[P] A Blue Light in the Darkness - Printable Version +- HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun (http://helovia.com) +-- Forum: Out of Character (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Archives (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: [P] A Blue Light in the Darkness (/showthread.php?tid=20610) |
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A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 09-01-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 09-04-2015
Tiamat For the first time in a long while, it had not been with a spring in her step and an exuberance in her eyes that Tiamat had departed from the Basin’s borders. After the battle at Blood Falls, she had returned to its snowy peaks, eager for the familiarity and the comfort of her home—safe and secured away from the violence that had raged around her. The ocean mare still shudders from the ferocity that she had witnessed—the hate and the cry for punishment—leaving her to care for those who had been the poor victims of such needless fury. She doesn’t mind healing, she will always be there for the wounded, but not like that (please, never like that). Put on edge from her worries, the young mare had found herself travelling upwards—climbing the path to that heavenly field where she might be closest to her mother. Now, in her moment of unease, Tiamat needs her more than ever. “Mama,” she cries breathlessly when she has crested the mountain’s peak, standing above her sister clouds with her face turned upwards, reaching, “how long must it go on?” She closes her eyes, fighting against the sorrow that suddenly swells within her breast. Tiamat knows she must press on as she always has: with hope. Hope that the future will be brighter, that goodness will reign, and that violence will crumble without its cause. That future gives her strength. Exhaling a steady breath, Tiamat lowers her eyes back to the earth. Glancing idly around, there is a shadow in the distance that catches her attention. Dainty ears tip forward and her head tilts in curiosity, the tender skin around her nostrils quivering as she inhales the figure’s scent. She does not shy away as others might—as wiser people might, wary of the world and all its cruelties—but so tired is she from all the violence and the hate that she has witnessed, that there is hardly hesitation in her eagerness to explore this new stranger. And much to her good fortune, the shadowy figure turns out to be no stranger at all. Recognizing the scent of one of her dear friends, the ocean mare brightens, tossing her head blithely and skipping into a half-rear before bounding spiritedly towards the black stallion. The beats of her cloven hooves are muted by the moist grasses, but Tiamat releases a joyful whinny to alert him of her approach (such caution is contributed to her enthusiasm, rather than the instinct of combat) before she gathers her muscles beneath her and launches herself over his resting frame. The chilled wind dances through her hair, thick blue locks billowing about her features as she comes to a nimble landing, and then allows herself to continue her momentum and tumble down into the grasses not far from where he lies. Her delighted laughter pealing like the pattering of rain into the fresh air, the young unicorn glances over to the stallion. “I hadn’t expected to find you here, Nox,” her white eyes are glistening beneath the light of the sun, looking at him with a euphoria that could never understand the weight of hopelessness that is haunting him now. She is innocent and naïve, blissfully oblivious to the pains he has borne. “This is a wonderful place to rest though, I don’t blame you,” Tiamat nestles into the flowering meadow with a gleeful smile softening her lips, her chest expanding as she inhales the sweetness of spring. notes; I figured this is set roughly in between the Blood Falls battle and the Green Labyrinth battle? I'm okay with anything though! “Speech.” RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 09-08-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 09-18-2015
Tiamat There is silence between them for a moment. The ocean mare’s chiming laughter slowly fades into the freshness of day, her eyes shining blissfully beneath the light of the sun, and the genuine smile still lingers along the gentle curve of her lips. She is the light to his darkness, the heaven to his hell, the angel to his demon, and all other manner of metaphorical comparisons, the contrasts that highlight the differences between these two creatures. But she does not see that—not now, perhaps not ever. Her light is far too bright, too wonderful, too infectious to be pierced by his solemn shadows. Eagerly she invites him, silent and subconscious in her incitement. After all, she knows nothing else. She takes note of his even stare—hollow, harrowed, and hurting—but it isn’t until the black stallion reaches out that Tiamat’s smile gradually begins to fade. His breath is nearly cold against the warmth of her skin, chilling and she nearly flinches in her surprise (an action that is quickly remedied by the concern that swells within her, blooming from her chest and reaching out as her lips graze his face). Her worry for him is honest and unmasked, glistening in the paleness of her eyes and the soft creasing of her brow. It is obvious that something is not right, that there is something that bothers him, but