S O L S T I C E
and at last i see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted
Spring had come to Novus, and with it, hope anew in the blessings of the gods. Just as they had in their fall festivals, Delumine came back to life with its tribute to Oriens, and Solstice found herself against wandering through the stalls of merchants and entertainers with a whimsical smile. Her step is much less burdened than in the past, relaxation drawing a sense of calm over the mare. Sunrise hued wings tuck closely to her body, so as not to disturb those who she passes, and her leonine tail flicks absentmindedly with each step.
“Oh, excuse me!” her clarion voice is hushed as she dodges children who run past, giggling as they went, paint streaking their bodies and feathers flying from their manes as they raced one another through the field. Absentmindedly, she allows her daydreaming to wander toward her own childhood and how different it might have been if she’d grown up in the wilds of Novus instead of the confines of the temple walls. It was a good place for children, she decided, for here they were treated with love and kindness – just as she was treated now, at least by the few she’d met.
Girl, do you want to know what the future holds? It was an offer too alluring to ignore, and Solstice murmurs incredulously as she follows the silver eyed fortune-teller into his tent, drawn by the way stars seemed to shimmer to life along his spine. “What are you?” she wonders aloud – for surely the shed-star was more light than horse, and he replies with only a chuckle as the cards are laid before her to choose.
Behind her, the girl hears a rustle of fabric as the tent welcomes a new stranger into its hold. Solstice turns, her tawny eyes falling on the soldier as she offers him a soft smile of greeting. “Couldn’t resist…” she explains to the stallion. “Have you come to learn about the future as well?” While Solstice couldn’t be certain that the shed-star is not a charlatan, she is intrigued as the fortune teller turns up the High Priestess, the Wheel of Fortune, and the Nine of Swords.
“What do you think it means?” she murmurs to the stranger, not quite able to meet the fortune teller’s strange silver gaze – for the seer’s eyes seem endless as they watch hers, as if they could read her very soul. What secrets would he find beneath the haunted shadows in her eyes?
“Oh, excuse me!” her clarion voice is hushed as she dodges children who run past, giggling as they went, paint streaking their bodies and feathers flying from their manes as they raced one another through the field. Absentmindedly, she allows her daydreaming to wander toward her own childhood and how different it might have been if she’d grown up in the wilds of Novus instead of the confines of the temple walls. It was a good place for children, she decided, for here they were treated with love and kindness – just as she was treated now, at least by the few she’d met.
Girl, do you want to know what the future holds? It was an offer too alluring to ignore, and Solstice murmurs incredulously as she follows the silver eyed fortune-teller into his tent, drawn by the way stars seemed to shimmer to life along his spine. “What are you?” she wonders aloud – for surely the shed-star was more light than horse, and he replies with only a chuckle as the cards are laid before her to choose.
Behind her, the girl hears a rustle of fabric as the tent welcomes a new stranger into its hold. Solstice turns, her tawny eyes falling on the soldier as she offers him a soft smile of greeting. “Couldn’t resist…” she explains to the stallion. “Have you come to learn about the future as well?” While Solstice couldn’t be certain that the shed-star is not a charlatan, she is intrigued as the fortune teller turns up the High Priestess, the Wheel of Fortune, and the Nine of Swords.
“What do you think it means?” she murmurs to the stranger, not quite able to meet the fortune teller’s strange silver gaze – for the seer’s eyes seem endless as they watch hers, as if they could read her very soul. What secrets would he find beneath the haunted shadows in her eyes?
― @Eremurus
