[AW] Not Quite To The Sea

[Below Zero]

B e l o w Z e r o

I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on
the cold never bothered me anyway

Bel had to laugh slightly when the other admitted her own surprise, but her expression still was distasteful towards the idea of another threatening this little peach she had found. She did find Jane adorable, and the idea that another could have been so threatening towards her didn't sit well with the Treader, "Honestly, regardless towards towards if she attacked you or not, or that it was in the middle of the night, or anything like that, that foolish mare had no right to make you feel threatened." She stated after a moment of pause. "No one has a right to make another feel so scared. Predator or not. Even predators know you don't play with food. When I go fishing I get it done as quick as I can, and I certainly don't scare the fish more than I should. But someone just scaring and being threatening because of some power trip - as that is exactly what it sounds like - it's childish."

She did have to nod in response to the agreement that this mare of question was certainly no creature of water, but she still felt it might do Jane better to gently change the subject, and finding out more about each other seemed the way to go. "You really don't need to worry about Yukime, she might look large - but it's just the length of her, she's small enough she has to ride on me or she gets worn out. And she's got a taste for fish, not horse. Well, not just fish, she likes amphibians too, she gets excited if she finds a salamanders and newts too." She stated with a teasing laugh that had the serpent sending a wave of water in Bel's direction with her tail. Bel grinned as she let the water hit her, before explaining how she'd come to be here.

It was definitely the quick version, but still her story. "It was better that I left, ultimately I wouldn't have been able to be happy there. It was painful to leave, still is at times, but it was for the best." Bel admitted, her smile sad, melancholy, "My pod is set in there ways, even when they're wrong . . . They forget to celebrate life while fearing death. Novus has been much better to me." Bel tilted her head when Jane spoke of coming from a land called Angora - of only being in Novus for a month now, and having been exiled. Bel smiled softly, "Don't fret on not having ties yet, you're still new around here. It gets easier with time, I promise. I've been in Novus for two or three years now, and in that time, I've grown to truly love it. It can be hard at times, being somewhere new with out anyone to turn too, but if you ever need someone to just talk to, come find me - alright? I'll never turn you away. So consider this your first tie to Novus, alright?" Bel stated with a warm smile.

Besides, Bel could use all the ties, herself, too.

"Bel"
Yukime
@Jane
Notes:: <3 Poor Sweet Jane, she better watch out, Bel's gonna adopt her >.>

[Jane]

jane

Jane smiled a little. It felt good to have someone be on her side. A bit of bitterness crossed Bel’s face as she reprimanded the other creature. It was strange, actually, to feel like someone was on her team, even if that someone was a person she’d likely never meet again. Jane was glad that Bel had been brought here, and even that Yukime had come here too, even if the circumstances hadn’t been ideal. “Have you ever seen a feline? Where I come from, there are creatures as big as Yukime, and they certainly would have fun with their prey. They like to trap us.” She snorted a little, “I nearly got eaten by one as a foal, until one of the guards found me just in time.”



A wave of water splashed toward Bel and caught Jane as a casualty. She was soaked in a rush and blinked suddenly, surprise written plainly on her face. Then she laughed a little bit, ducking her head. 


“For now, at least, Novus has bored me. I don’t feel like I belong here, which sucks because my family wants nothing to do with me. So I’m stuck here until they change their mind. But they want me to discover the world. To find myself. What they want is for me to find a fitting husband so I can fulfill my duties as a mare. But not too young- they want me to be-” She let out a laboured sigh, “So I have nothing at all to do other than to lie in my aunt’s guest bedroom and watch the light change on the wall.” 


Her first tie to Novus. Jane smiled wider at that. She didn’t say that, technically, Sebastien was supposed to be a tie. Her aunt and uncle were ties. But they said nothing to her in the afternoons aside from the polite greetings that distinguished them as a family rather than strangers on the street. "Please seek me out if you ever come to Solterra. I live at the residence of House Vogelstein, and I would love to spend time with you."