the ocean mare could not possibly begin to fathom what it is. Watching him, the ocean mare catches sight of the lone tear that slips from his eyes, its trail glistening faintly beneath the sun’s light as it falls down his cheek. “Nox?” She speaks his name in quiet earnest, concerned for him, wondering what could have possibly brought him to this mournful state (she realizes his sorrow now)—so different from when they had first met. The stallion doesn’t pause in speaking. His low voice is rougher than it usually is, broken and pained, sending a chill down her spine despite the warmth that her mother sends down to her. The tears continue, more abundant now, a steady and unceremonious stream that spills gently across the lines of his face. Reaching out to him, Tiamat brushes them off his cheek with her velvet muzzle, not acknowledging the tears with words (because, somehow, she knows that she must spare his pride, even if she would never think less of him for his expression of emotions). Resting in the grass next to him, she doesn’t say anything at first. Silence begins to settle between them again, her mind loud enough to occupy herself for now, mulling over what he has spoken. She doesn’t understand the things that he admits, doesn’t understand why anyone would wish to be in—h-e-l-l—rather than walking the earth, especially in the fullness of Birdsong, when the land is thriving with growth and beauty. Why would anyone wish death? What horrible things could be done to bring such condemnation? Surely, because she cannot believe him to be so vicious, he needn’t be so cruel to himself. “Nox…” she says his name again, her sides heaving as she forces out a heavy breath from her nostrils, pursing her lips before continuing. “Why do you say these things?” These things that he has said are not nice things, and they even scare her a little bit—as dark and foreboding as they are. Her white eyes are wide and doe-like as she looks to him, confusion in her eyes—but also hope, faith that he is—and always will be—an honest and worthy person. “You’ve been nothing but a good friend to me—if there’s anything I can do…” Tiamat trails off, a smile beginning to curve her lips again, a silent but promising assurance. She would do anything to reassure him that this life is not a punishment to be endured—but a gift. She feels privileged to have air in her lungs and life in her breast, to have a heart beating against her ribs and eyes to see the beauty around her—to have him as a friend. If only he could understand that as she does. Her brow creases as she ponders, taking a shaky breath while thinking about the darkness he seeks to sentence for himself. “I don’t understand,” her voice is barely above a whisper, spoken slowly, her gaze skirting the grass before trailing back to his face. “Speech.” RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 09-21-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 09-23-2015
Tiamat The ocean mare’s delicate head is draped gently across the stallion’s withers, her neck stretched out beneath his touch, so calm in comparison to the dark storm that lies in wait for them. The sun’s shimmering brilliance bathes her in a warm halo of light, not unlike that which glows in her heart, and she wills for Nox to feel the same—to enjoy the beauty of life, the beauty of this day. She breathes peacefully, comfortable with their closeness (ever an affectionate and friendly creature) and knows nothing but the urge to comfort him, to quell his fears. Little does she understand—little does she know. Dainty ears twist when his roughened voice leaves his lips again, his morose and heavy words bringing sorrow to her once more. It hurts her that he would say such things, that he would think so lowly of himself as to will his life to an end, the innocence of her mind unable to understand what could possibly bring him to such a suffering state. She knows that all life—nature, equine, fauna, and all else—is worth something, to someone. Why would they exist otherwise? She does not want him to feel so downhearted, she does not understand, she does not know what awaits her. “No—Nox, please don’t—” Her plea is silenced when the stallion continues, cutting her off like a knife. “I have killed my whole family.” “You…what?” Tiamat nearly stammers, her voice fluctuating somewhere between an exclamation and a gasp. At first, she thinks that she had misheard him—prays that she had misheard him—but when he continues, it becomes painfully obvious that it had not been so. Every word is darker than the last, painting pictures of blood, hate, and distrust that she recoils from, afraid. Her pretty head lifts from the grasses and shrinks away from beneath his touch, instinctively withdrawing from a creature who is capable of such bloodshed, of such darkness. Her friend, a killer? A…murderer? How? The ocean mare knows very little about the stallion’s past—in fact, until now, she had known nothing (not including the fact that he has honed his skills in the art of carving pictures, but that’s beside the point). It hadn’t mattered to her. He had been good to her, kind to her, nothing but a generous friend and companion, and that had been more than enough—did it really matter what happened before that? Does it now? No one deserves death—not like that anyway. No one deserves for their life to be ripped away from them, even if they have done terrible things, they are still a person. And