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The mother of the marsh was a small river, flowing like a blue ribbon through a tangle of trees. Maude approaches it with her ears lifted and her step eager, more delighted by the sight of a forest than she initially registers, mostly because it was easier to assume she was simply glad to be out of the marsh, and onto drier land. Her adventures so far have left her feeling much, much better about this place, Novus, than she had about the world of the trickster God. The most terrible location she’d discovered so far was a swamp, after all, and even it hadn’t been so bad, once she’d been there a while. The sound of the frog-song and the heady mist that layered the land was peaceful, and in definite contrast to this green world surrounding the trickle of the water, filled with the noise of birds and other animals. She’d also found Finnian, who’d scared her at first, but had wound up being pretty nice. The maiden lowers her muzzle to drink from the cool water flowing by her hooves, delighted at how clean it is. Perhaps it is more of a creek, or a stream, she thinks to herself, recalling what she knew of bodies of water. It wasn’t very wide or deep, after all, and even here, where the water was moving quickly, and causing white to crest atop its rushing length, she could see straight down to the water smoothed stones below. Feeling an odd urge to shift through the rocks lining the bed of the brook, the girl does as she usually does, when met with a compulsion: she obliges. Humming as she shifts rocks this way and that, the girl can’t help but recall that the last time she’d done this, she’d done it with Kiada, to gather sea glass for the Moon Goddess’ temple. Just like when she’d talked about the buildings back home, the people, or the pure happiness that she had held dear to her heart there, Maude quickly finds herself overwhelmed by the emotion that floods her. Still, she’s getting much better at dealing with it; sniffling and humming along, anyway, despite the tears the slowly escape her attempts to hold them at bay, and the girl steadfastly refuses to look up from her rock gathering. Soon, a small pile of pretty stones of various colors and shapes is piled up on the creek bed; unbroken geodes, quartz entwined in white, smooth stone, and raw agates fall into place among conglomerates and shale with shells embedded within the gray stone. Her cheeks, however, are still damp, and her eyes refuse to dry, and in her heart, that hollow ache that the Goddess is dead still gnaws away inside her chest. [ OOC: Just collecting rocks and crying in the middle of sex-city. Don't mind us. For @ |
  Despite having found a home within Solis' walls, the mare could neither shed the mantle of wanderer nor stifle the urge to range through her adopted continent and discover what there was to be discovered. Indeed, the last time that she had left her beloved, sand scored court, she had found not one, but two sparring partners - a treat that she didn't expect to stumble upon, but hoped for despite the seeming rarity of such a gift. As of yet, the had trekked through the Viride Forest and followed the jagged line that made up the Rapax River until mists began to obscure her line of sight. Having scoured the old and cracked parchment maps of Novus that had been hastily pinned to the commons board, Eden had been confident that she could traverse the whole of the vast island with only a few missteps. Taking a deep breath and strolling further into the fragrant mists that surrounded what she was sure was the Amare Creek, the paladin felt a peaceful grin spread across her lips at her tranquil surroundings. She had heard rumors of the Creek, that it was a place designated for trysts and love, for the sweet moments that could be snatched between duties and for the soft words that could be whispered in the moments between heart beats. Loosing a sigh with a humming exhale, Eden felt the muscles along her rump, shoulders, neck, and chest loosen and relax - the sensation was a relief that the mare didn't know she had needed. Silently, she mused at the therapeutic opportunities of such a place and if it would have the same effect on her friends. A low chuckle rumbled up from the maiden's chest as she imagined suggesting a journey to Amare Creek to Leviathan or Bexley - she could practically see the wicked grin that Bexley would flash her just for shock value and the slight raise of Leviathan's eyebrows as he thought on whether the girl had an ulterior motive or no. The girl was just beginning to entertain the thought of Maxence's reaction to such a question when the sound of humming coupled with sniffling became apparent to her right. Slowing to a stop and swiveling her gold tipped ears, Eden realized that she had been so caught up in her own imaginings that she hadn't even noticed that she was almost upon the stranger - or strangers. Giving the air a careful sniff, the paladin decided that, no, it was only one creature. Turning toward the sound of clicking stones and hums, it wasn't long before the striped warrior discerned a shape through the mist and it was an even shorter time until the stranger could be made out clearly. Approaching with her skull lowered so as to be even with her muscular shoulders, the lass was sure that her proximity could not be ignored - the jingling of her bangles announced nearly every movement she made, and with the sound playing off of the water, there was almost no way that she would surprise the filly. Brows creasing, Eden noted the free-flowing tears that stained damp tracks down the girl's milk and honey cheeks. Slowing to a stop a polite distance away and to the youth's left, Eden watched the antlered girl at her work for a moment, amber eyes sliding over the growing pile of pretty stones and shells before breaking the relative silence. "Hello," came her soft greeting, "I'm Eden. Here, I'll help you - there are so many pretty ones, it could take you forever to sort them all." Lowering her lips to the pebbled shore and nosing through the various stones there, the paladin offered her own quiet hums to fill the misty air as she added to the lass' little cairn. @Maude Hello<33
@Eden Eden didn't realize that she was worried that she would scare the youth until the breath she was holding had been expelled form her lungs, a soft smile replacing the worried crease of her brow and the concerned purse of her lips. At first, the warrioress is quite certain that the girl would continue to cry, or possibly wail anew at the sight of a stranger, especially from the look that she gives Eden across the short distance, but instead, the lithe filly powers through her emotions and gives Eden her name - Maude, a pretty, rounded thing that rolled off the tongue with ease. A small flare of pride swelled the paladin's chest as she noted the girls' resilience; even if she did not know the child it made no difference to the warrior priestess, she was in a difficult place and she was showing strength despite that. Pausing for a moment in her rock-sorting quest and eyeing the antlers that sprouted from Maude's head, Eden wondered briefly of the girl had any sort of future on the battlefield. But, as the girl prattled on, all thoughts of future glory fled from her mind. With a low chuckle and a nod, the paladin pushed a forest green stone with a slight shimmer to it's surface toward her young companion, her reply echoing over the creek and onto the far bank, "They sure are. Maybe we can make a necklace or another antler ornament out of one for you." With another nod more to herself than anyone else, Eden thought back to stories that her mother would tell her of faraway lands and stallions with lanterns in their horns, guiding waylaid travelers to safety with their golden light. Looking up at Maude as she posed a question, Eden gave a casual shake of her wildflower adorned head, "No, I'm from Day - our realm is the boisterous brother to your sweet sister, but truthfully, I haven't made it there to visit yet. Is it as pretty as the books say?" *queue homage to Tilney<33 * @Maude
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