[AW] The Girl with Button Eyes

[Coraline]

She was many things, the silver girl. She was someone’s unwanted daughter, someone’s unprofessed love, someone’s soft spoken friend. She was tall, shy, beautiful. Most of all, she was scared. She found yet another strange place – awakened with all her previous memories, but no knowledge of how she came to be in this place. She blinked several times, the sunlight shining into her button eyes. She rose from the dewy earth and shook her silver coat, glittering drops of water spraying in all directions. She stood, her head erect, ears twitching, body twitching, tail twitching, knowing every sound was death, having found her again. She had found safety and security with him, knowing that he would never let anything bad happen to her…but what could she do when something bad happened to her? The guilt she carried from his death was immense, weighing on her like a lead saddle she could not buck off, no matter how hard she tried, or how fast she ran. The filly’s sides were heaving now, memories and fear swirling around her; like a torrent of biting rain or blasting wind, despite the calmness of the weather.   Nearby, she heard something moving through the underbrush, her body whipping to face it. Her eyes were wide (as wide as button eyes can go), her body tense and ready to flee for her life, until a rabbit appeared from the thicket, just as surprised as she was. They stared at each other for a time, the rabbit’s tiny pink nose twitching until he deemed the strange horse “not a threat,” and continued eating his fill. The filly watched him as he graze-hopped away and then felt silly for being afraid of a rabbit. She had never heard of a rabbit eating a horse. But then again, this was a new place. What if the rabbits did eat horses, and she had found one who had already eaten? What if there was a corpse just inside the copse of trees? What if he had wanted to eat her, too, but was repulsed by her marred skin and button eyes? Would she never be normal? Would she always be stared at? Jeered at? Ignored? A freak? Tears now welled up in her eyes. She was tired. So tired. Her body wanted to collapse beneath her from its constant dump of adrenaline; and her mind wanted to shut down so it stopped thinking about him. She couldn’t even bear to think his name right now. The pain was still fresh, despite the time that had passed. The wound was too deep. They were supposed to be together forever; but look! Just look! She was here, and he was gone; a body long forgotten by the others in a home everyone fled.   More sounds caught her attention as the world seemed to slowly wake up. Birds chirruped nearby, and her heart leapt, hoping to catch the sounds of Bartholomew or Orchid – the macaws that had been her friends in the last home. She didn’t hear them. Nor did she see Pandora – the red fox that usually accompanied her. Not for the first time, the girl began to fret and worry about where the fox had gone. She had been a gift to keep her safe and secure before she had met any friends. The little fox had been her best friend, her confidante for nearly her whole life; and not for the first time – she was gone. The filly remained rooted to the spot, her head twisting this way and that, button eyes straining to see the fox. She had to be coming out of the trees sometime…right?   ”Speech”

Coraline | Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art

 

[Pan]

Pan was anything but silent as he crept through the underbrush, stalking a particularly fat beetle.  It cowered away from the shadow that hovered over it, skittering this way and that to avoid getting crunched, but the flight was in vain.  For with Pan in pursuit, the insect had to keep moving… the boy simply didn’t tire easily.  He followed the bug from the river to here, deeper and deeper into the grasslands, until at long last he found himself in somewhere new entirely.  Only once the beetle gave up the chase and began to burrow in the soft mud, did the scaled boy look up and take stock of his surroundings.

He found himself now at a temple, one he hadn’t come across before.  The walls were ancient looking, grey stone that crumbled at the edges, trees starting to grow through with strange jungle-like vines creating a sort of maze for small woodland creatures to traverse.  He danced along the stone, delighted to hear the way his diamond hard hooves clattered upon them, and made scary ghost sounds from his mouth, laughing when they echoed from the walls and scared away a pair of roosting pigeons.  It wasn’t that he was disrespectful… or at least, he didn’t mean to be.  After all, this place seemed long abandoned, and he imagined it some sort of burial grounds for an ancient king or something.

The boy continued to play in the temple, until he grew tired of such things and began back through the trees where he’d started from.  He was in a hurry to return to the sea, feeling the same sort of longing pull that he had since arriving here – as if he were meant to be somewhere else.  Still, there were enough things in this place to capture his interest, and before he knew it, Pan’s attention was turned toward a slithering serpent in the grass.  He followed it for a bit, as he had the beetle, before veering off in another direction, following the filtered rays of sunlight that painted the forest floor in shades of sunsoaked gold.