a baby! So young in this world, so innocent and pure (not unlike the ocean mare herself), without even a thought of doing wrong…it isn’t right for all of that way be taken away. It’s a shameful, terrible thing. “You’ve…killed?” It is barely a whisper, her eyes wide with a mix of fear, disappointment, and confusion. Tiamat looks away from him, struggling, wrestling with the feelings that blister inside of her. She doesn’t know what to think. He is her friend, she cares for him—she knows the right thing to do would be to accept his past sins—but she struggles against the betrayal that creeps into her brightness like a wolf. Shifting her weight, the ocean mare rights herself enough so that her hooves are tucked loosely underneath her; she considers standing, if only to pace with her thoughts, but she decides against it. “I don’t know what…what do you want me to say, Nox?” Her white eyes find his face again, tracing the coarse lines to settle on his eyes. Her sight threatens to blur as tears well along her eyelids, but she holds them back for now. “It is wrong to lie and cheat, but no one deserves…no one deserves to be murdered,” her voice is earnest, nearly a plea as her throat tightens with the swell of emotions, “A baby, Nox!” And with that she breaks, a sob wracking from her lips as she tucks her head in towards her chest, blinking against the flow of tears. He says that he would never lie to her, and she wants so desperately to believe him, but she can’t help but give in a little bit to the cold blade of deception that has pierced her heart. Has he lied to her already? Is he really so kind? So generous? Who are you? She wants to cry at him, demand of him, but remorse finally slides in to cushion her pain. Tiamat knows that she couldn’t possibly push him away…not when he has already proved to her his goodness. Sometimes it’s just hard, and she steals for herself a moment of selfishness to look back at him. “Are you still the same person? Would you kill—” her voice breaks at the word, her breath shuddering as she swallows “—again?” Her doe-eyes glisten with tears, a shyness of uncertainty sobering her usual enthusiasm. notes; Oh Tia xD she tries so hard! Haha “Speech.” @Mortuus Nox RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 09-23-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 10-01-2015
Tiamat The mare’s white eyes have fallen, lowering to trace the moist spring grasses, focusing too intently on the bending of the blades, how they are tickled with every breath and movement, calling to her family of nature as a distraction—anything to not think of the horrors committed, of what he had done. She can hear the sorrow in his voice, roughened more than usual by the emotion that laces every word, and she squeezes her eyes shut as she fights to stop the tears that trickle slowly, steadily down her cheeks. “I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” she forces the words from her lips in a shuddering and powerful breath, the muscles in her jaw clenching as she swallows against the tightness of her throat. Her eyes flicker to the stallion for a short moment, glancing at his face from beneath damp lashes, before they fall again. But…what would apologizing do, anyway? Will confessions, will pleas for the forgetting of past regrets, really accomplish anything? Can the simple uttering of words heal previous wrongs? It certainly won’t bring them back…won’t restore the lives of those already taken. He can’t give them back what he has already so selfishly, so hatefully stolen. Her nostrils quiver with every breath, trembling and fraught, her muscles tense and fighting against the tightness that has gripped her chest (she finds her lungs unable to take in enough oxygen, her heart beating painfully against her ribs, so anxious and struggling with what he has told her). It takes the ocean mare longer than she would have liked to come to terms with it, to begin the faintest movement of grasping at the threads of understanding, of reaching for the beliefs that have so long held her secure. She knows that she must forgive him—and she knows that she will, however challenging it might seem in this moment. There is no way that she can right the wrong that has already been done, but she can right the path ahead, set them both along the straight and narrow—right this offense, so it might flower and give way to goodness. That…that she can do. However difficult it might seem. Taking another steadying breath, Tiamat raises her eyes to the stallion again, their trail slow and measured. “You haven’t broken me,” she offers him a small, crooked smile, but it is only a shadow of her usual brilliance, and her voice aches in her assurance. “I just…I would have never thought…would never have imagined—that you—” she has to look away again, her gaze falling to skirt across the field and her mouth pursing against the trembling of her lip. A murderer. It almost doesn’t seem real, so sheltered is she from the certainty of the shadows, it would have never occurred to her that one of her dear friends would be so dark…could have done something so abhorrently wrong. Arching her slender neck, the blue mare presses her lips softly into the grasses, exhaling a weighted breath and closing her eyes in a long blink. When she speaks, it is in earnest passion, her eyes soon rising to meet his in a sudden burst of fervor. “Don’t do it for me, Nox. It is…it is for the betterment