It’s not the type of forest she wanted to find. The land meets the sea in a cliff here, not unlike the Edge, but that is where the similarities end. The forest is a rainforest, hot and humid and so terribly different from all the places she has taken comfort before. There would be no comfort here, not in this land that seemed to be broken. What had happened here? Had the Rift always been like this, and had the Gods of Helovia truly done the residents a favor when they ripped their lands and residents from one world to another? Or had the Helovian God’s destroyed something when they took what was not theirs, had their meddling causes all this? Was there a way to fix this place, a way to make it feel more whole?
The questions plague her as she walks, moving through the dense rainforest with uncertain feet, such a strange feeling in any forest for her. Vegetation grows thickly beneath her feet, roots and vines reaching up for her to snag her, to trip her stride. The trees reach out to grab and scrape and stop her. She misses her old forests, in Morham and the Edge and the Deep Forest. The ruby from the latter still glimmers around her neck, untouched by the Rift’s magic.
Though some of her had changed, and she doesn’t even know how. The ruby hangs against silver and teal armor that spreads across her chest. A gift? A curse? She has no idea, but it doesn’t feel like something from the Rift. It feels like something from the Moon Goddess, like the magic her Lady had poured into the Portal truly had served to protect them. The breastplate spreads across her chest, a bird with wings outstretched. A small, similar piece of armor sits on her face and two pieces on her forelegs. Behind her, leather strips wrap around her hind, offering some protection there as well.
She simply walks. She has no idea what to do right now. Try to find some of her other friends. Iona and Alysanne were safely through, but there are so many other faces she has yet to see. So she walks, hoping to find more faces alive than the number of dead that swim in her mind.
When everything’s meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
While Apollo was one for adoring the trees around him and loving the nature of a place, this forest was nothing like the ones of Helovia. It wasn’t like the World’s Edge and the swirling mist that spun through the trees, nor was it anything like the Deep Forest, the thicket of trees that had provided him shelter and had been his first home. No. This forest was nothing like the woods of his homeland.
It was warm, muggy, and uncomfortable. Sweat drawn from the humidity clung to his hide, curling strands of the stallion’s ebonite mane and tail and making him feel sticky and gross all over. It was, for the lack of a better term, incredibly uncomfortable, and due to that discomfort Apollo could find no form of kinship in the trees that surrounded him.
Their prying branches brought him no solace, their limbs grasping and grabbing with a demanding cruelty unlike the soothing touches of the forests of Helovia. This whole world was different, and Apollo knew that in order to keep his sanity he would need to cease making comparisons, but it was hard. So hard.
Urged from the safety of the hemp satchel strung about his shoulder by the humidity, Zola lounged upon the Merciful’s back, languid and just as uncomfortable as her bond-mate. The feline had been oddly subdued since their arrival in the Rift, but her presence did wonders to soothe Apollo’s constant worry and heartache.
How could they simply continue on in the wake of such tragedy? Would he and Zola be able to make a home here? Or would it have been better to perish with those he had once called ‘family’ in Helovia, defending their home?
Those were questions that had no answer, and he knew it. Instead of losing himself amidst such woeful pondering, Apollo tried to focus his mind on the present. Take in his surroundings, make a mental map, figure out a safe place to settle down… These were all prominent, important details that he and Zola would need to survive in this new, strange world.
Honey-brown eyes roamed through the thick trees, ears perked, nostrils flared to try and pick up any scent of friend and foe when a blessed, blissful familiarity caught his nose. The overo paused mid-stride, halted in place and wide eyes peering through the trees almost disbelievingly. No. No, it couldn’t be…
’Lyanna?’ Upon his back, Zola had also scented the teal-tipped beauty and had sat up on his spine, but just like her bond-mate, she was hesitant to believe it.
A few more steps, however, had his eyes confirming what his nose had been telling him, and he felt frozen with disbelief. She was, in that moment, perhaps the most beautiful creature that Apollo had laid eyes on. Lyanna looked just as he remembered; ebony and ivory mixed in a perfect specimen with accents of teal, and those eyes, those eyes! There was no missing the additions to her person, however, the armored plates that fit all of her curves in the right areas, but none of that truly mattered, because there was nothing that could compare with the pure elation that Apollo felt simply upon spotting her.
“Lyanna!” He cried, abruptly and so suddenly that his own voice took him by surprise, “Lyanna!” Like a newborn foal he tried to cross the distance between them, tripping over roots and undergrowth alike in an effort to reach the dark lady’s side. “Lyanna, oh… Oh, thank the Gods that you’re alright. You’re here… You’re truly here.”