The exploring would have continued, had he not caught a familiar flash of silver up ahead.  Coraline.  He would know her anywhere.  With an excited grin crossing his face, Pan raced toward his old friend, nickering to break the silence with a hopeful tone to his voice (grateful for the company).  ”Coraline?  Is that you?”  Stepping toward the button eyed mare, he was sure that it was… but Pan knew that this new place could also hold illusions… so, really he couldn’t be too sure.  ”How’d you get here?”

Pan

Dawn Court

character © Firefly; html by castlegraphics; image by alexlibby

@Coraline

[Coraline]

The noises were creeping closer…ever closer, yet the silver girl could not move, could not flee. All she could do was stand frozen, waiting for death to finally claim her. How it had found her through space and time was beyond her – she didn’t even know where she was, so how could death know? Or was this some sort of game – to send her somewhere, and then to seek her, the proverbial game of cat-and-mouse, until she was found, and was no longer? She wished she had her fox at her side, at least the little stuffed fox would put on a show – maybe slow death down a little bit. But of course, she would have to step in front of Pandora before death could claim her, too. Coraline didn’t want anyone else getting hurt for her – one was far too many. And so, with all these thoughts running rampant through her mind, she stood quivering, and as, at last, the underbrush exploded outward to claim her life, she saw not death, but an old friend. Still, she couldn’t stop shaking, for what sort of miracle would this be if it were truly Pan, and not death in disguise? But it spoke, and she realized that it wasn’t a trick, or a cruel joke – it was really Pan. She blinked her button eyes in surprise and still remained rooted to the spot, unsure of how her legs worked anymore. She stared and heard him, and blinked several times before bounding forward, as if a surge of electricity ran through her again. In but a few leaps, she was near chest to chest with the youth, her neck trying to wrap around his, wanting to be close to someone familiar; to feel the warmth and comfort of a living being. She had been too long trapped in whatever place the magic had taken her, hiding her away from herself, from her friends, and from her family. Moments passed like this, assuming Pan didn’t move away from her explosive antics. She stood there, breath coming in ragged gasps, tears welling up in her button eyes and her heart racing faster than the Triple Crown winner. Finally, with a jerking breath, she stepped back, certain that it was still a trick of the lighting, or of whatever gods ruled this strange world. But alas – Pan remained where he had started. Near her. ”It’s me! And it’s you! You’re here!” She couldn’t hide her excitement or her bewilderment. ”Are we dead?” The thought suddenly came to her. She wondered if they were dead, and if they were – where was he? Shouldn’t he be here, too? ”Are the others here, too? Anyone else?” She would even settle for Tarquin – the one who started the rock slide that turned into an avalanche that destroyed her world with one sweet word. ”I don’t know how I got here. It was like before – I woke up here. What about you?” She imagined the youth went exploring and was sucked up by a rogue wave and brought to the shores here. Strange things always happened to Pan, but she knew that was just who he was. She had missed him terribly! And now, it was as if fate had thrown them together again – maybe not in a romantic way, but at least she had something familiar to cling to for a while. Anyone else would have shunned the silver girl for following around a young colt, looking for security and comfort, but Pan didn’t seem to judge her, and for that, she was thankful beyond belief. ”Speech”

Coraline | Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art

@Pan

[Pan]

Pan grinned at his friend, glad to have another familiar face as well, and did not budge as she crept nearer and pressed her neck against his.  It was a gesture of something familiar, he knew.  Not something related to the love between a boy and a girl, but the comfort of a friend.  Reaching easily to groom her silver nape, he pushed sweat away from the curve of her mane, lips passing carefully over the blue feather that he knew would remind her of the boy she’d loved and lost.  He dare not speak of Mew now, or ask how she was faring with all of that… there were more pressing matters at hand.

