he shines like silver midnight moon—
cool marble statue—
of ice he's hewn; of ice he's hewn.
cool marble statue—
of ice he's hewn; of ice he's hewn.
Grey has seen many unfamiliar lands, has walked and walked and walked, through ones both unforgiving and kind. He has never stopped in them long enough to to get to know them, to learn the maps of their edges, to uncover their secrets; until the mountain. The first place he had ever settled since leaving his home. The first place that he ever may have considered home again, the unicorn thinks.
But it had not been so. That mountaintop, and the man, the god, that would have made it the closest thing to a home he can picture having, wwlere not his to keep. Had anything ever been his to keep? Would anything be, again?
Grey lifts his head, staring out over the plains he has found himself within. The long grasses sway in the night breeze, but the chill of autumn does not touch him. No shiver makes its way along his skin. Just the whispering fingers of the wind, tracing across the curves and hollows of his figure.
It is then that he sees the light, glowing in the distance. It drowns out the sky above it and casts the grass around it in silhouette. The unicorn draws forward, curiousity getting the better of him, and when he crests the hill and sees the pool below, he stops. Grey is no stranger to magic, for it was magic that had saved him from death and claimed his skin, painting it. But this, his knowledge of magic can not explain this.
It glows with an otherworldlyness so bright it makes his vision dance, and even from atop the hill Grey can feel the heat radiating outwards as if he stands at the mouth of a volcano. And as he approaches ever closer, he realizes how fitting that description is as the banks are not grass nor sand but igneous rock, dark and hard and cool, but cracked. The unicorn has to refrain from looking too long at the pool directly as he begins to feel light-headed, but still he skirts around its edges, too drawn by some mysterious force to turn away.
The water sings to him, beckons, making promises of satiation and comfort. Grey knows that if he steps within it, if he drinks from it, he might feel a warmth or fullness he has not known for several years. He knows this, and that is when he manages to turn away, to peel himself from the magic speaking to his very core. Each step away gets easier.
He does not deserve whatever warmth or contentedness the pool will give him.
But it had not been so. That mountaintop, and the man, the god, that would have made it the closest thing to a home he can picture having, wwlere not his to keep. Had anything ever been his to keep? Would anything be, again?
Grey lifts his head, staring out over the plains he has found himself within. The long grasses sway in the night breeze, but the chill of autumn does not touch him. No shiver makes its way along his skin. Just the whispering fingers of the wind, tracing across the curves and hollows of his figure.
It is then that he sees the light, glowing in the distance. It drowns out the sky above it and casts the grass around it in silhouette. The unicorn draws forward, curiousity getting the better of him, and when he crests the hill and sees the pool below, he stops. Grey is no stranger to magic, for it was magic that had saved him from death and claimed his skin, painting it. But this, his knowledge of magic can not explain this.
It glows with an otherworldlyness so bright it makes his vision dance, and even from atop the hill Grey can feel the heat radiating outwards as if he stands at the mouth of a volcano. And as he approaches ever closer, he realizes how fitting that description is as the banks are not grass nor sand but igneous rock, dark and hard and cool, but cracked. The unicorn has to refrain from looking too long at the pool directly as he begins to feel light-headed, but still he skirts around its edges, too drawn by some mysterious force to turn away.
The water sings to him, beckons, making promises of satiation and comfort. Grey knows that if he steps within it, if he drinks from it, he might feel a warmth or fullness he has not known for several years. He knows this, and that is when he manages to turn away, to peel himself from the magic speaking to his very core. Each step away gets easier.
He does not deserve whatever warmth or contentedness the pool will give him.
***STAFF EDIT
@grey has rolled a 3 and has been cursed! Being around the brightness of the water has caused temporary vision issues. This may be fuzziness around the edges, the ability to see auras instead of the details of their surroundings. For half of an IC season (one RL month), he will have difficulty seeing.
