If you love me let me go
These words are knives
that often leave scars
For once he ventures out from the confines of his room and out into the crisp, autumnal air. He goes on a mission for herbs, a quest to keep the store of Dusk Court in tact despite his lack of loyalty. Truly, he needs to break away from the dangerous cycle of his own thoughts, so rather than lounge in the comfort of sheets and pillows he ventures outside. He can’t help but pine for the ever green of his garden, the quiet ripple of his koi pond as the artificial waterfalls formed through careful rockscaping. He had spent countless hours basking in the warmth of the daylight and painting the colorful fish that circled in the water. Today he keeps an eye out for any substance that might be of use to craft into paints. Truly he misses the endless hours wasted with a brush stroke to the page. Art was how he filled the idle hours confined to his own home, now there is nothing but sleep and the silence of his own room.
Carefully he plucks leaves from a bush and then hands them over to Mittens, letting the cat clutch them between her sharp teeth. He should invest in bags or something he muses to himself, it might be a bit practical with his new role in Dusk. For a moment he wonders if his mother would be proud at his pursuits in healing. Much of her knowledge didn’t pass on deaf ears even if he never sought to be a medic. It is difficult for him to mend others when he himself is not whole. There are too many broken pieces scattered, portions of him are merely poorly stitched back together, but alas time might heal his wounds.
He is pulling more leaves from the branches when he feels a nudge from his companion. Someone is here Mittens whispers. Jude’s head raises and he looks around nervously.
This place was odd…. There was no wind here, no breath of air or the touch of a breeze. Zaius was slightly disturbed, the eerie setting caused him to feel uneasy. The earth squished beneath his hooves, the ground soggy with moisture. However, it was not just the ground that seemed full of water, but the air itself was saturated. It was heavy and Zaius quickly decided he hated it.
The impressive creature also wasn’t the best with all the foliage that hung from the ancient and mossy trees around him. His massive wings keep getting snagged and caught in all the obstacles around him. Here, he couldn’t use them as appendages as he usually could. The man blew air from his lips, truly frustrated with this entire situation.
As he struggled through the undergrowth and stumbled through puddles, he really did make a mess of noise. Suddenly, a voice permeated the heavy air and the stallion stopped dead. Was it him the voice asked of? Was he the intruder that he the other questioned about? The man rushed forward, wings lifted to move the vines out of his way. “Hello, yes, it’s just me. I’m Zaius Zhar, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the painted man spoke aloud as he slowed for a moment and looked ahead.
His turquoise eyes fell upon a much smaller equine, painted a pastel pink, covered in scales who also harbored horns. Zai had never seen someone who looked like this, his entire life he had been surrounded by people who looked just him. The only difference had been his two sets of wings. He examined the other creature, his eyes took in all that the smaller being was and in the process, almost missed the feline at his feet. A bright smile spread across the stallion’s pink maw as he glanced at the herbs in the feline’s mouth. “Are you a healer?” Zaius asked, curiosity filled him as the enthusiastic question poured from his lips.
If you love me let me go
These words are knives
that often leave scars
Jude can spot the enormous figure mere moments after calling out. He tenses and glances towards his cat who keeps the herbs clutched in her mouth, tail twitching as she watches Zaius. Jude’s tail twitches and he stares on in silence as the winged man introduces himself. Curiously he studies him and blinks when he realizes the other stallion has multiple sets of wings. One set would be difficult enough to deal with he imagines, but he holds back any sort of potential rude comment that ebbs at his tongue.
“My name is Jude,” he says after a moment and debates whether to introduce his friend but decides against it as Mittens rubs up against him lightly in a reassuring gesture. He isn’t going to run he tells himself, he isn’t going to run.. He is going to be brave and independent, prove to himself that he can do more than cry into silken sheets and hide beneath the quilts.
Again the larger stallion speaks and Jude glances down at Mittens who is still holding the herbs in her mouth. He is quiet for a very long moment before nodding. “Yes.. I’m a healer of the Dusk Court,” he says, deciding not to mention his lackluster attachment to the place as well as its ruler. Apathy is a harsh mistress and it’s holding onto him quite tightly lately. “Which court are you from?”
His turquoise eyes moved over the pastel of the other equine’s body, the tension evident. Zaius blinked quickly and withdrew slightly, suddenly ashamed of how he had barged towards Jude. Sheepish, a warmth spread through him; embarrassment. “Hello Jude,” he said quietly as he lowered his eyes to the ground. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Zaius said as he looked up slowly. His attention drifted towards the cat once more, his head tilted with curiosity in a very canine esque manner. But, his ears swiveled back towards Jude as he continued speaking.
“I believe I am from the Dawn Court, though, to be quite honest with you Jude, I am very new to this new world so I’m not entirely sure where or how everything works,” the massive man expressed with a shrug of his shoulders. “Do you enjoy being a healer? Do you enjoy the Dusk Court? It is pretty there?” he asked, curiosity poured from his as he questioned the pink kirin. He admired the other man’s horns and scales, the newness of it all totally enthralled him. He hoped he could ask Jude questions about where he’d come, he wanted to know all he could about other worlds. .
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