and in search of silver lining,
we discovered gold
They met in a city.
A southern harbor upon the cusp of a sea, whose markets reeked of fish and saltwater. All the things that the opaline woman had left behind, nipping at her heels in the form of ocean foam and a breeze kissed with brine. The boats that came had deposited them on separate days, and yet the fated furls of wind had sent their sails colliding.
They met in a city, and yet Aelin wanted nothing more than to lead him to a bed of flowers. To sit within the dappled sunlight of a glade, to close her silvery lids over her eyes, and to bask in the buttery glow of iridescent happiness. So much, too much, had been lost already: worlds left behind in ash and ruin, homelands ransacked of the peace they so desperately deserved. His skin was heavy with scars, their spines burdened with war, and yet the Fair could think of nothing to do but to feel the tickle of grass upon her cheek.
He deserved more than the harsh cobbles of another city beneath his hooves. He deserved the weightlessness of starlight beneath his soles, the sweet release of running water to joyously slosh about his feet. He deserved for his igneous tines to light up an oceanic cove, where they pored over the little rocks and gemstones she’d gathered for the day.
Aelin lead him onward with a brush of her wing. There was no telling how long they had travelled, she knew only of what goodness could await.
She felt it in her chest: a garden of hope that budded anew, little blooms entangling with her ribs, mending the fissures of all that had once broken her apart.
Jahra and Aehra were here, somewhere. She would find them, soon.
But she knew, too, that they were safe. Her heart sang too softly for them to be anything but.
Caressing his side with the tip of a translucent feather, the cerulean stardust of her wings shattered around them, kissing the sunset sky with an array of freckled, cobalt light. Aelin only cared for how it bathed him in a preternatural glow, brushing over the slopes of old scars and aged tattoos—ones the plush of her lips knew how to delicately trace.
By the time the meadow came into view, they were walking shoulder to shoulder; and all the mare’s fantastical daydreams came to life. Already, a smile crept up the grey of her muzzle, and an igneous eye flashed to meet his own from her periphery.
Home lay ahead, somewhere beyond this flowered road. And though she ought to have been exhausted from their travels, the silver mare knew she had weathered far worse pilgrimages—for far more painful prizes.
Already, Aelin was tipping her head back to reach for his cheek, a forelimb lifting with delicacy as she nudged his jawline. Spools of silver hair unfurled from her nape, careless and wild where each curl spilled over her crest. A moonlit waterfall caged by a petal hairclip.
“What about here for the night?” she inquired softly. The smile of her eyes spoke legions more than lips ever could, and laughter danced in the finer intricacies of her expression. "Or would you rather I have asked that five miles back?"
we discovered gold
They met in a city.
A southern harbor upon the cusp of a sea, whose markets reeked of fish and saltwater. All the things that the opaline woman had left behind, nipping at her heels in the form of ocean foam and a breeze kissed with brine. The boats that came had deposited them on separate days, and yet the fated furls of wind had sent their sails colliding.
They met in a city, and yet Aelin wanted nothing more than to lead him to a bed of flowers. To sit within the dappled sunlight of a glade, to close her silvery lids over her eyes, and to bask in the buttery glow of iridescent happiness. So much, too much, had been lost already: worlds left behind in ash and ruin, homelands ransacked of the peace they so desperately deserved. His skin was heavy with scars, their spines burdened with war, and yet the Fair could think of nothing to do but to feel the tickle of grass upon her cheek.
He deserved more than the harsh cobbles of another city beneath his hooves. He deserved the weightlessness of starlight beneath his soles, the sweet release of running water to joyously slosh about his feet. He deserved for his igneous tines to light up an oceanic cove, where they pored over the little rocks and gemstones she’d gathered for the day.
Aelin lead him onward with a brush of her wing. There was no telling how long they had travelled, she knew only of what goodness could await.
She felt it in her chest: a garden of hope that budded anew, little blooms entangling with her ribs, mending the fissures of all that had once broken her apart.
Jahra and Aehra were here, somewhere. She would find them, soon.
But she knew, too, that they were safe. Her heart sang too softly for them to be anything but.
Caressing his side with the tip of a translucent feather, the cerulean stardust of her wings shattered around them, kissing the sunset sky with an array of freckled, cobalt light. Aelin only cared for how it bathed him in a preternatural glow, brushing over the slopes of old scars and aged tattoos—ones the plush of her lips knew how to delicately trace.
By the time the meadow came into view, they were walking shoulder to shoulder; and all the mare’s fantastical daydreams came to life. Already, a smile crept up the grey of her muzzle, and an igneous eye flashed to meet his own from her periphery.
Home lay ahead, somewhere beyond this flowered road. And though she ought to have been exhausted from their travels, the silver mare knew she had weathered far worse pilgrimages—for far more painful prizes.
Already, Aelin was tipping her head back to reach for his cheek, a forelimb lifting with delicacy as she nudged his jawline. Spools of silver hair unfurled from her nape, careless and wild where each curl spilled over her crest. A moonlit waterfall caged by a petal hairclip.
“What about here for the night?” she inquired softly. The smile of her eyes spoke legions more than lips ever could, and laughter danced in the finer intricacies of her expression. "Or would you rather I have asked that five miles back?"
Speech, @Lumaris <3
Art by Rhiaan, Table by Rayoflight
