Living in a shimmering, jewel encrusted cage for the majority of her young life meant many of Kassandra’s applicable survival skills were dull— or, more plainly, they just did not exist. She had that innate equine preservation-driven sense for danger, but it was frequently buried deep under her curious and busy mind, something which was also cultivated by years of entrapment. Any prognosticative sense of danger would have to sink like a heavy, heavy stone through layers of questions, notions, and a barrier of intense desire to experience, which covered her mind like the blubber on a fat seal. So many smells, sights, sounds, and feelings were foreign to her that she had seemingly no sense of self protection in the face of threats which were potentially real and true and it was highly likely, one day, she would suffer for it.
But today was, so far, not that day! Here she had stumbled upon a beautiful stranger, who was the color of warm, living earth, and sunlight. He was tall and splendid, and his antlers, which she was quickly becoming obsessed with, were dizzyingly tall, and she was all at once jealous and insanely grateful she did not have to lug around such a heavy set of adornments. He had wings too! She’d never seen a creature with horns and wings. How incredible! And they were large, too, and she could tell they were powerful even when they rested static against his sides, like a weapon sheathed.
I grew up in a forest that was far denser than this one, Kassandra learned, and her eyes went wide. When he finished speaking, she almost shouted, “How!” It was an ecstatic, slightly frightened, outburst, though she managed to control her excitement and form it into a question: “How could such a thing exist? This forest is everywhere!” She looked around as if searching for something to prove her point and realized, seemingly for the first time, they stood in a clearing around the possibly preternatural pool. “Except here, I suppose,” she added, confused in a way which came with slowly realizing something was true.
Furae had been a kingdom of cobblestone and magic, of intellectual, scientific, and supernatural discovery. The only woodlands Kass could see from her Tower of Folly were far off in the distance, no more than vaguely pine-shaped smudges on the horizon, and over roughly six years, they grew smaller at a slow, but steady place. Around the Tower the palace occupied most of the space, great walls of marble and rock, and then the palatial city, long narrow rows of tall, listing wooden structures, came next. Beyond were indiscriminate farmhouses and golden fields of sustenance crops, and long, winding, travel-muddled roads churned to constant muck by hooves, filth, and rainfall.
She had found Furae beautiful in its own, forbidden way, as she watched from her Tower with the sapphires embedded in the walls; and still, she had let it go up in flames and fumes without barely a backwards glance. Her childhood had not at all prepared her for the wildness of woods and wilderpeople, like this stallion.
“Like not fighting a dream,” Kassandra said, her voice a bit misty, as she thought deeply on this concept of not fighting the woods. She cast a backwards glance at the jungle she had come from, where Oculos sat, his mouth a taut, pink-tongued pant, and squinted to see the pathways and gestured curves provided by the foliage so she could try to not fight it.
As Septimus suggested, it was not something which could be learned in thirty seconds.
“My name is Kassandra,” she says after his introduction is finished, turning back to face him, “of the Night Court, however distant. And this is Oculos— see, Ocky, you worry too much— my good friend, though I will not advise moving closer because he smells quite bad at the moment.”
Oculos made a huffing noise and lashed his tongue. (‘Tell him I can understand him, I’m just not interested in what he has to say.’)
“I will not tell him that, as it’s very rude,” Kassandra said back. To Septimus, she said, “He knows what you are saying, but he has decided to be stinky and obstinate today, apparently.” Her volume increased towards the end of the sentence to ensure Oculos heard her pedantic remark.
Oculos rolled his own eyes. (‘I can’t believe she's been swept off her feet by a nice rack,’) he grumbled, vocalizing in a warbling grumble-whine, as he turned his attention to the water. His impressive eyes focused in on it, and his ears perked slightly. (‘Just stay away from the water, Kass,’) he said, (‘I don’t think it’s right.’)
“Well, what’s wrong with it?” Kassandra seemed to forget Septimus could not hear Oculos. She immediately turned towards the pool and stepped closer to investigate, doing exactly the opposite of what her Bonded companion was asking her not to do.
Oculos was there in a flash, his long body built for sprinting. He placed himself directly in front of her, so quickly she bonked her nose against his side. She stepped back and snorted.