”Not dead, just trapped again.  This place is Novus – and I haven’t really learned much about it yet, other than there’s a god called Solis.  Maybe more… Flora said there were more.  But yes, Flora is here too.”  Hesitating, as he hadn’t yet told Coraline about their little time travel secret, he drew a deep breath and tried to explain as simply as he could.  ”Flora and I were playing in the Rift tide, and what happened next is a bit blurry… but we ended up here, and we can’t seem to get back.  Flora has the dagger though, so maybe we can get back… I don’t know – I guess we haven’t tried.”  None of that would make sense to the silver mare, but he pressed on with the story.

”We live in different places, Flora and me.  This is where I live… or at least, this part of the world.  Flora is somewhere else, south of here.  It’s called Terrastella.”  He didn’t actually know what the land he lived in was called, having only just arrived, but he knew that it was more to his liking than Flora’s home.  He had access to a river, to the sea… and that’s where Pan would always find himself.  ”I can’t find Oliver though.  Flora says maybe he’s trying to find me… and I hope he finds me soon.  I miss him.  I miss home, Coraline.”  But where was home anyway?  At this point, Pan couldn’t even fathom which place was his home.  He’d always thought it was Neverland, but now, he was beginning to wonder if Eirhelm was the most home-like place he’d had.  Still, he tried to stay optimistic, his green eyes darting this way and that, wondering if others were watching them in the forest.

Pan

Dawn Court

character © Firefly; html by castlegraphics; image by alexlibby

@Coraline

[Coraline]

Trapped again… the words chilled her, though she didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if she had much else to go back to. He was gone, Toke was gone. Tarquin was gone. Iago was gone. They were all gone. Every last one of them. Coraline was, in part, glad that they had wound up here together, and Flora too? Perhaps this place couldn’t be so bad! She heard Pan tell of a god named Solis and thought back to the others she had met. Maaemo was the one who had given her Pandora. Was she here, too? Pan didn’t seem to know who else was here. Maybe there were others who had arrived the same way she had – by pure magic that nobody understood. That would be amazing, to see more familiar faces, and to not be alone anymore! The filly nearly pranced in place in her excitement, but held it back. She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high, since that was usually the time that life decided to throw a curve ball and upset all her plans. But there was a tiny flicker of hope deep in her little heart that would burn for the day she’d meet her old friends again. She moved back to allow Pan room to breathe and speak, and listened as he continued his story of how he and Flora had gotten here. It would seem that they had, in fact, been swept away by the strange magic that seemed to surround the colt. She grinned and listened. There was a lot she didn’t understand, but she didn’t ask questions. She merely listened. Something about a dagger. What was that from? Where did it come from? She pondered, but didn’t ask. Then he moved on to their homelands. Flora was elsewhere. She wondered why the filly didn’t stay with her friend, since she seemed to dislike staying at her parents’ sides. Perhaps there was a good reason. And then Oliver came up. It reminded her that Pandora was missing; gone somewhere. Maybe they were together somewhere, exploring the sea and forest, harassing harpies and faeries. She liked to think so; that Pandora was ok, and so was Oliver. The thought that something could have happened to either of them was too much to bear. ”I’m sure he’s with Pandora, probably harassing the wildlife.” She giggled, remembering how he would spit water at Pandora, and the fox wanted to nip at his nose, but he wouldn’t let her get close enough. ”I’ll bet Hazel is with them, too.” She remembered the little faerie that hung around with Pan, and had regretted not finding one to keep with her, too. But then, she had her macaw, and his macaw. She would have to find them. She missed their company and their constant chatter. It was definitely a lonely place, whatever this place was, but she was determined to make the best of it. ”I miss home, too, but I’m not sure where home is anymore.” She had lived in several places, and had lost something along the way in each of them. What would this place take from her? She hoped it was nothing serious – she didn’t have much left to give! But then, she was resilient and would take whatever the world threw at her. ”Maybe we can maket his place our home now. I’m sure there are lots of adventures to be had, and places to discover. Maybe we can find another dragon, but this time, friendly!” She still hated that the other dragon was killed for its illness. It hadn’t really done them any harm! But then again, she hadn’t gone out to fight it. She waited patiently, hopefully, to see if Pan had ideas about dragons and adventures. ”Speech”

Coraline | Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art

@Pan

[Pan]

Pan wasn’t one to dwell on the sadness that came with loneliness for long.  While he missed his home and his friends, it was enough that Flora and Coraline were here.  The rest would come – Oliver too, he hoped.  As Coraline talked of him playing with Pandora, he grinned and nodded his head, liking the picture that it made in his mind.  She was probably right.  Oliver was probably swimming in circles around Rock, smashing clams on his belly, carrying treasure rocks back to Pan’s cave of wonders.  Hazel too… but he knew that Hazel belonged with the faeries in Neverland.  Maybe someday, the faeries would come here.  He could only hope that his menagerie would find their way here once more.