@[Below Zero] / speaks / jane's like ooh yay my life is SO BORING

[Below Zero]

B e l o w Z e r o

I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on
the cold never bothered me anyway

The circumstances that brought the two together were an odd set, certainly, but Bel was enjoying her time with the younger mare. Perhaps it was from the similar age of her own sister, perhaps it was for the need of a companion that wasn't Yuki - or for some new company to make friends with. Perhaps for someone with their own story of betrayal - either way, Bel was glad to have met her. However, the idea of a feline startled her for a moment, confused. Yuki herself seemed surprised at the idea of something as large as she was, and finally surfaced, draping her long form over Bel's back with a sleepy yawn, as she tuned in to listen as well. "I can't say I have met a feline - well, I did meet some like that on the Island, I believe during it's first opening? It was a rather long time ago - so I don't remember fully. I suppose predators can sometimes be expected to play with their food, but that certainly doesn't mean it's okay . . . Especially not for another horse to do it." Bel grinned faintly, "Can't say I've ever been almost eaten by a feline as a pup - but I was almost taken by the Kraken. Shard's fault of course, he practically dared me to go into the cave . . ." Her smile turned soft, but sad, the broken heart still buried deep in her chest, "He saved my life that day too - I was frozen in the water and he pushed me out of the way - barely managed to avoid getting wrapped in a tentacle himself." He'd lectured her too after - about not being so stupid, not needing to prove herself. She'd forgotten about that - having previously only remembering the shocked but awed expression on his face when she'd dropped the stone between them.

She still missed that version of Shard, before he began to listen proper to his father. But the past was in the past, and she wouldn't ever see Shard again. She tuned back into Jane's words, frowning lightly at the idea of Novus being a bore - of her family not wanting her, and being stuck unless they change their minds. The idea of them wanting her to find a husband, fulfill the duties of a mare. Bel shook her head in alarm. "I can't say I know what you're going through - I really don't. My people value romance as a one time bond - picking the right mate is important and while we tend to bond young, it's usually done out of deep affection if not love. But . . . Your family sounds . . . difficult. Momma loved us, I knew that, and father did to until we lost momma from a shark attack. Father died too that day, inside anyway. I don't remember him ever saying a word after that - not really. He didn't look at me much either. I don't think he even knew what was going on around him most of the time. When I tried to tell him good bye when I left . . . He didn't . . . see me . . . acknowledge me. But I remember his love still. To have a family that would send you out, that would expect you to preform duties, or fit into a certain mold is wrong . . . That's not familial love, not really . . . don't try to change yourself to fit their standards, Jane. Those type of beings are never happy - and you will make yourself miserable trying to make them happy too." She cautioned gently, her expression concerned for the younger mare.

Still, this meeting seemed to be the best for both of them, but more so Jane, when Bel offered herself as the first tie. Her smile was wide, causing Bel to smile in response. Even Yuki looked up at the mare, gently touching the fluke of her finned tail to the mare's forelimb and nodding, offering herself as a tie as well, a predator primed to defend the mare her bonded was becoming fond of, if not a touch maternal towards. "Only if you seek me out in Terrastella, I make my home in the Swamps of the land, but if you follow the cyan glow, you'll always find me." No need to explain the glow was her - she'd let that be a surprise.

"Bel"
Yukime
@Jane
Notes:: Yep Bel's gonna claim her. Her family can't have her back, Bel's gonna keep her.

[Jane]

jane

Jane both smiled and shivered at the memory of the cat that had so frightened her as a foal. Her mother had scolded her intensely, but not for any reason of concern. It would have been horrible to lose a child, horrible to lose an offspring. Not horrible to lose Jane. Jane was nothing but the representation of a symbol, at the end of the day. It wasn’t long after that Jane’s custody had been passed to the Majesty and her court of fine women. But all Jane had learnt meant nothing- languages, art, singing for the court, all in a haze of nothing. 



Jane had never heard of a kraken, but her question died on her lips at the sign of Bel turning sad. Shard. It sounded like something deadly, sharp. Shards of glass, beautiful and fatal at once. She’d fight him for hurting her friend, if she ever got the chance.


He’d apparently saved Bel, and for that Jane was glad. But she was coming to learn that the few good actions did not absolve someone of guilt.