(‘And I’m being obstinate,’) Oculos said facetiously. He pointed his narrow head towards Septimus. (‘Ask your new best buddy if he knows anything about this water.’)
“Oh! Good idea, Ocky!” Kass turned to Septimus. “He says the water is strange. Do you happen to know why?”
But today was, so far, not that day! Here she had stumbled upon a beautiful stranger, who was the color of warm, living earth, and sunlight. He was tall and splendid, and his antlers, which she was quickly becoming obsessed with, were dizzyingly tall, and she was all at once jealous and insanely grateful she did not have to lug around such a heavy set of adornments. He had wings too! She’d never seen a creature with horns and wings. How incredible! And they were large, too, and she could tell they were powerful even when they rested static against his sides, like a weapon sheathed.
I grew up in a forest that was far denser than this one, Kassandra learned, and her eyes went wide. When he finished speaking, she almost shouted, “How!” It was an ecstatic, slightly frightened, outburst, though she managed to control her excitement and form it into a question: “How could such a thing exist? This forest is everywhere!” She looked around as if searching for something to prove her point and realized, seemingly for the first time, they stood in a clearing around the possibly preternatural pool. “Except here, I suppose,” she added, confused in a way which came with slowly realizing something was true.
Furae had been a kingdom of cobblestone and magic, of intellectual, scientific, and supernatural discovery. The only woodlands Kass could see from her Tower of Folly were far off in the distance, no more than vaguely pine-shaped smudges on the horizon, and over roughly six years, they grew smaller at a slow, but steady place. Around the Tower the palace occupied most of the space, great walls of marble and rock, and then the palatial city, long narrow rows of tall, listing wooden structures, came next. Beyond were indiscriminate farmhouses and golden fields of sustenance crops, and long, winding, travel-muddled roads churned to constant muck by hooves, filth, and rainfall.
She had found Furae beautiful in its own, forbidden way, as she watched from her Tower with the sapphires embedded in the walls; and still, she had let it go up in flames and fumes without barely a backwards glance. Her childhood had not at all prepared her for the wildness of woods and wilderpeople, like this stallion.
“Like not fighting a dream,” Kassandra said, her voice a bit misty, as she thought deeply on this concept of not fighting the woods. She cast a backwards glance at the jungle she had come from, where Oculos sat, his mouth a taut, pink-tongued pant, and squinted to see the pathways and gestured curves provided by the foliage so she could try to not fight it.
As Septimus suggested, it was not something which could be learned in thirty seconds.
“My name is Kassandra,” she says after his introduction is finished, turning back to face him, “of the Night Court, however distant. And this is Oculos— see, Ocky, you worry too much— my good friend, though I will not advise moving closer because he smells quite bad at the moment.”
Oculos made a huffing noise and lashed his tongue. (‘Tell him I can understand him, I’m just not interested in what he has to say.’)
“I will not tell him that, as it’s very rude,” Kassandra said back. To Septimus, she said, “He knows what you are saying, but he has decided to be stinky and obstinate today, apparently.” Her volume increased towards the end of the sentence to ensure Oculos heard her pedantic remark.
Oculos rolled his own eyes. (‘I can’t believe she's been swept off her feet by a nice rack,’) he grumbled, vocalizing in a warbling grumble-whine, as he turned his attention to the water. His impressive eyes focused in on it, and his ears perked slightly. (‘Just stay away from the water, Kass,’) he said, (‘I don’t think it’s right.’)
“Well, what’s wrong with it?” Kassandra seemed to forget Septimus could not hear Oculos. She immediately turned towards the pool and stepped closer to investigate, doing exactly the opposite of what her Bonded companion was asking her not to do.
Oculos was there in a flash, his long body built for sprinting. He placed himself directly in front of her, so quickly she bonked her nose against his side. She stepped back and snorted.
(‘And I’m being obstinate,’) Oculos said facetiously. He pointed his narrow head towards Septimus. (‘Ask your new best buddy if he knows anything about this water.’)
“Oh! Good idea, Ocky!” Kass turned to Septimus. “He says the water is strange. Do you happen to know why?”
kassandra oculos 905 | @Septimus | gee sept how come your mom let you have two wieners cool physical features
