Floating Key
08-18-2017, 09:17 PM
He was weak, or so it appeared to the young mare as they departed from the strange sea and its eerie call. Of a medium build, the dark stallion's coat was marred only by a white speckling across his rump. He wore a smooth horn with a frosted tip proudly, though she suspected he might hold it higher if he had but a bit of rest and food. As he stumbled through the trees and into a forest, she followed with a wary eye on their surroundings. If something were to attack them here, she had a sneaking suspicion that her new friend wouldn't put up much of a fight. Much to her surprise, he seemed to strengthen as they drew further into the woods, and it was past nightfall by the time they stopped. Nearby, a small pool was filled by a waterfall. The sound of bubbling water surrounded them, lending a certain serenity to the little clearing. For the first time since arriving in this gods-forsaken land, the mare felt at peace.
In the brief silence that followed their halt, the stranger looked her over with bi-colored eyes. It was almost uncomfortable. She had grown used to solitude, and had never been under another's scrutiny. In her early years, she had flaunted her family name proudly and enjoyed the respect that it had bought her. After she had grown up, she had sought silence and ice in place of companionship, no longer wishful of the legacy her mother had promised her. At least in the Rift, there was nothing left for her to live up to. Her mother was well and truly gone now, erased from history by the horrors that had chased Helovians to this strange and terrible land.
Even in her self-inflicted solitude, she had missed having friends. She'd thought of Zero often, and of Nymeria, too. Ansgar had stayed faithfully by her side, it was true - but there was still something horribly lonely about watching the northern lights with none but your companion to admire them alongside you. And though their bond ensured that Själ knew Ansgar's feelings, she could not help but worry that the griffin stayed with her only out of pity. Was it even possible for a companion to leave its bonded? Had she condemned her soul-mate to a life of frigid wastelands and snowy nights? And family - ha! The closest the mare had come to having a family was when she had almost followed Zero to his home in the south. And how would they have felt about Psyche's daughter living in their midst?
Själ and Tamlin were more alike than they knew - each striving for a greatness that they were never destined to have.
"My name is Själ," she said simply. "This is Ansgar. Yes, she is my companion, and yes, we are from Helovia. Are you?"
In the brief silence that followed their halt, the stranger looked her over with bi-colored eyes. It was almost uncomfortable. She had grown used to solitude, and had never been under another's scrutiny. In her early years, she had flaunted her family name proudly and enjoyed the respect that it had bought her. After she had grown up, she had sought silence and ice in place of companionship, no longer wishful of the legacy her mother had promised her. At least in the Rift, there was nothing left for her to live up to. Her mother was well and truly gone now, erased from history by the horrors that had chased Helovians to this strange and terrible land.
Even in her self-inflicted solitude, she had missed having friends. She'd thought of Zero often, and of Nymeria, too. Ansgar had stayed faithfully by her side, it was true - but there was still something horribly lonely about watching the northern lights with none but your companion to admire them alongside you. And though their bond ensured that Själ knew Ansgar's feelings, she could not help but worry that the griffin stayed with her only out of pity. Was it even possible for a companion to leave its bonded? Had she condemned her soul-mate to a life of frigid wastelands and snowy nights? And family - ha! The closest the mare had come to having a family was when she had almost followed Zero to his home in the south. And how would they have felt about Psyche's daughter living in their midst?
Själ and Tamlin were more alike than they knew - each striving for a greatness that they were never destined to have.
"My name is Själ," she said simply. "This is Ansgar. Yes, she is my companion, and yes, we are from Helovia. Are you?"
