She hums as though a mother singing to her child, a lullaby as old as the sea and as soft as the night that neither could sleep through before. Dawn is a cruel mistress, beaming at them with bright eyes, smiling and welcoming all to a world of ash and sorrow.The sun does not care if the world is on fire or frozen or drowned. Water does not yield just because a life is returned to the sea and given a grave where others will appreciate them perhaps more than they had been when living. And through it all her soft, sultry tones swirl in time with the images that dance before Isra's eyes, her kips gently brush the unicorn's brow as she sweeps her hair back and strokes it reassuringly. Carefully her good wing curls around the newly anointed Empress of Denocte and she leans in near to begin her tail.
Shadows from the fire dance on the wall and she pushes small gusts of wind to make it dance like the figures she paints. "I was not born of this land as you well know, in a place far away, across deserts that splay your skin, forests that swallow your fear, and mountains that crack your feet and dry your lips there is a place once at war that has found peace. We neighbor Nieve, a small country that is quickly expanding, and we neighbor Krilo who hold all of the Pegasi you could dream of. They take to the skies like clouds, float above the world on a lofty palace all of their own. There, they are free and open and loving. There, they do not care if you wear a horn or carry wings upon your back or have nothing but the skin you were given. For a long time, our history books told us we were at war, my family and theirs. The Tonnerres are a beautiful people full of rich culture and history and relics from the sea and from ages long gone. But we never took to the sky," she sighs like the winds that walk the many lands, eyes floating to the window high above as though she could taste the high air she shared with Asterion upon the cliffside. Was it really so long ago she danced alongside him covered in sugar and smiles? If she thinks too long on it, she would feel the sorrow build in her chest until it is a wolf hungering for more than her emotions, but the entirety of her heart itself. "Bound by the land, my people took care of it as though a second child. It provided for us when we could not, and when food was plentiful we began to build. Simple at first, small huts, tents hiked up near so that we could feel the heart of the family beat as one, and then larger. Gardens with grand arches, platforms for the few artists to sing, to dance, for all to be merry. Eventually, we built ourselves our Estate. There are many others, but the Tonnerres was always the largest that I remember. Those halls held me as a girl and I'd race through the Hall of Mirrors pretending to be in the sky. My mother, you see,>" she whispers now, crooning softly into Isra's ear. "My beautiful, brave, passionate mother was made for fiery dances upon the breeze. She was never meant to be tied down, yet she found a soul that lit her aflame. Anselme, my father, found her in the markets when visiting Krilo. An artist... That's what she was." And it is a sadness so profound that fills her, that halts her words and makes her breathe as she remembers wings now clipped so she may never fly again, eyes so sad and hands that do not paint as they once did. "He fell in love with the way she painted the world in rosy tones, and despite the Matron's refusal to allow them to wed, he took her as his own and she fell into the broiling cauldron of passion. From their union I came to be. I remember murals on the wall my mother helped me to paint, she taught me to let my heart soar even when I would not. When I was young and kept at home, there was laughter and love. We would stay up by the fireside at night, much like now, sweet Isra, and play games until my eyes were too heavy to stay open." Fondly she smiles, recalling those endless nights when she would fall asleep wrapped in her mother's arms and wake up in her bed, snuggled tightly between her parents.
"Gizelle, that is my mother's name, she showed me how to love and how to taste the freedom we are so lucky to have... But we cannot stay young forever, and soon they pushed me into the classes all Tonnerres must go through before entering into the Trials no matter the outcome, I met others. Of course, true Tonnerres, they did not have wings, but when we are young we do not discriminate so easily. In the Estate, they teach you many things - to sing and dance and paint and sew, to cook, and of history, science, astronomy and philosophy. They teach you to think there... Ah, but my favorite - there is a ceremony where all eligible young men and women are presented to the family." Eyes drop closed as she remembers being dressed in a gown, strewn with jewels, and put on display for all Tonnerres to see. She stood atop the grand stairway and heard the whispers, the cruel jabs that she should not be allowed alongside her cousins... And she remembers how it was Estelle who stepped up alongside her, challenging any who dared even look the wrong way. "They preen you like a peacock, they pull out your best side to put you on display like a marionette. Ah, but Isra how beautiful it is, to celebrate children coming into adulthood. When all eyes are fixed on you, it's overwhelming I suppose, but it is so lovely to know that they will know who you are no matter whence you came from, for the Tonnerres are a sprawling family now. Estelle - my dearest Estelle - she stood beside me through it all. Estelle taught me to dance like I did not care, she brought more laughter than I could ever imagine that night. There were chocolates and cream puffs and wines from many places. I wish I could show you. You might enjoy the merriment." For a moment, she stops as time stands still, nuzzling her head over Isra's so that she cradles her nearer. It is as much a comfort to herself as it is meant to be for the woman who has seen so much and still presses on for all with such hope. The phoenix does not seem to mind the close proximity now, not when so much has been lost. "I wish I could show you the starlight that raised me."
