Pol smiled as she took in the scents around her. It was striking, the differences between the night markets where she was learning from Lu and the forest that she was currently exploring. The warm air made the plants fragrant and soothed some of the pain from her ruined tail. Pausing under a branch, the aquatic mare gazed at the rich green world around her.
It was nice to be separated from work for a bit. The mare had been diving head first in her work and learning how to be the medic that she wanted to be. Lu was incredible, teaching her more than she thought she would be able to learn as she had devoted herself to the path. Pol laughed softly as she realized that Trey was the reason that she had stepped onto the path she was currently on. The reason she had a drive.
Perhaps she needed to thank the bull when she got a chance. They had seen each other once since both had arrived in Novus, though the bull was usually hidden deep in the ocean. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she began to wander again. A soft hum echoed from her lips as she moved, gathering herbs that she recognized and enjoying the peace. There was a stab of emotion that was hiding under the peace, the desire for something more.
He’d spent two years in Novus. Most of it as a recluse. He spent so much time in the library now that he scarcely spent any time outside. He’d been studying the origins of novus, in hopes that he could find some glimpse of elysium's past, or herstials - his mothers childhood home- but he’d had no luck. The librarian had kicked him out this morning.
“You’ve spent far too much time here. Look at you! When was the last time you spent a night outside of this library. Go…” she was about to say read a book or something. He could tell. “You can’t make ‘being a scholar’ your only personality trait. Out you go now! Shoo!” She’d practically chased him out the wide wooden door. Into the forest.
He did know it rather well at this point - he’d studied the maps enough times- but it always struck him how tall the trees were. He'd never visited the eternal woods before elysium fell. But, his mother had told him so many stories of it. He could conjure the image so vividly in his mind, sometimes he was surprised that there weren’t artax leaping through the trees in Viride too.
He wandered somewhat aimlessly through the trees, lost in thought. It was always that way when he let himself drift into memories of the past. He would think of his brother, who he scarcely remembered. Or his mama cav… where the situation was the same. They had both left while he was young. So often he wondered about his mama Lu. Not many had made it out of elysium. But she was immortal, Vega had bestowed it upon her. Hardly a night went by where he didn’t plead to every god under the sun that she was alive somewhere.
He was so lost in thought, in fact, that he didn’t notice the mare in front of him, until he had bumped head first into her side. He stumbled back quickly, stuttering a string of apologies. “Im… I’m so sorry. I. wasn’t looking where I was going” She was a strange looking creature. But no stranger than most of the inhabitants here. “Um… I’ll just. Uh…” he started to move around her.
The being that appeared was familiar in a way, though she couldn’t put her hoof on why. He was striking and made the little mare want to laugh. When he bumped into her, Pol smiled and shook her head.
"No need to apologize. The trees are rather thick here and it is difficult to be certain that you are not heading toward another." She beamed at him, her lavender eyes alight with happiness at meeting a new face.
"Why dont you stay and chat? I promise I wont bite." Pol laughed softly, tilting her head slightly as she gazed at the taller and stockier stallion. He was adorable in a way that seriously reminded her of someone… but she couldn’t figure out who. This was going to drive her nuts.
"I am Polar North, medic for Night Court." She introduced herself, dipping her head in greeting as she turned to face the stallion fully.
Thank goodness she was nice. He might have died of embarrassment if she’d chided him. He had never been graceful. He was all clunky hooves, and big head. Truth be told… he kept his tail braided up into a bun because he’d stepped on it once and pulled out a chunk when he was young. His mother had braided it up, and he’d kept up the habit.
He looked up to see four eyes blinking back at him. “Liatris” he replied blinking back slowly. “Xiaoli” His mother had rarely used her last name. But she’d told them. And as soon as he got to Novus he’d taken to using it. It made her feel close again, in some strange way. “I’m a scholar, in Dawn. I got kicked out of the library though…” he trailed off.
“If you’re from Denocte what are you doing all the way over here? It’s not really the best season for the forest… Most come in autumn, when the leaves are changing.”
Pol grinned as she watched him get settled and a touch less awkward.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Liatris." She beamed, lavender eyes sparkling as she dipped her head and stepped closer. When he mentioned being kicked from the library, she tilted her head slightly.
"Why would they kick a scholar from the library? That sounds like kicking a doctor from the hospital…. Not that I am to that level yet… I am still learning. Thankfully I have a great mentor that is teaching me to be the best medic that I can be." She paused, blushing slightly as she realized she was gushing over Lu again. But the mare was like a mother to her where she had never had one before and it made the little mare very proud to be doing her best.
Pol frowned, pausing to look at the lush green around her.
"I find that I prefer spring and summer to autumn… The cooler weather can be a bit painful with arthritis." It was then that his last name hit her. The little mare’s eyes widened and she whipped her head back to the striking stallion.
"Wait… Xiaoli… I have heard that before…" She murmured, curiosity brimming in her lavender eyes as she stared.
"Are you related to Luvena? She is my mentor, but she introduced herself with the full name when we initially met… That is the only time I have heard the name before." There was a bubble of emotions at the idea of meeting someone related to her precious mentor. She stepped a touch closer, eyes taking in his appearance and noting the similarities that suddenly seemed to shout at the mare.
He nodded thoughtfully at her words. His mother had been a healer. Well… he’d never seen it, she didn’t play much of a role in the red waste. After she’d had him, her health had gone downhill quickly. And before that she was a queen. But apparently she had spent her first years in Elysium as a healer.
