Rift: The Next Generation

Every ache and pang and misstep is accepted as a form of penance – to whom (unknown, whatever now controls their strings) and for what (thirty years of hubris, what else?) seems to be perpetually in flux, but she would walk through fire and rip the wings from her back, if it meant her child would have a better start in this unnatural world. It’s all for them. Everything she’s ever done has been for them; her children, her grandchildren, her loved ones. They may call her a traitor, write her name down in the annals of history as one who should have died at the Mouth of the Portal, because that would only be fitting.

Truth is that if she weren’t with foal, she might have thrown herself against the God she once (did she ever stop, truly?) served with hot tears and ancient curses. She has no doubt Kaos would have killed her then and there, without reservation, regardless of past deeds or service. Some moments of insubordination cannot be tolerated, and, well… Yael would know.

A sharp contraction wraps itself around the delicate woman, squeezing her insides in a vicegrip that says she better fucking find shelter fast. All this way, hours of walking, and she finds herself… where? At the Edge of the World again? All of a sudden her forced walking seems rather foolish, and as Yael looks around, it occurs to her that if anything bad were to happen, she might just be at a disadvantage… in danger, even. The thought is sobering, and the deepest, darkest part of the golden pegasus deems is fitting. More penance. More guilt. And now her flesh will split and bleed, and isn’t that what she Deserves?

Yael finds a willow tree (even more fitting, remembering this child’s conception) and hunkers down as best she can behind the whimsical boughs. Zani too, does his best to keep guard, prowling around the perimeter very seriously, keeping his sharp cat-eyes peeled for any danger, though the truth is that for most of whatever lurks out there, he would be but a hors d’oeuvre before an equine main course. It is all he can do, and better yet, it is what Yael asks of him. So he obliges, despite wanting to cuddle up to her and try to help soothe whatever hurts. She labors on, sweating even in the rain, effort hissing out through her teeth in sharp breaths and grunts as her body strains to push Gaal’s monstrous offspring out of her petite frame. Oh, she is not as young as she once was, she doesn’t have magic to kill the pain, how could she ever possibly have carried triplets like this?!

And then there is a searing jolt of agony as her son finds his way into the Rift, and Yael is left panting, completely unaware of the scream that accompanied her final push. Weakly, she moves to tear the sac and sees that the child is a boy. Oh. How nice. "Gidon," she breathes, before covering him with the edge of her cloak and laying her head back down on the ground. She just needs a little rest...


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@Graasvoel @Melita @Clementine
All are welcome ^_^

so i listen to the    wind for an answer

She doesn’t know how her friend feels, but if she did she’d tell her she’d done nothing wrong. She’d done nothing more than translate some letters put there by Kaos and even Kaos had not lied. Admitting the truth is hard for Lyanna, and she keeps looking for his lie, but it had not been there. He’d been devious and treacherous and made them think all the wrong things, yes, but he had not lied. They’d saved the Rift by coming here. Of course the residents of Helovia wanted to believe that he was going to save Helovia (ah, but from what? It had not needed saving), of course they wanted to believe that he’d create peace in Helovia as well (but again, they had been at peace except for him). They’d been selfish, as was their nature. He’d created peace here, perhaps. Lyanna didn’t know what the Rift was like before their presence, but perhaps their coming here had created some sort of peace as well.

Peace. She was stretching to find it in this place where the wrong things glowed and eyes followed her every move and the ghosts of her past life followed her everywhere. There were so many more ghosts now. Corbin, her parents, Sacre, Ru, Glasgow. She didn’t know who else would join the list of the dead. When the world was falling apart Lyanna had been playing with Ru, flying like there was nothing else to worry about, pretending to be children for only a moment. She should feel bad for that, but she doesn’t, because it was the last time she would ever see her friend. Not that she knew it then, but what if she had left Ru on the cliffs alone instead? Imagine how she would feel now, having lost her last moments with Ru? She should feel bad, but instead, she is only grateful that she’d had that last flight at all.

She is wandering the new lands, doing nothing productive and truthfully, not actively seeking anyone out either. She does not know what to do with herself in this new land, and she is so tired of starting over that she’s not sure it’s worth trying. A scream cuts through her thoughts, and she flicks an ear in the direction of the sound, suddenly alert. The scream sounds equine and more importantly, vaguely familiar. A trap, the earring hisses at her, and she pins her ears, trying to drown out the voice that accompanies her everywhere now.

Ignoring the hissing black earring, Lyanna takes off until she sees Zani prowling around a willow tree. Yael. She nods to the cat but she moves quickly, finding her little golden friend and…a cold. A wide grin splits Lyanna’s face as she stops, looking around for any herb that might be familiar. She finds none though, and she stifles a sigh at how completely useless she is here. Yael’s head is on the ground and Lyanna can’t be certain if the mare is just tired or if something is wrong, and she longs for the healing magic she no longer has.

She moves forward quietly, checking on the boy first, trying to make sure he is healthy. Then she moves to her friend, trying not to wake her though not sure how to not wake her. “Yael,” she says softly, sure the mare is breating at least, but not sure what else might be wrong.

lyanna

art by yewrezz

@Yael