of the world, for our goodness—I know you are good. I have seen it.” She attempts a smile again, the gesture wavering somewhere between friendly warmth and fervent solemnity, “Do it for yourself.” She knows that this is something that he needs to overcome on his own (even though she will not abandon him), a truth that he needs to come to terms with—because, even though she might offer her forgiveness, it is his own forgiveness of himself that will truly make a difference. “I believe you,” she whispers after a long moment of silence, her white eyes meeting the pale pray of his, her brow furrowing gently as she smiles. I trust you, is a parallel to what she is saying, a promise of her own, an unspoken vow of faith and hope. While his past acts are horrifying and shameful, it is not her place to hold judgement, or to condemn him for it, when all he has done has shown her his kindness. “And I think you’ll make a wonderful healer,” her grin broadens as she lets slip the breath of a chuckle, before she becomes somber once more, the mirth slowly trickling from her eyes. It is again replaced by fear—but a fear for him, rather than of him. “How do you know that you can contain…it?” She struggles understanding exactly how he can be so controlled by something other than his own will—the image of him killing, possessed, quickening the beat of her heart. “How do you know that you won’t lose control again?” “Speech.” @Mortuus Nox RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 10-09-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 10-13-2015
Tiamat It hurts, to think that one of her closest friends could have done such a terrible thing. But…as much as the idea makes her own heart stutter painfully and her stomach clench tightly, it is easily eclipsed by her concern for him—she hurts for him. The ocean mare, in all of her white innocence and blissful naivety, cannot even begin to fathom what it must be like to live with such guilt. How awful it would be to live each day, knowing that you have stolen something so precious and irreplaceable. She pities him dearly, not wanting to think of the harrowing remorse. But it is that same guilt, that same shame and pain that she sees in his eyes, that lifts her spirits. It is because—with good faith and compassion—that guilt will give way to forgiveness, and then graciousness. His goodness will flower and flourish, if he takes this darkness and learns from it, learns from his mistakes. She is sure of this—sure of him, even when his rasping breath continues to leave in cold, mourning sighs from his lips. Tiamat shifts her weight so that she rests more upright, her slender legs curling underneath her more comfortably in the soft grasses. “But it doesn’t have to happen—you don’t have to feel this way,” her white eyes settle on him with a warm intensity, ever earnest in her insistence of the goodness of this world—this dreadful, dark world that has only tried to crack her little cocoon of light. She refuses to release her hope and her belief of its mercy. “There is enough goodness in your heart to triumph these shadows, I know there is. You’ve shown me. If you would just put your faith in this, in yourself, then I know you can be the honest man you are, you don’t have to give in—” her words are tightened and choked by the sudden rise of emotions, thinking of the pain that he has spoken of—of the shadows that haunt him. It is nearly too horrifying a picture, and she suppresses a shudder as a cold chill spider webs through her muscles. The mare’s gaze falls slowly from his face, finding a little bug in the grasses and watching as it climbs through the blades, hiccupping once against another threat of tears. Tiamat doesn’t want to think of his sins anymore, doesn’t want to ponder on what evils haunt his past. They are in the past—and they must look to the future now, with promise. Exhaling a weighted breath, she purses her lips and pauses a moment before speaking. “It’s not just about losing your cool,” her pale eyes flicker back up to the stallion, a whisper of a chuckle escaping in some merciful humor, though her gaze is more stern than usual. Death, murder, sin—they are not subjects to be played with. “Those were people’s lives, Nox,” Tiamat’s voice breaks and her lip trembles, her head tucking into her chest when a single tear wets her cheek. The ocean mare swallows several times, managing to avoid another fit of tears, and though the sorrow still lingers in her gaze when she looks to Nox again, there is also promise. Like she said, she believes in him, and she’s not about to give up hope. “Whatever it takes to help you…you are my dear friend, and I don’t want to—I can’t—see you do something so hateful again. If you ever need anything from me, please, don’t hesitate to ask; I want to help you,” she offers him an encouraging smile, this one warmer than the last, and she reaches out to brush his cheek soothingly, “Even if we have to decorate every tree in Helovia.” Tiamat laughs lightly, the sound coming easier now, the glow of brilliance slowly returning to illuminate the dainty lines of her face. She won’t give up on him. notes; 100 posts YAY!:DD “Speech.” RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 10-27-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 11-02-2015
