[P] Crossroads - 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] Crossroads (/showthread.php?tid=22707) |
Crossroads - Zahra - 02-03-2016 Zahra, Ilham, and Hanna It was pride that turned angels into devils
Despite the fresh start they’d been given, the chance to be part of a family, Zahra could not shift the burden from her heart – the weight of the past from her mind. The nightmares, the constant reminder of loss and loneliness, the twisted visions which haunted every moment of sleep – the yearling grew ever wearier as the legacy of her parents lived on in her. There was no doubt that the girl missed them and craved (as any child should) the affection of true family, nurturing, but as the seasons turned she began to want more, to be more; without the shadow of past transgressions marring the future. There was ugliness in the nightmares which harried her existence, and the golden-bellied girl wanted truly no part in their grim story – at least not until she could comprehend the meaning. Zahra wanted a life of her own. As the pale grace of dawn fell down across the Basin, the sisters slipped quietly by the old rusty sentinels that stood on by the border. Yellow eyes passed a wary glance across the strange statues and the filly skirted generously around them, stride hastening only briefly; their peculiar presence was unnerving, no matter how ruined they seemed to be. A heavy sigh was purged from her lungs and it slipped from broad nostrils as pluming steam. It was not the first time they had explored the vast, snowy steppe in recent weeks and though still the chill in the air seemed to penetrate into the depths of her core, Zahra was learning to enjoy the openness (in comparison to the well-walled valley now called home); so too the curious ice structures just to the south where, unbeknownst to her, the bones of her own mother lay buried and bleached. Still, the adventure they now embarked on was not through the bitter north, and with the wintry wind urging them forward, they began the long trek towards the flaming heart of Helovia. After nearly a week, with much time spent resting, they found themselves at last treading tentative steps upon the parched, red earth above the caves. Clay-dust rose in whirling flurries as hoof and paw grazed its baked, cracked surface, and the coloured faces of untouchable gemstones winked and glinted in the smoky-red sunlight. For a moment Zahra paused, stalled for the second time by the bright nag of uncertainty. The little kitsune beneath leaned snug against her foreleg and whimpered softly, tenderly, for the decision to be made had grown no lighter. “I…” the yearling choked, tears again glazing the fragility of her stare. “How could I even think about destroying them…” she whispered a small time later, scorning her brazen disrespect for those she would always love so much. Quivering lips lowered to brush the ratty leather bag in disrepair, which had carried her mother’s favourite treasures for many years, and the clever spear beneath its frayed flap that must have served her father well in battle. There was too, the marvellously heavy collar which her puny shoulders had carried since she was merely months old; she had not the heart to bring it to glory, nor the strength to bear its full dress before foes. It would suit none better than her father – and that was the truth. Unhappily, Zahra let her knees buckle there before the dancing flames, despair contorting her young expression into something far fouler than ever it had been. “I don’t know what to do!” she sobbed desperately afterwards, as Ilham slipped from her cocoon and Hanna nestled down against the bony cradle of black and white; neither had power enough to rid their sister of pain, but each felt the sting of thought as the filly began to drown in the grim tides of her pitiful future. @Zèklè RE: Crossroads - Zèklè - 02-07-2016 Z E R O they say we are what we are, but we don't have to be
Zero spent a lot of his time in and around the Heart Caves. You might say he was an expert on them, deeply familiar with every nook and cranny, every drawing and drip which adorned the glowing walls. Zero loved rocks, appreciated them in a sort of friendly, intimate way. He loved the history of them, the way their sharp jagged ridges and smooth, soft lines told a myriad of stories. He would sit for hours and marvel at the carvings on the old cave walls, the stories they told of battles and gods. He liked the way rocks wore their hearts on their sleeves, but also sometimes also had hidden beauty inside, especially the ugliest ones. @Zahra RE: Crossroads - Zahra - 02-10-2016 Zahra, Ilham, and Hanna It was pride that turned angels into devils
The snivelling yearling with the speckled golden belly paused at once and thick snow-white lashes fought vigorously to clear the pooling tears from raw, bloodshot eyes. Zahra’s sooty, dimpled chin lifted too from the soft warmth of the kitsune’s downy coat, drawn from the pits of despair by the uncannily familiar voice; so recognised in fact, that the throbbing heart within her chest nearly burst through prickling skin. The friend she felt so deeply for was striding towards her, smile fading it seemed into a widening void of uncertainty, and quickly she pushed a weary smile into her expression - anything to see the brightness restored to his wonderfully brave face. "Ze-ro!" she almost shrieked in a bid of fractured desperation; he was there already, greeting with the same gentle concern that had first dimmed her fears that night so long ago when she had waited for her mother beneath the old tree. Hanna was rising, four tails twirling, wagging chaotically in greeting, for he was perhaps the only other hoofed creature in this world she thought well of. Whimpering gleefully she bounced about his front-quarters, tongue scrambling to find the taste of his face as it wandered nearer to her weeping sister, but Zahra soon summoned her canine counterpart’s notice away. The painted yearling took a deep breath as the colt’s small muzzle brushed across one sodden cheek, touching towards him in tender greeting with her own, as he lowered to lie against her outer wing. "I don’t know how it can be ok…” she started rather too quickly, tears rising like molten lava to sting her blinking eyes as they danced unhappily across her own curled knees beneath. Zero’s wing came to rest steadily across her childish frame, and so too did the sound of his encouragement across her wandering ears. "Yep,” she answered easily, free of adult inhibition and more than relieved to find herself again in his company. For a second, she let her eyes scan the periphery – the hedge of tall grass surrounding – but she was sure they were alone. “I miss Ma and Da…” Zahra began heavily, but it was truly more than that, so very much deeper than a child could express. “…I wish they were here – b’cause then I wouldn’t have to carry around his stuff (lips nibbled across the silver piece jutting awkwardly above her withers as the ground pressed against it) and all these feathers, all the time. If they were here too, maybe they would stop filling up my sleep with stories, scary ones, and everything would really be ok.” The curve of her body slumped softly, further into his warm embrace and for a moment it seemed as though the smoke spiralling above were the cover of night coming to hide them once again. "Where’ve you been anyway?” She mumbled fondly thereafter, remembering the last time they had really spoken (before she had wandered with Camon) – when the stranger with the intimidating eye and the questioning tongue had witnessed the first perfect instance of her art. @Charks RE: Crossroads - Zèklè - 02-13-2016 Z E R O they say we are what we are, but we don't have to be
Bird's enthusiastic greeting settled Zero's uncertainty considerably: certainly things couldn't be too bad if the kitsune was so excited, right? But even as he thought it the lightning boy knew he was wrong- that look, that sadness in his smaller friend's wide gaze, was definitely real. But at least Bird was glad to see him, which meant maybe Bird thought he could help, which meant maybe he could help, which was really all he wanted to do. @Zahra |