The spark of amusement that lit up Kiada's face as Otem mentioned the Metus and his hope-snack, filled the autumn coloured girl with what felt like a rush of warm water, beginning in her belly and filling her up entirely. Since entering into the Rift and having her life turned upside down, she'd forgotten that it was okay to be happy and to laugh She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually laughed like this.
"No, no-I think it makes sense!" Otem immediately interjected, wanting both to sooth away any part of Kiada's anxiety that she could, but also because it did genuinely make sense. Why else would the Matron have sent them to specific areas of the Rift, if not to 'ignite' and spread the light that could push the shadows away? "Like starting a fire-" Otem mumbled, her eyes fixated upon the dancing flames that laced the unicorn's back. "A lot of smaller flames, that can spread into something much larger."
If that was the plan all along, why hadn't Kisamoa just said so?
Whatever relationship Otem thought she had with Kisamoa, it was clearly nothing like Kiada. Otem wouldn't dare think it was her place to yell at him - and that completely ignored the fact that she wouldn't even know where to begin looking for him. Whatever had happened below the surface of the Scint river had clearly brought the god and mare closer together. Otem felt that if anything, she was just a sort of more respected devotee. Kiada almost seemed to be on par with the god.
"I'll leave the yelling to you." Otem hedged, but a smile had formed once again on her lips. Despite the uncertainty of whether or not Kisamoa ultimately had a plan and whether or not the Helovians (and the others) would be able to carry it out, Otem felt comfortable around Kiada. Although Otem had felt intimidated and almost threatened by her earlier, now she just felt the weight of their shared history, settling around them like a blanket.
otem
I'm a cold day in august, I'm a stream too shallow.
I'm a heart-shaped box with no letter inside.
Thankfully, she felt the anxiety ease as Otem also expanded on her idea. She nodded along, her head bobbing and mane shaking with the movement as she beamed to the other mare. “Yes exactly.” She added on at the end. It was the overall idea that perhaps the light could banish the dark – that the ones that dwelled within the Rift could fight the darkness and push the world to their whims. Perhaps a better world lay beyond it, something short of a world where she could create those new memories, those new places that she could explore and be a part of and perhaps one day settle down with a family.
After a few moments, Otem spoke up again and said she’d leave the yelling to the Harpy. She nodded and offered a small laugh for the girl. “The first time I yelled at him, I was so angry and sad that I didn’t care if he’d smite me on the spot.” She paused, eyeing the girl she stood beside. “I don’t really think he knew what to do. Despite everything he’s done, I think he’s rather fond of us Helovian’s now.” She added on, her eyes dancing from Otem to the Isles again, finding her gaze lost upon the brightness of the sun as it beat down in continuous rays.
When she paused long enough, she looked to Otem with a curious gleam in her eye. “At the meeting, I heard a voice speak from whatever it was you asked.” She paused, tilting her head slightly in wonder. “I heard the Mountain That Knows. How did you do that?” She asked, perhaps a bit too bluntly, but there was a coil wound in her mind that wouldn’t let her not ask about the outburst and collected advice granted from seemingly nowhere. And while she never knew Isopia’s true name, she was sure that if the girl had access to speaking with the same demigod, that she might know who Kiada was speaking of.
Otem listened with a look of half-wonder half-amazement glazed across her dappled features. Otem could see yelling at her grandfather who had been a god, but somehow Kisamoa seemed ... seemed more than the Helovian gods. He had beaten them after all, or perhaps if not that, they at least couldn't best him. The autumn-mare cracked a smile as Kiada recounted her experiences. Otem had been too young to know of the things that occurred while Kisamoa was just around, but it definitely did seem as though he was fond of the Helovians, as Kiada said.
"Well, hopefully we don't fall out of favour any time soon. I'd hate to see what this world would be like if he - or it - turned against us." Otem pretended to suppress a shudder at the thought.
