B e l o w Z e r o
and tomorrow was too late
could you say 'goodbye' to yesterday?
would you live each moment like your last?
Bel lay in peace, her dual gaze on the stallion.
It was an easy, companionable space they were developing, and after her more isolating ways of late (really she limited herself to the swamp and Sol, it was nice to make peace with another. She also knew that in large part, her own recent struggles on the relationship front had played a part in her distance as well. It didn't make her an unfamiliar form in Novus, particularly in Terrastella, many were aware now who she was, and more importantly what she was not. But it was still nice to just sit, talk and not have to worry about making decisions that would affect the rest of her life, her future.
She does smile when he speaks of winter.
Her gaze returns towards the sea, but this time it looks further out. "Wintere here in Novus is definitely lovely. But . . . while the snowfall and ice here is beautiful, where I originally come from, it takes your breath away. The ice grows in sheets so high, they're like cliffs of iridiscent gems, glittering as the sun is reflected off of it. White as far as the eye can see, floating effortlessly over the water. And beneath the waters, the world is alive with life that seems to glow, much as I do beneath the night sky. It takes your breath away, and holds it ransom until you learn to admire and love the beauty of the cold."
She almost misses it sometimes.
At the talk of cultures, her smile drops, turns sadder, "Not all cultures are right, not all ways were were raised should be followed. There are many different ways to grow, and mature. But my people go about it wrong. Life is no longer treasured, but merely a means to keep population up. The ill are no longer cared for, instead tossed out as a sickness to the strength of the Pod. I hope you never have to discover first had, the kind of unforgiving culture the kind my people developed is." Her gaze suddenly brightens, "But . . . the people my pod came from. Their culture was so rich, so diverse, so colorful, I am honor-bound to see it's return."
To see the way Treaders were meant to be, come back.
Liam laughs, and she is brought back to the present, grinning at the idea of the ocean not caring for him, that the score is 1 to- in favor of the water. But the look to his features has her gently reaching out, her expression reassuring, "Well, I promise, should the ocean ever attempt to increase it's advantage on you, I'll wrestle it into submission." With a wink, she looks back towards the water, "I've learned, while the ocean may not like being controlled . . . . if you're patient, the control comes from direction, not from force." As she says this, sprouts of water arc up in jets from the ocean, arcing along the curve of the natural array, taking shape of aquatic fish that leap through the air before rejoining the water below. Subtle magic that requires little thought on her part at this point. "But, while the ocean can be dangerous, can be cruel, it is a healing force, and gives as much as it takes."
She glances back towards him, and with his words, she can now see the actions.
The slight tremble to his limbs, the way his eyes watch the edges. "If you always expect the worst, look for the dangers. You forget to see the beauty." She states, before nudging his shoulder and pointing out to a distance where a pod of dolphins could be spotted, passing through, the youthful young dancing and jumping beside their mothers, wild and free and beautiful. "I won't ask what the ocean has done to make you tremble, but I do swear, as long as I stand in Terrastella, the ocean will never claim one of our own to it's depths." Even as she makes the oath, there's a slight sheen of cyan glow to her eyes, betraying the seriousness of her dedication. Because, she may love the ocean, but she knew better than most the dangerous that lived deep with. The creatures that hunted in it, the currents that consumed from with in it. She knew the dangers, most certainly.
The talk of their missing sovereign sobered Bel quickly.
She sighed, "I don't know what to think anymore." She admitted sadly, with a soft shake of her head, before she turned towards him at the option to continue to learn to properly be a soldier, not just a magic weilder. Her gaze was delighted, nodding wildly, "That would be amazing! I look forward to learning from you then~ I am certain you'll know just how to help me - well, except for the part of accounting for the parts of my anatomy you do not have." She muses, thwacking her tail against the ground playfully.
She is lightened by the talk of his friend.
This individual who grounds him so thoroughly, fills his heart so full. But there's a pang in her heart, uncertainty welling up again. Of knowing that she was so close to Sol, afraid to take those steps to bind them closer together. Worried about what it could mean. She remembered that time apart after they had found. How desperate she was to see him, how he had never come. How they had fought so violently when he finally did. How afraid she was that he would leave and never return. How she was still afraid of this. That he would one day realize that she wasn't what he wanted, what he needed. He'd grow distant, cold, forget about her. And when the time came, he'd leave her behind.
Can your heart survive being broken twice?
She distracts herself with Liam's story, ears perking when he spoke of his homeworld. Of those who shaped him, friends and people he miss. His touch startles her, and she glances back, before she finally spoke, it came tumbling free, her history, where she'd come from, the abandonment of her sister. "I'm not so angry about things any more . . . but, after losing everything I knew . . . She sighed, shaking her head, her gaze returning to the sea, "I guess I keep waiting for the day Sol leaves too." The words spoken were the first time she's admitted that worry that kept holding her back from accepting the courtship. But she doesn't elaborate, turning her gaze back to her new found friend, "I'm so sorry you had to experience that . . . It's nothing . . . nothing easy to move past. Watching them being stolen from you, in front of you." She admitted, before softening her smile at her sister, "Pol is well now. She lives in Denocte . . . it's been . . . hard reconnecting. But we are trying."
She does startle when he asks about Kelpies.