“The librarian said I was spending too much time in there” he mumbled begrudgingly. She had been right of course, but still, it was embarrassing to admit that he’d been living the life of a recluse. “Said I needed to get out for a bit”
He matched her frown slightly. He had thought arthritis was something that only hit elders, though he didn’t question her statement. Mama lu had never taught him much about healing really. He knew what feverfew looked like, and poppyseed. And he knew which herbs she would mix for mama cav, on days where her mouth was sore. (Mama lu had always told them that a wolf took her tongue. But Liatris had seen a wolf, and he had a hard time believing that that story was true.) But beyond that he knew next to nothing.
He was whipped out of the thought by a statement that knocked the air out of him. His ears shot forward. “What?” it came out so quickly he wasn’t even sure it would be understandable. He shook his head quickly, trying to clear his head, which was now spinning. “What do you… She’s… what?” He stopped, heaving in breath after breath, taking a moment to try and slow down his heart rate. “Luvena is my mother”
@”Polar North”
Poor boy is so overwhelmed
He’s a book full of footnotes brought to life. He’s a jacket made of elbow patches.
Pol found herself smiling softly at the words. "I have been told the same about the hospital. I was so determined to learn and be the best that I could be… and it turned into a full obsession for a while." She laughed softly. There was something so familiar to him, something similar to how she was and even more to her mentor.
She noticed his frown and laughed softly. "I was in a… shark incident when I was a pup. The shark took half of my fluke and did a lot of damage to the structures. I have had a harder time with arthritis and pain since the incident." She explained, moving her tail so that he could see the extensive damage that had been done when she was a youth.
His shock made her take a slight step back, lifting her head and listening. "That explains the similarities that were dancing in my eyes. Luvena has been my mentor for a bit now." She explained softly, tilting her head and watching the stallion process the news. She had not heard that Lu had children, though she had been so focused on learning healing that it seemed to have slipped her mind.
“Oh I haven’t seen the hospital yet. Not in person at least. I have the floorplans though. Its big, if not as big as the library” which was massive. Stories of books shelved down long aisles. Over a year and he hadn’t even begun to see the collection.
His eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of her tail. “Oh… I’’m sorry you had to endure that. I can’t imagine being attacked by a shark. I haven’t so much as swum in an ocean. Only the oasis back in the waste”
SHe was struggling to catch his breath, each one coming so quickly he was nearly hyperventilating. “Is she alright? I mean, she must be, with her immortality but…” he stopped, swallowing. “Is she… is she okay?” He knew his mother had already lost so much before elysium had stopped. His mama cav had left them, she’d lost her kingdom (twice he recalled), and surely she’d thought she’d lost him as well. Would he get to see her again? Her start spangled coat that matched his own, and long pink horns that he’d always wished he had inherited.
What if elysium breaking had broken her beyond all repair. What if… she had forgotten him?
Pol nodded. "Sounds familiar. I dont get out of my court much. I tend to be a bit of a busy bee with learning and helping others." She nodded, feeling a kindred spirit with the stallion. Not that she knew what she was feeling fully. She was always in work mode and the idea of taking time to learn more about herself was laughable.
She could see the shock in his eyes, even though the movement was slight. "I honestly dont remember it. I was young. The thing that stands out the most was that my mother was killed in the attack and the rest of the pod abandoned me. They even made my sister leave." The ice, the wind... She remembered that night. The young mare even woke from nightmares of being there again. The calls of the predators, the bumps from below as her blood froze around her tail. Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on the stallion with her.
Pol tilted her head. "Immortality? I mean... She struggles a bit in the winters, but she still gets what she needs to do done. I help her in the clinic in the night markets." She could see the emotions, this time more evident as he struggled to breathe at her words. "Is there something I can do to help you? You seem rather distressed." The medic training kicked in, her brain trying to figure out a solution that would help the stallion, the son of her beloved mentor.
A smile crossed the boys face at her comment. ”I wish I could say I was helping others the same” he replied thoughtfully. “My efforts at learning are somewhat fruitless though” once he got over the awkwardness, he spoke in much the same cadence as his mother, with that same soft lilt to his voice. He vaguely remembered how much both lu and cav commented on how he and his brother were polar opposites.
He knew his mothers hadn’t named them right away. Instead waiting a few days, to see what personalities came out of them. He had been named for a lovely purple flower, one of joy. Eremurus had been named for a spiky yellow flower that embodied the desert. Harsh, but with an oasis at it’s center. He hadn’t seen that desert boy in a long long time.
He dipped his head in solitude for her. “Im sorry” he murmured. In Elysium he had only ever known one home, though he knew that he and his brother were born mere months after Luvena and Cavalier had been chased out of the eternal woods.
Liatris’ face fell immediately. That meant she’d lost it. He didn’t remember much from before Luvena had gotten it. But what he did remember was all from after he’d been weaned, the same time she had quickly gone downhill,shortly before mama cav and his brother had left them. There was a dark sort of bitterness in his heart for his other mother, the kind that festered and boiled in a recess that no one was ever meant to see. This was not the place for that anger. Most of the memories from that time didn’t involve Luvena though. Most of those days were spent with Cavalier, or sometimes Syrilth or Kodarki. Luvena only joined them sometimes, and even then it was clear she should have been resting. If there was little to her before he was weaned, there was nothing to her then. She was a ghost of a creature, the embodiment of death. He wondered now how long it would spare her.
He closed his eyes, taking a moment to steady his breath. “No. No.” he repeated. “If shes lost her immortality then…” the words lingered in the air. He suspected the mare before him knew well enough what words went unspoken. He didn’t want to show up in person, to shock her so. (What an insult to the mare that would be really. She was far stronger then that, but what was a child who hadn’t seen her in years to know)
“Will you… tell her for me?” Clearly Polar North was close with her mother.
