He had arrived in a new land, a new world and for once, his feet touched the ground. The soft earth beneath his hooves was a new and pleasant feeling, the scent of dirt wafted around him. A chill in the air hovered over the stallion as he extended his massive wings slowly and allowed them to stretch and relax. He often used them as appendages, often reaching for objects as he brushed them through the grass.
A breeze tickled his creamy hide and a smile spread over his soft pink lips. Even here, the wind was his friend, his brother. A soft whisper escaped his maw, the words unknowable, the language almost otherworldly. Everything about the words were kind, gentle and calm. But, no one around him could know of the words he heard in response. Maybe it wasn’t the wind, it perhaps was all in his head, but either way, he maintained a relationship with the wind.
Zaius’s turquoise eyes moved slowly over the sea of grass before him and the slight loll of the lazy hills. It was peaceful here and so, thoughts raced through his mind, some overwhelmed him and he became uncomfortable in the silence. Suddenly, a beautiful sound escaped the impressive stallion, he hummed softly to himself. However, his “song” was meant for his invisible companion as well as a tranquil breeze moved over the meadow. Birds chirped as Zaius settled down in the soft grass, his immense wings folded carefully to his sides. Who lives here? The thought came as Zaius glanced about him, truly curious of this new land and who resided here. It was all so new to him, the vast meadows, forests and rivers. During his flight he had even seen a castle and perhaps this could be a kingdom, which meant there could be a king. The man shuddered at the word. Of all the things he ran from, all the things that haunted him, that was by far the heaviest weight upon his shoulders. The burden and guilt ate a hole in his heart with each passing hour and yet, he would never return to what he had known. He couldn't, it just wasn't possible. After all, he was one of the fallen.
Her heart raced beneath her chest, beating at a speed she had not felt in months. Her breathing became staggered and unsteady, and a line of shivers raced up her spine. Her eyes raced back and forth in her head as she struggled to obtain solid images. There was teeth…and blood…there was a name.. Someone said a name. What was the name? There was a flash of darkness and Lyra was back in her own reality.
Her body temperature had dropped and an unwanted shiver raced up her spine. She had been having the same nightmare for the past few weeks; however, each time she wakes up, important fragments are gone. Disappeared from her memory. And no matter how hard she tried, she could never recall those missing images. To her dismay, flashes of her nightmare would constantly haunt her waking mind; forcing her to remember those dreadful memories that she had locked away so long ago. A few nights before, Lyra had hoped to put a end to her past memories and hoped by isolating herself from other’s, she could begin to find peace. Though in all her efforts to dispose and forget about her night terrors, nothing seemed to work.
A dejected sigh releasing from her vocal chords, Lyra had finally decided to pick herself up from her secluded little spot in the meadow, a place she had found herself in after a late night of traveling back towards her own court. She needed to head back. Find a distraction, something to keep her mind off the stresses that haunted her mind. The quiet female picked her slender body up from the ground beneath her and shook out the loose debris from her midnight blue coat. Her eyes blinking, she quickly adjusted to the light that surrounded her and set off on her journey. Maybe she’d meet someone new? As she walked, her thoughts began to drift, and the female began to become lost in her own reverie of her mind. Barely paying attention to what happened to be around her...
He had been whispering to the wind, each word deliberate and quiet. A foreign language, beautiful and almost divine. Turquoise orbs rested upon a delicate flower, the soft indigo petals intrigued and mystified by the simplicity. The center of the flower, yellow as the sun brought a whole other meaning to the flower that clung to the last warm days of autumn. He sighed, humbled by the modesty of mother nature.
Suddenly, he was pulled from his inquiry when a sound startled him. The man lifted his pink maw, eyes wide with surprise. Across the meadow, not a far distance from him, came a stranger. A canvas of blue stretched across her, painted with the galaxy. She was dazzling in every sense of the word and the man lifted himself from the grass quickly.
Zaius stretched boths sets of wings as he stood which made him appear larger and more impressive than before. Muscles rippled beneath his skin as he took a few steps towards the woman who seemed to wander aimlessly through the meadow.