As the discussion turned to the amulet Otem had been given and The Mountain that Knows, Otem did her best to keep her chin held high and the weight of her sadness from pulling her shoulders down. The backs of her eyes bit with tears that she barred from entering into her field of vision, but it was a few moments before she could find the words to explain. "The Rift gave it to me .." Otem began, her voice solemn and hushed. "I don't remember if you had come out of the river or not ..." She shook her ram-horned head, unable to produce the memory in her mindseye. "Sometimes it speaks in my mother's voice ... other times it's a different voice entirely. But I suppose it's worth it, hearing the other voice sometimes, since it means I can hear from her again." Otem tried to smile bravely, but the smile wavered betraying the depths of her emotional turmoil beneath. Unlike her mother, Otem had not inherited the Mountain's ability to be emotionally divorced from the world around her.
Trying to lighten the mood somewhat, Otem forced a small laugh. "It does come in handy though. I'm sure it isn't actually Isopia speaking or anything, but it does have some good things to say."
otem
I'm a cold day in august, I'm a stream too shallow.
I'm a heart-shaped box with no letter inside.
There was a grin growing ever so slightly across Kiada’s rose hued snout as Otem spoke of falling out of favor. “I’d surely hope not.” She offered her own mock shudder at the idea, though the grin remained. After a few moments and their conversation began to shift toward something not quite as pleasant, her smile faded and instead was replaced by awe and curiosity. No, she hadn’t quite gotten to the surface during the whole event, and when she had she was too caught up with coughing and trying not to die – a feeling she received from falling within the Scint that she had grown used to so long as she didn’t just wake up – to notice what else had happened.
She nodded quietly as Otem said the Rift gave the amulet to her. She noticed the attempt at a smile, and she moved slightly closer to the Autumn mare, reaching her muzzle out in the attempt to brush it along her shoulder as if she understood. Because Kiada did understand. If she had something that spoke in her brother’s voice, it would be her prize possession – even if it wasn’t really him. She just missed that honeyed voice and the scent of citrus and jasmine that accompanied his presence wherever he went. She offered her a gentle nod in agreement. “It would be pretty cool if it was.” She offered the girl, not thinking that anything about that was ridiculous or strange. “That’s incredible though. I met your mother once, awhile ago.” She added thoughtfully. “Whether she knew it or not she helped me through some things.” She said softly.
Otem wasn't immediately sure whether she should be jealous or proud to hear that her mother had an impact on Kiada's life. Because she was viewing her own life from the inside-out, it almost felt as though Isopia hadn't had a meaningful impact on her daughter. She had of course, and Otem would have been an entirely different soul had she been raised by someone else, but in the present moment, Otem found it hard to think of any one thing she could point at within herself, that was evidence of Isopia's aid.
"That's nice to hear." She said finally, a smile plastered on her lips. "My mother could be... a bit difficult I guess you could say. She wasn't everyone's cup of tea." The expression cup of tea made Otem snort with amusement. "Isopia wouldn't have hated sayings like that. I can hear her now; Why are we talking about cups of tea?." Otem's grin faltered ever so slightly with the words that came out of her mouth next: "My twin would have hated it too. He was very literal, just like our mother. I haven't seen him since we came through..He was with me, by the Scint river...and then he just wasn't."
otem
I'm a cold day in august, I'm a stream too shallow.
I'm a heart-shaped box with no letter inside.
There was a small snort from Otem as she explained her mother wasn’t liked by all. She offered her a small smile and gentle laugh before she nodded. “So I’ve heard.” She paused for a moment, eyeing the autumn hued mare. “My father and her were friends, I think.” She paused, wondering if she was remembering things correctly. It was too late to take it back, so she simply shook her head and smiled as Otem continued on with what her mother would say about the phrase.
But then the conversation shifted and she was speaking of twins and Kiada understood – deep down within her chest she knew the feeling Otem was going through. Quietly, she stepped toward the girl and extended her muzzle toward her with a gentle touch should Otem wish it. “I’m sorry.” She offered, and she meant it too. She knew what it was like to have your twin with you one moment and gone again. She had tried to go to the ends of the earth to search for him but her attempts were fruitless. And when she finally got him back, when the portal opened, he was gone yet again. “My twin is missing as well. Hopefully they’ll come back soon.” She offered, trying to put as much optimism in the words as she could muster.
Riptide Isles
