S O L S T I C E
and at last i see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted
It was a strange thing, walking with a man, exchanging pleasantries with no one shouting their outrage or ushering her away. In her past, she had led a more-than sheltered life, never afforded the freedoms to lead by her own free will. Her acquaintances had been guarded, her interactions with the public curtailed to only times of worship where they would simply wander past and murmur their prayers at her feet. In the night when she wrestled with sleep, she could remember the reek of incense on her skin, coiling up with smoke toward the dome of the temple. She could remember the course feel of animal hide against her wings as she shrank into the rugs of the warlord’s tent, shutting her eyes and willing herself to seem invisible.
You could take her from her past, but the memories still lingered, even as she pushed them away with a sad smile and tried to mirror the jovial emotions of her companion as he playfully nudged her side. She takes a steadying breath once more, bending to meet a child who streaked her cheek with amber hued paint before running away with a giggle. Shaking away the coils of her past, she focused on the stallion’s compliment, blushing with humbleness, unsure how to react to such flattery.
“Thank you”, she murmured softly – for her name wasn’t one which was bestowed with love upon her. Instead, it was simply a title which had been given to her by the priestesses, to remember the date of her birth and her reason for being (or so it had seemed at the time). Since coming here though, the sunrise hued mare had taken a shine to the name, reminded that she could change it if she wished, and seeing it as something of her choice to keep her name and make it her own.
“It’s nice to meet you… Truthfully, I haven’t met many in Delumine yet. I arrived in the summer, but have stayed to myself most days – reading in the library, exploring the gardens. I’d like to see more though. What do you like best about Delumine?”
You could take her from her past, but the memories still lingered, even as she pushed them away with a sad smile and tried to mirror the jovial emotions of her companion as he playfully nudged her side. She takes a steadying breath once more, bending to meet a child who streaked her cheek with amber hued paint before running away with a giggle. Shaking away the coils of her past, she focused on the stallion’s compliment, blushing with humbleness, unsure how to react to such flattery.
“Thank you”, she murmured softly – for her name wasn’t one which was bestowed with love upon her. Instead, it was simply a title which had been given to her by the priestesses, to remember the date of her birth and her reason for being (or so it had seemed at the time). Since coming here though, the sunrise hued mare had taken a shine to the name, reminded that she could change it if she wished, and seeing it as something of her choice to keep her name and make it her own.
“It’s nice to meet you… Truthfully, I haven’t met many in Delumine yet. I arrived in the summer, but have stayed to myself most days – reading in the library, exploring the gardens. I’d like to see more though. What do you like best about Delumine?”
― @Eremurus