“Hello, miss,” he called as he hoped his study of her feminine features was accurate. The stallion took a few more steps as he sauntered towards her, strong legs carried him faithfully through the grass. The blades tickled and grabbed at his creamy hide as he approached her. “Are you lost miss? Could I be of assistance?” Zaius asked, his royal manners poured from his lips in earnest. “What is your name?” the man asked another question as he stopped to look at her, his expression filled with curiosity. He was grateful for the moment of silence from the thoughts that rattled around inside his skull.
She was startled out of her thoughts when a voice reached her ears. Blinking away the dazed look in her eyes she noticed the stranger as he approached her. She didn't recognize him not that she'd really recognize anyone since she was far from her own court. Lifting her silver eyes towards the stallion in front of her, she had an almost sheepish and apologetic look crossing her features. "Hello..I'm sorry if I'm intruding." She voiced softly with a slight dip of her head.
When he asked if she was lost or needed any help she almost wanted to say 'yes' though she doubted he could help her. With a small shake of her head she offered the man a small smile on her dark lips. "I'm not lost..though thank you for the offer. I got side tracked in my travels back home." Lyra explained with a small shrug of her shoulders, it wasn't exactly a lie. She had gotten sidetracked on her travels and she was far from home.
"I am Lyra..who might you be?" With a tilt of her head, curious herself about this winged creature in front of her. A handsome fellow she had to admit.
His eyes remained focused upon the blue woman’s face, a soft smile splayed upon his pink lips. There was so much he could share with her, so much he could blurt about his world, his culture. For some reason, he wanted to share with her all he knew about the wind and his people. He had never had the privilege to do so, but for now, he kept silent.
The woman’s words about intrusion caused a confused expression to spread across his painted face, the tattoo around his eye lifted in question. Zaius followed each of her movements, her body language and the words that came from her mouth eagerly.
Zaius towered over the blue lady and still, he felt the need to bow to her and so, he did. “My name is Zaius Zhar, but you may call me Zaius m’lady,” the stallion said politely, gently. “You were not intruding on much, just my conversation with an …… old friend,” he said softly, almost embarrassed to share with her the true source of his conversation. Here, he did not know how these people would respond to his relationship with the air and he did not want to test the waters…. yet.
“Where do you call home m’lady?” the Zhar asked, his voice full of curiosity. “What is it like there? Where am I? If I may ask,” Zaius asked, his questions eager, as if he spoke to an old friends.
She wasn't entirely used to the formalities though it wasn't uncomfortable really. Just something she wouldn't expect someone to do in front of her. Upon hearing his name she offered him a small gentle smile, a small dip of her head in return to his bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Zaius." Lyra replied as she tilted her head a little to the side. She was a little curious as to who his friend was that he had been talking to. There was no one that she saw that was near him or her. But she didn't want to pry about it, everyone had their secrets right?
"Still, I apologize for interrupting your chat with your friend." She replied gently, watching him curiously still until he asked where she calls home. "I live in a place called Denocte, it is where the Night Court reigns. Though..I was not born in these lands." She admitted to him with a glance around the area. Lyra wasn't sure if she was the best person to describe Denocte or it's people but she would do her best. Especially since it would seem he was new to these lands as a whole. "Denocte is beautiful..and the people there are full of life and laughter. I suppose the best way to describe them..would be that they are performers, many sing and dance among other things. There is always some kind of celebration going on. And as for where you are..this land is called Novus and there are four courts that rule over a region of it."
The flowers swayed in a breeze that lifted his creamy hair slightly as he examined the lady before him very closely. Each word that came from her seemed interesting, exquisite. He followed each word, each movement of her lips drew him in further. The blue lady’s words about this place, Denocte caused his face to lift in excitement.
“Is the moon always present in Denocte? Do the people dance beneath the stars always?” he asked, curious. “What is this place? It’s very beautiful here,” Zaius asked as he looked up at the sky and all around them. The meadow bustled around them, small prairie dogs hustled through the long grass, in and out of their burrows. Bees buzzed from flower to flower, their plump bodies amused the man as he watched them fly about.