What a world, that prioritised romance above all else? That cared for Jane’s opinion, her talents, her intelligence. None of it mattered, even though they made her learned and smart. She would never be wise, for wisdom was not a treasured trait in a filly. She would have a foal, or two, and she would raise children each year until a death that no one remembered or cared about. “My mother and father barely speak and when they do it’s about future planning. She’s pregnant, currently, and when it’s born they’re going to stop speaking to me.” Boredom spilled in Jane’s words, overemphasised, overly chilly. What a shame she was who she was. So average. “I don’t care about it. The reason I’m here is because I flirted with a colt who was never going to marry me, and it made the court look bad so they sent me here.” 


To Jane’s surprise, the companion of this mare started to express an interest that was not based on hunger but concern and familiarity. Of course, tied as she was to the mare, there would be no betrayal. Especially for a blood that would probably not taste fantastic to one raised on fish. “I live in Solterra. It’s very different from here. But I live in a little house off the main street.”  

@[Below Zero] / speaks / here you go im sorry im so tired

[Below Zero]

B e l o w Z e r o

I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on
the cold never bothered me anyway

Bel smiled slightly, even at the other shivered, offering a gentle touch of reassurance to the younger mare, younger than even her own baby sister. And so she offered stories of her own, the kraken that had almost struck her down, had it not been for Shard. His memory still cut like a knife, as painful in mind as those last moment when he begged her not to leave, but he refused to close the distance between them, unwilling to journey any further from the pod - not even the few yards to embrace her when she needed his touch, his promise. He hadn't been there to give it, and it stung deeper than words could give. Thoses haunting calls between them, her begging him to reach out for her again like he used to, to chase her again, to be there for her again, and him calling for her return, for her to stay. But the distance remained, a trench that couldn't be crossed, and in the end, Bel had left, almost five years ago, Bel had left, and he didn't chase her.

But she had new reasons for life every day. Life in Terrastella was lovely, she had a swamp to call home, one she intended to create a real home out of. She had Yuki at her side, friends in all courts, and her sister had returned to her side, alive and well. It might not be the life she thought she would have when she was two and Shard professed his love for her, but it was a life she was proud of. But it didn't mean she didn't feel age creeping up on her. Eight now, and what did she have to show for it? Her people were romantics, and . . . she had no one. Jane's words on her parents life were alarming though, "That doesn't sound like a healthy example of a relationship to grow up seeing. Mates who do not speak are mates who cannot connect, not to each other, not to the lives they make. But the idea they would cast you aside for a new foal is a horrendous one. Do not let an ill-set family shroud your heart from the love of friends, though. We won't judge you for your past, flirting or not, and if you ever need anyone to just talk to, you can always come to me, I promise." She stood, water dripping from her body, trailing of her tail in small streams as she gently touched Jane's shoulder.

"Take pride in knowing you have become more than they could be. Don't chase away your emotions, how this has made you feel. Don't lock it down. You're allowed to be upset, to be angry, to scream and shout and cry. Whether that bond was there or not, they were family and family is supposed to love and support you. And if they won't do it, then others will do it for them. You are stronger than they are already. You can stand with your head tall, your shoulder's straight, knowing this. They cast you out, sent you away and you still wake up each day, you do what you need to, you socialize with others, you are strong because of that inner strength."

Bel took a step back gently, "And if they won't tell you, I will: I'm proud of you for being able to be that way, just keep swimming, one flip of the fins at the time and it will all work out." WHen the other spoke of her home, Bel smiled, "Little house on main street. I'll remember." Her gaze danced to the sky, the sun now at a lower position, "I must take off, now however. I promised Yuki we would go for a swim through the reefs." Her tone was apologetic, and she gently touched her muzzle, the ghost touch of fondness, to the other's shoulder, "I'll see you again soon, whether you come seek me out or the other way around. I've been meaning to learn more about Solterra anyways - I haven't seen too much of it yet. Until we meet again, Jane, be well." She instructed, even as she and Yuki turned and headed towards the Sea.


"Bel"
Yukime
@Jane
Notes:: Closed on my end <3