This time she can't help but laugh, and smiled kindly, "They're beings that live in the water, they usually have two forms, one for in the water, one for out. But . . . ." Her smile drops, "They are not good, at least . . . not to the view of many others. They feast on the flesh of other equine. Lure them into the water where they may kill and eat their prey. I do not know if I could truly call them evil though. Can we really condemn another because they need to eat? But . . . I can condemn the way so many play with their victims. They are . . . not a pleasant sort."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Liam
Notes:: She's just looking for a distracting conversation I think
It was an easy, companionable space they were developing, and after her more isolating ways of late (really she limited herself to the swamp and Sol, it was nice to make peace with another. She also knew that in large part, her own recent struggles on the relationship front had played a part in her distance as well. It didn't make her an unfamiliar form in Novus, particularly in Terrastella, many were aware now who she was, and more importantly what she was not. But it was still nice to just sit, talk and not have to worry about making decisions that would affect the rest of her life, her future.
She does smile when he speaks of winter.
Her gaze returns towards the sea, but this time it looks further out. "Wintere here in Novus is definitely lovely. But . . . while the snowfall and ice here is beautiful, where I originally come from, it takes your breath away. The ice grows in sheets so high, they're like cliffs of iridiscent gems, glittering as the sun is reflected off of it. White as far as the eye can see, floating effortlessly over the water. And beneath the waters, the world is alive with life that seems to glow, much as I do beneath the night sky. It takes your breath away, and holds it ransom until you learn to admire and love the beauty of the cold."
She almost misses it sometimes.
At the talk of cultures, her smile drops, turns sadder, "Not all cultures are right, not all ways were were raised should be followed. There are many different ways to grow, and mature. But my people go about it wrong. Life is no longer treasured, but merely a means to keep population up. The ill are no longer cared for, instead tossed out as a sickness to the strength of the Pod. I hope you never have to discover first had, the kind of unforgiving culture the kind my people developed is." Her gaze suddenly brightens, "But . . . the people my pod came from. Their culture was so rich, so diverse, so colorful, I am honor-bound to see it's return."
To see the way Treaders were meant to be, come back.
Liam laughs, and she is brought back to the present, grinning at the idea of the ocean not caring for him, that the score is 1 to- in favor of the water. But the look to his features has her gently reaching out, her expression reassuring, "Well, I promise, should the ocean ever attempt to increase it's advantage on you, I'll wrestle it into submission." With a wink, she looks back towards the water, "I've learned, while the ocean may not like being controlled . . . . if you're patient, the control comes from direction, not from force." As she says this, sprouts of water arc up in jets from the ocean, arcing along the curve of the natural array, taking shape of aquatic fish that leap through the air before rejoining the water below. Subtle magic that requires little thought on her part at this point. "But, while the ocean can be dangerous, can be cruel, it is a healing force, and gives as much as it takes."
She glances back towards him, and with his words, she can now see the actions.
The slight tremble to his limbs, the way his eyes watch the edges. "If you always expect the worst, look for the dangers. You forget to see the beauty." She states, before nudging his shoulder and pointing out to a distance where a pod of dolphins could be spotted, passing through, the youthful young dancing and jumping beside their mothers, wild and free and beautiful. "I won't ask what the ocean has done to make you tremble, but I do swear, as long as I stand in Terrastella, the ocean will never claim one of our own to it's depths." Even as she makes the oath, there's a slight sheen of cyan glow to her eyes, betraying the seriousness of her dedication. Because, she may love the ocean, but she knew better than most the dangerous that lived deep with. The creatures that hunted in it, the currents that consumed from with in it. She knew the dangers, most certainly.
The talk of their missing sovereign sobered Bel quickly.
She sighed, "I don't know what to think anymore." She admitted sadly, with a soft shake of her head, before she turned towards him at the option to continue to learn to properly be a soldier, not just a magic weilder. Her gaze was delighted, nodding wildly, "That would be amazing! I look forward to learning from you then~ I am certain you'll know just how to help me - well, except for the part of accounting for the parts of my anatomy you do not have." She muses, thwacking her tail against the ground playfully.
She is lightened by the talk of his friend.
This individual who grounds him so thoroughly, fills his heart so full. But there's a pang in her heart, uncertainty welling up again. Of knowing that she was so close to Sol, afraid to take those steps to bind them closer together. Worried about what it could mean. She remembered that time apart after they had found. How desperate she was to see him, how he had never come. How they had fought so violently when he finally did. How afraid she was that he would leave and never return. How she was still afraid of this. That he would one day realize that she wasn't what he wanted, what he needed. He'd grow distant, cold, forget about her. And when the time came, he'd leave her behind.
Can your heart survive being broken twice?
She distracts herself with Liam's story, ears perking when he spoke of his homeworld. Of those who shaped him, friends and people he miss. His touch startles her, and she glances back, before she finally spoke, it came tumbling free, her history, where she'd come from, the abandonment of her sister. "I'm not so angry about things any more . . . but, after losing everything I knew . . . She sighed, shaking her head, her gaze returning to the sea, "I guess I keep waiting for the day Sol leaves too." The words spoken were the first time she's admitted that worry that kept holding her back from accepting the courtship. But she doesn't elaborate, turning her gaze back to her new found friend, "I'm so sorry you had to experience that . . . It's nothing . . . nothing easy to move past. Watching them being stolen from you, in front of you." She admitted, before softening her smile at her sister, "Pol is well now. She lives in Denocte . . . it's been . . . hard reconnecting. But we are trying."
She does startle when he asks about Kelpies.
This time she can't help but laugh, and smiled kindly, "They're beings that live in the water, they usually have two forms, one for in the water, one for out. But . . . ." Her smile drops, "They are not good, at least . . . not to the view of many others. They feast on the flesh of other equine. Lure them into the water where they may kill and eat their prey. I do not know if I could truly call them evil though. Can we really condemn another because they need to eat? But . . . I can condemn the way so many play with their victims. They are . . . not a pleasant sort."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Liam
Notes:: She's just looking for a distracting conversation I think
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