Upon his back, Zola shared his elation. The black cat was standing upon all fours, claws digging into Apollo’s sweaty hide as her sightless sockets were locked upon the winged mare. Few had made her bond-mate so sated like Lyanna had, and her return could only spell good things. Of that Zola was certain. She gave a mighty ‘meow’ of pleasure, chest puffed outright before a loud, rumbling purr emitted from her throat.
Hesitantly, as though Lyanna might disappear if he touched her, Apollo reached out his muzzle in some form of greeting. “I… I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Tears stained his eyes, burning with barely concealed emotion and elation.
How could they not make comparisons? How could they simply move on, without a backward thought for the place they were forced from. It was no choice, really, death or the Rift. Why had Kaos forced them here though? What good could they possibly do here or what purpose did they serve? She’s not sure, really. The magic seemed wrong, hungry almost, when she crossed into this land, trying to take everything from her. Instead, she’d ended up with yet another piece of jewelry, one she cannot remove despite her best attempts. The Kaos amulet is now a little black earring, whispering in her ear. She does her best to ignore the voice, to ignore the devil that clings to her.
She’s not sure what answers she hopes to find in this awful forest, but she doesn’t know where else to go, what else to do. She needs a safe place to stay at night though she doubt she will ever find that. Without the protection of the Edge and her herd mates, Lyanna feels exposed and more to the point, lonely. They are here, somewhere, but they are not looking for her. Despite her short reign as Queen, she had done nothing to inspire the Edge really, and she doesn’t blame them. Still, as Queen or simply as herself, she would like to find someone that is truly glad to see her.
The person that fulfills her wish is one she’d never expected to see, not in Helovia and certainly not here. He comes through the trees and for a moment she just stares, legs locked by disbelief, by the fear that this is some cruel trick of the Rift. Mirage, whispers the little black earring, but she ignores, not even caring if it’s right so long as she has a moment with him. His voice comes though, cutting through the odd noises of this forest, and the familiar sound of it crashes against her, ending her shock. He crashes through the forest toward her and she does the same, not caring as the trees rip at her skin and whip off the armor she wears.
Where he is careful, she is not. She crashes into him, afraid that if she doesn’t he’ll disappear like he is afraid that if he touches her, she too will be nothing but smoke. She wraps her neck around his if he’ll let her, so unbelievably grateful to have found him for so many more reasons than just the longing to find a familiar face in this awful place. “Apollo, Zola,” and her voice is quiet but fierce, warbling slightly with tears that well behind her eyes. She takes a step back, realizing she’s lost all manner of decorum, but in truth, she doesn’t care. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.” she admits, letting the words hang in the sticky air, the rest of her meaning unspoken but obvious. I missed you.
When everything’s meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Everything about her was familiar, was the exact same as he remembered it to be; her scent, her voice, the feel of her as she crashed into him, her elation apparent, her joy practically palpable on his tongue. Relief washed over him and Apollo clutched to her, wrapping her neck about hers and holding tight as though he were drowning and she was the only thing keeping him afloat.
"I was so frightened," he admitted breathlessly, pride having no sway in his emotions nor his words. Luckily, Apollo had never been a prideful creature, and had always worn his heart on his foreleg. "I also thought that I would never see you again. I thought that... I thought that I had lost you." To the world. To Death. To Kaos. Just like so many others. So, so many... Names and faces he would never see again, friends and family, souls lost, but never forgotten. Thank the Gods that Lyanna would not be counted among them.
It was only for as long as Lyanna would allow that Apollo remained in her soothing embrace, his ears perked at attention to simply relish the sounds of her breathing, grateful for this proof that she lived. Before he pulled away, however, Zola used the opportunity to dart forward onto the base of his neck and rub her whiskers against Lyanna's neck, showing the winged mare just how happy she was to be reunited with her as well.
Finally, however reluctant, Apollo pulled back, but not far. He remained within touching distance of her, soulful honey-brown eyes staring adoringly into her blues. From there, at that close-distance, he finally got a good look at her.
At first glance, she looked sturdy. She looked healthy. Physically she appeared well. The shiny silver plates that adorned her body were new, curving elegantly across her breast and downwards to her undercarriage and spread out to fan amidst her hindquarters. The armor did not, however, hide a familiar jewel that was pressed against her flesh; a ruby red stone strung about her neck. The sight of it caused Apollo's heart to constrict almost painfully.
She has it. She kept it. Even after all of this time... Did he truly deserve her? Did he truly deserve her kindness, her adoration, her friendship? The thought was a bitter one, full of self-doubt and longing of things that would probably never bloom into fruition, and hopes that he would take with him to the grave.
No. Too often had he been hurt like that, but Lyanna... She was truly something else. She was different. The ruby about her neck was proof enough of that.
"Are you alright, Lyanna? This... This world. Has it harmed you? Have you found anyone else?"
Rainforest Cliffs
