"We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."
-- Flemeth, Dragon Age II
She hadn't wandered far since she tumbled through the portal, Cera hot on her heels until he just wasn't. His existence gone again as though he'd been a ghost, as though he'd never existed outside of her imagination at all. Logic screams in the back of her mind that it's hopeless, that she can't keep wandering these same cursed woods until he magically shows up somewhere as though he'd somehow been held captive in the space between the worlds. Yet her youth only serves to give her more hope, more determination, more tenacity. It is with purpose that she paces the dark, gnarled trees - her eyes ever searching past the glowing neon eyes that make her hair stand on end, past the dark shadows that leave a feeling of dread in the depths of her soul. Elgar'nan, curled up as he is upon her back with honeyed eyes closed in slumber, is her only source of comfort, the only one pushing her onward as the days tick by with no sign of the Golden Prince. Was he stuck? Did he make it through? Was he out there searching this dreadful place for her just as she was for him? Would she ever see him again?
Or maybe he had been a pleasant figment of her imagination. Perhaps her desire to have him back after he disappeared in Helovia was enough for her to hallucinate his existence. But that in itself is wholly pessimistic. Besides, she'd felt him behind her as they charged into the portal... hadn't she? What is unnerving, though, is that she can't remember when his touch disappeared, when he disappeared. In the days since her arrival, though, more had fallen through the portal - the precise circumstances surrounding their arrival is entirely unknown but it gives her hope nonetheless. And so the silver haired yearling persists, pushing aside doubt, fear, and anger - shedding all negativity the way a snake sheds old skin.
Every day Bella searches, and every day she comes up empty. Where some might get discouraged, she merely perseveres - pulling from seemingly endless stores of optimism and hope. But once again she gets stuck in a loop of searching and sleeping, just as she did when she left to find Sikeax (more than half of her lifetime ago now). Once again she grows thin from lack of nourishment - her too slender body odd and disproportionate to the sleek wings gracing her sides. Her downy feathers are long gone now, leaving behind creamy toned wings capable of flight (and no one to teach her). Her horns had grown in more as well, leaving less to the imagination about the way she'd look as an adult. Without something to break the search-sleep cycle, though, she may not make it that far. Her hope has become her obsession. Her desire for family consuming everything she had left at the end of each day.
This day is the same as each one before it except for one small detail. Waking from a fitful slumber, Elgar'nan clinging to her back to avoid the mire left behind by the persistent rains, she once again begins her search for father's golden form amidst the blackened trees and purple glow of the forest surrounding the portal. As with every other day she passed by many faces, though none of them are familiar - at least not familiar enough to warrant more than a passing glance. That's when things suddenly get interesting. A dark speckled filly nearly barrels into her, crossing carelessly just in front of her intended path. The near-assault causes Bella to throw her head up and back, ears flattened, front legs outstretched as her back end condenses and attempts to scramble backwards. In an instant the dark girl is gone and all that remains is the thundering sounds of her reckless charge fading into the distance. Normally she'd snort it off and continue on her way but something about the incident left her too curious to simply let it slide. Her first instinct is to look in the direction from whence the dark filly came. Bella nearly expected some sort of massive beast to come thundering by next but when none came, she cautiously turns to follow her instead.
Sikeax
Bella nearly gasps when she spies her mother through the trees. She almost charged towards her, beaming with a smile that could outshine the sun, until she notices the same dark filly standing before Mamae. The girl of sand and earth stops dead in her tracks, suddenly consumed by... by what? Confusion? Jealousy? Hurt? Cloaked in shadow, her green eyes locked onto the pair, she is frozen; a solid mass of mixed emotions, tears carving wet trails down the curves of her cheeks. In a single instant her hope is completely obliterated - leaving little more than smoldering ashes in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, it felt like she'd lost everything; everything except Elgar'nan (and oh how she dearly hoped he'd be enough). She quivers - with anger or from hunger - where she stands, unable to move forward or turn away so she merely stares glassy eyed at Mamae and the dark filly: equal parts envy and pain. Is this why Mamae never stuck around for long? Did she ever really care?
bellanaris
daughter of the sea soul and the golden prince |
The Portal