Tiamat Slowly the ocean mare’s crying comes to a close, her slender sides hiccupping in a final repressed sob before she swallows thickly, white eyes looking to the black stallion with the sadness gradually fading from their teary depths. The sun’s brilliant light falls upon the two of them and halos their bodies in a warm glow, reflecting from the wet trails that linger on the mare’s cheeks. Like the dazzling brightness of this beautiful spring day, her brilliance cannot be easily snuffed out or smothered, only dampened as the shadows creep frighteningly closer (though her brilliant candle refuses to give in to the darkness). With the corners of her lips shadowed by a grin, Tiamat listens as the black stallion speaks, confirming once more his promise—his vow to fight against the corruption that riots inside of him, an evil that her innocent mind cannot possibly understand. Accepting his touch graciously, and no longer fearing his afflictions, the ocean mare feels as comforted by his proximity as he is by hers. “Of course, Nox,” she says with a crooked smile growing along her lips, her muzzle trailing over the bridge of his nose as she draws back to meet his gaze, “I’m here for you, whenever you need me—whenever it gets…bad.” Tiamat presses her lips together, exhaling heavily from her nostrils. She will do all that she can to help her friend—there is no uncertainty about that in her mind. Even if it means to put herself in harm’s way to spare others, to spare a child, then she will gladly do it without hesitation—but Tiamat does not fear Nox, or for her safety when she is with him. If he says that he can control whatever demons fight for his conscience, then the blue mare believes him unquestioningly. Fluted ears press forward to catch the stallion’s voice when he continues, a more genuine grin (reminiscent of her usual blissful cheer) spreads across her delicate features. “I won’t forget to take you up on those lessons one day, I intend to see your art,” Tiamat gives him a playful wink, a peaceful chime of laughter pealing into the fresh air. She thinks back to their initial meeting, back in the Basin during Frostfall’s frigid clutches, when he had decorated their snow puppy’s face so expertly. She has no doubt that such proficiency is even more defined when put to wood instead of snow. “Carved into my horn?” She questions, Nox’s inquiry about the markings that decorate her curved horn bringing her attention back to him. “They’re symbols of my parents; the designs are meant to represent the ocean’s waves and sky’s heavens. I was born with them,” smiling in her delight, Tiamat arches her neck, tilting her head from side to side so that he might admire the swirling, intricate patterns more clearly. Of course, the ocean mare doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t have their design, with the wind whistling through their hollows, singing nature’s song. It is a part of her, a mark of her heritage, and she cherishes it. “Speech.” RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Mortuus Nox - 11-05-2015
@Tiamat RE: A Blue Light in the Darkness - Tiamat - 11-15-2015
Tiamat Pressing her dainty ears forward, the ocean mare cannot try to contain the happiness of her smile, or the glow that blooms to illuminate her features. While her friend’s history is far, far from a pleasant one, and even thinking about what he had done tempts a shiver down her spine, all these cold things are diminished in the face of her delight. In spite of his previous misdeeds, Tiamat sees Nox’s righteous heart now more than ever—his goodness, mercy, and honesty that has corrected whatever monster he might have been. That is who he is now. He is her friend, always will be, and she wouldn’t think of condemning him for his honest confessions (it is obvious that fate has already punished him enough). It is time for him to heal now. Looking up to the stallion with bright, forgiving eyes as he rises, Tiamat presses her cheek to his, breathing softly before she stands to join him. Thrusting cloven hooves out from her body, she heaves herself upward, water streaks sparkling across her body as she shakes beneath spring’s glorious sun. When her gaze returns to his rugged face, the ocean mare notices his large eyes—widened in what would seem to be awe, rather than the fear she has seen haunting him. However, Nox speaks before she can question him, and his words of compliment bring a softer, more bashful grin to her lips. “Thank you, Nox,” the blue mare arches her slender neck when he peers again at her decorated horn, her entire body radiating with an honest, innocent pride (a pride of her heritage and of nature, of respect, rather than greed or arrogance, so pure as it blossoms throughout every part of her). “What is it?” Tiamat queries with an airy laugh, white eyes doe-like as his excitement becomes infectious, sparking her anticipation. The black stallion does not entertain her with an answer, instead sauntering away a few steps before his pale eyes sweep back to her. He only encourages her further, to which Tiamat shakes her pretty head with glee, her laughter chiming over the grasses as long legs carry her to Nox’s side. “You needn’t convince me more than you already have, my friend,” there is a playful tease in her words that reaches up to alight in her gaze, “Show me the way.” With a dainty tip of her head, the ocean mare guides him forward. Behind her, her leonine tail is curved with excitement, flicking and swaying back and forth (like a delighted cat), and her muscles dance beneath satin skin. “Speech.” |