“Lady Lyra, which court is this? Do you know who rules here?” the painted man asked, a concerned expression upon his face. Which king ruled here? Would he be friend or foe? “Tell me more about Novus m’lady, I really would like to know all about it,” Zaius said, his voice full of enthusiasm. “Maybe I can help you get home if you’d wish, I’d love to visit this place you speak of.” The man spoke with conviction, he truly meant what he said. He enjoyed having the company of someone else, it'd be so long.
The fiery red and yellow autumn leaves she had interwoven into her mane as a makeshift 'crown', swayed a bit in the breeze. Seeing the excitement on his face had her smiling even more, Lyra enjoyed talking about Denocte..it was home to her now. "The moon might not always be present in Denocte but we certainly like to pretend it is. If we could we would dance and sing underneath it's bright light and the stars." She replied with a soft chuckle leaving her lips. She took a moment to look around so she could get her bearings straight and figure out just which court this was.
It only took her a moment to figure out where they were and glanced back to Zaius with a small smile. "These lands are known as Delumine. The Dawn Court resides here..and if I'm not mistaken I believe the one who rules here is called Kasil. I've not met him myself but I've heard he is friendly." She answered him honestly with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I'm afraid I don't know everything about Novus..I'm quite new myself. But I would love to have some company on my way back home and Denocte is always welcoming of visitors."
The painted stallion absorbed every single one of her words, hungry for the new knowledge she provided him with. There were only so many books one could read before they must experience life for themselves, explore and discover what the world has to offer. He’d read all that he could back in Cirrus, the wind had accompanied him, it had whispered secrets unknown even to scholars in his ears and Zaius was always ready for more. The wind had been the catalyst for his pursuit of knowledge and now that he was on his own, he hoped, somewhere deep down, that if he pursued it once more, perhaps the wind would return.
“Well I’m sure Denocte is beyond beautiful and I would love to visit there, it’s been too long since I laid back and gazed at the stars. Oh, the stories the stars can tell,” he said, his eyes foggy with the thought before he smiled longingly.
He admired her smile as she continued speaking. “I hope to meet this Kasil one day, see if he deserves to be in his position,” he said, jokingly as he smiled brightly. Though he knew, subconsciously, he didn’t want to do any such thing. Kings scared him, didn’t matter who they were or what they stood for, he did not trust them.
He watched her, he watched her every movement. His mind whirred, every possibility moved quickly through it. Overly analytical, this was a weakness and Zaius knew it. It tore him apart inwardly, made him crazy at times but he had tried to subdue the never ending thoughts. “Well, m’lady Lyra, I am so honored to accompany you to your home,” the stud said with a small dip of his head, always a gentleman. “Lead the way, we have a beautiful new land to discover together,” the words spilled from his lips as he winked at her, turquoise eyes shining.
She was finding it easier to talk with this stallion, Lyra normally was wary of any males. The reason behind it being her homeland didn't have the nicest of males or females for that matter, but the males were by far the worst. It was such a breath of fresh air for the girl to find males that weren't abusive or bullies. "The stars have many stories..and secrets." She agreed with a slight grin upon her dark lips. Glad to hear that someone else also loved the stars as much as she did. Perhaps it was a bit strange how much she adored the stars to others but..she honestly only had the stars to look to when she had been a child. They knew her dreams and wishes, she trusted no one else with those thoughts.
"I hope he lives up to your expectations then." She chuckled softly, a light flick of her tail to show she was teasing. Lyra didn't know for sure if Kasil was a good king or not but she also hadn't heard anything terrible about him. So she was hopeful at least.
When he said he'd love to accompany her back to Denocte she couldn't help but grin and she tilted her head to the side a bit. Her silver gaze bright as she turned a bit to the side, "Then let's be off hm? Follow me." Lyra took a few steps in the direction of her home, leaving Zaius enough time to catch up with her and walk beside her if he wished. "Would you mind telling me a bit about your home? What is it like?"
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