… perhaps she wasn’t truly alone after all… and perhaps help could take more than one form, relief washing over her as another soul steps into the clearing. With a sigh of relief, she turns to the stranger and manages a sad sort of smile, the quiet mew forgotten for the moment as she addresses him. “Are you lost too?”
― @Ceylon