”I like adventures… we can definitely go on some.”  Nodding as he looks around, he began to walk from the temple, the compass on his hind end spinning this way and that until it landed on the North.  He looked back at his haunches, his mind wandering briefly to Selke and No, and the way they had bonded him to the water at Mt. Corenth.  Perhaps they could follow the sea, as far as the land would let them.  It was a whimsical thought for the water boy.

Deciding that his friend should be the one to decide, he turned to the east, the south, the west, and back to the north once more.  ”Where would you go, if you could go anywhere?  What should we find?  What should we so?”  In truth, he wanted to see and experience it all… but they had to start somewhere.  ”We can go to meet the gods too… not now, but later.”  Looking around him once more, he made another quiet statement to the button eyed mare.  ”This can be our home now.  You should meet Kasil – he's a Sovereign. I think it’s his Court… a court is like a kingdom, or something like that…”

Pan

Dawn Court

character © Firefly; html by castlegraphics; image by alexlibby

@Coraline

[Coraline]

Coraline was ready for an adventure. It had been far too long since she had been on one, and while she was still wary about the new place she found herself in, she knew that with Pan and Florentine and maybe even Only, she was pretty safe. She bobbed her head in agreement. Yes, and adventure would be great. But yes, later was fine. Now was the time for a nap in the tall grass. She would graze until her belly was full and her eyes couldn’t stay open any longer, and then she would roll over and nap until the sun was lowering in the sky. Then she would get up, stretch, explore until it was dark, and then sleep. The girl was trying to come into her own; to explore on her own and grow a little, even though she wasn’t ready to be a grown up yet. ”I think we should meet the gods first. I think we could all use a miracle or two now, especially with so much changing here.” She thought back to Mew. Maybe the gods could still bring him back, but she knew better than to ask for such a childish whim. He was gone, even though the child in her refused to believe it. ”And then maybe we can go visit Flora in her court.” The thought of so many other courts was exciting. It reminded her of a story she had overheard her mother telling another colt once, about princes and princesses and dragons. They had lived in a court. ”Do you think there are dragons here?” She looked around through her button eyes, wondering if she would see the glimmering green scales of a dragon again. ”I think we should look for a dragon. Maybe he’ll be in the forest. I’ll meet you there in a little while. I think I’m going to nap first. The sunlight is perfect for stretching out!” And after offering Pan a few moments to speak as he would, the silver girl pranced off several feet and let her growing body fall to the earth, disappearing in the grass. Yes. It is perfect napping weather. ”Speech”

| Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art

@Pan
sorry...sucked. But now we can end this thread and get something else going. :D

[Pan]

Pan was happy to have his friend back – that she was just as eager for an adventure as he was, and he grinned at each of her suggestions.  I know the gods, kinda… I know that we are supposed to worship Oriens, the god of the Dawn.  There’s at least two more that I have heard of too – Vespera is Flora’s goddess, and Solis is the god of the Day.  He was quite pleased to impart this knowledge to Coraline, as he hadn’t quite realized this himself when he’d first arrived, and had spent time worshiping the wrong god after meeting a new friend on the god’s mountain.  Plus, he couldn’t deny that miracles were helpful… he was hoping to find his Oliver, and was growing a bit pessimistic at the thought that his friend would ever return (but maybe the gods could help).

I haven’t seen a dragon yet here, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t around.  We can definitely go look.  When she starts to yawn and make her way through the grass, he smiles and calls after her.  Sleep well!  When you wake up, we’ll go see what there is to see.  And humming to himself, the green boy wanders away to decide the best way they should begin their dragon hunt.

Pan

Dawn Court

character © Firefly; html by castlegraphics; image by alexlibby