@Isra ohboy this took a hot second. There's more coming to the story, just thought Mo should breathe (;
Shadows from the fire dance on the wall and she pushes small gusts of wind to make it dance like the figures she paints. "I was not born of this land as you well know, in a place far away, across deserts that splay your skin, forests that swallow your fear, and mountains that crack your feet and dry your lips there is a place once at war that has found peace. We neighbor Nieve, a small country that is quickly expanding, and we neighbor Krilo who hold all of the Pegasi you could dream of. They take to the skies like clouds, float above the world on a lofty palace all of their own. There, they are free and open and loving. There, they do not care if you wear a horn or carry wings upon your back or have nothing but the skin you were given. For a long time, our history books told us we were at war, my family and theirs. The Tonnerres are a beautiful people full of rich culture and history and relics from the sea and from ages long gone. But we never took to the sky," she sighs like the winds that walk the many lands, eyes floating to the window high above as though she could taste the high air she shared with Asterion upon the cliffside. Was it really so long ago she danced alongside him covered in sugar and smiles? If she thinks too long on it, she would feel the sorrow build in her chest until it is a wolf hungering for more than her emotions, but the entirety of her heart itself. "Bound by the land, my people took care of it as though a second child. It provided for us when we could not, and when food was plentiful we began to build. Simple at first, small huts, tents hiked up near so that we could feel the heart of the family beat as one, and then larger. Gardens with grand arches, platforms for the few artists to sing, to dance, for all to be merry. Eventually, we built ourselves our Estate. There are many others, but the Tonnerres was always the largest that I remember. Those halls held me as a girl and I'd race through the Hall of Mirrors pretending to be in the sky. My mother, you see,>" she whispers now, crooning softly into Isra's ear. "My beautiful, brave, passionate mother was made for fiery dances upon the breeze. She was never meant to be tied down, yet she found a soul that lit her aflame. Anselme, my father, found her in the markets when visiting Krilo. An artist... That's what she was." And it is a sadness so profound that fills her, that halts her words and makes her breathe as she remembers wings now clipped so she may never fly again, eyes so sad and hands that do not paint as they once did. "He fell in love with the way she painted the world in rosy tones, and despite the Matron's refusal to allow them to wed, he took her as his own and she fell into the broiling cauldron of passion. From their union I came to be. I remember murals on the wall my mother helped me to paint, she taught me to let my heart soar even when I would not. When I was young and kept at home, there was laughter and love. We would stay up by the fireside at night, much like now, sweet Isra, and play games until my eyes were too heavy to stay open." Fondly she smiles, recalling those endless nights when she would fall asleep wrapped in her mother's arms and wake up in her bed, snuggled tightly between her parents.
"Gizelle, that is my mother's name, she showed me how to love and how to taste the freedom we are so lucky to have... But we cannot stay young forever, and soon they pushed me into the classes all Tonnerres must go through before entering into the Trials no matter the outcome, I met others. Of course, true Tonnerres, they did not have wings, but when we are young we do not discriminate so easily. In the Estate, they teach you many things - to sing and dance and paint and sew, to cook, and of history, science, astronomy and philosophy. They teach you to think there... Ah, but my favorite - there is a ceremony where all eligible young men and women are presented to the family." Eyes drop closed as she remembers being dressed in a gown, strewn with jewels, and put on display for all Tonnerres to see. She stood atop the grand stairway and heard the whispers, the cruel jabs that she should not be allowed alongside her cousins... And she remembers how it was Estelle who stepped up alongside her, challenging any who dared even look the wrong way. "They preen you like a peacock, they pull out your best side to put you on display like a marionette. Ah, but Isra how beautiful it is, to celebrate children coming into adulthood. When all eyes are fixed on you, it's overwhelming I suppose, but it is so lovely to know that they will know who you are no matter whence you came from, for the Tonnerres are a sprawling family now. Estelle - my dearest Estelle - she stood beside me through it all. Estelle taught me to dance like I did not care, she brought more laughter than I could ever imagine that night. There were chocolates and cream puffs and wines from many places. I wish I could show you. You might enjoy the merriment." For a moment, she stops as time stands still, nuzzling her head over Isra's so that she cradles her nearer. It is as much a comfort to herself as it is meant to be for the woman who has seen so much and still presses on for all with such hope. The phoenix does not seem to mind the close proximity now, not when so much has been lost. "I wish I could show you the starlight that raised me."
@Isra ohboy this took a hot second. There's more coming to the story, just thought Mo should breathe (;
