[P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Printable Version +- HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun (http://helovia.com) +-- Forum: Outskirts (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=13) +--- Forum: Helovia's Threshold (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Thread: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? (/showthread.php?tid=27486) |
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[P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Akeli - 06-10-2017 akeli As Birdsong brings life, Orangemoon must cleanse. It is the way it has always been, since before Helovia, before the gods, before everything. For one thing to come to be, another shall pass. And forever, this shall continue. This is what brings us here to this moment. ”Come along, little one.” Side by side the pair move along, traveling steadily through the forest. A mother and her child on a pilgrimage to something better. Though the mother would never quite explain what ‘better’ was, the tiny filly followed diligently, though her small legs made traveling slow. But the mother was always patient, allowing their pace to be set by the girl. “Mama,” the child begins, “where are we going? How much more do we have to walk?” The mother, a grey and white painted unicorn with a small set of antlers crowning her skull, smiles sweetly as she looks down upon her always curious daughter. “Well my little sparrow, we are simply looking for somewhere new to go. Home is wherever you are, sweetheart, but I would like to find somewhere perfect for you to grow big and strong.” The mother then leans down and plants a kiss with gentle lips between two small tines that sprout upon the girl’s head. The girl giggles, the noise happy and bubbling, leading her to reach her nose towards the mare’s and blow a small raspberry against the velvet of her mother’s nose. The mother laughs, and on they continue. “Mama, get up!” The voice is small and pained, presented in stark contrast to the last time we heard the child speak. She presses her head against her mother’s heaving side, trying to physically force the woman upright. The mother lays upon three folded legs, with one forelimb stretched out before her, bent at a terrible angle. Below her stomach there is a pool of blood, seeping into the loose dirt, and occasionally the mare shifts in an attempt to avoid exposing the gaping gash that leaves her abdomen open. The pair has come to rest beneath a great oak tree, in a cavern beneath it’s intricate root system. This space had been created after years of erosion, covered by the earth supported by the roots. The mare had stepped upon weakened earth, and the ground had given way, swallowing her whole, and as she tumbled violently downward, shifting sharpened stones had reached to greet her. The child had been several lengths away, thankfully far enough to be spared by the fall. Despite her mother’s pleas, the filly had stumbled clumsily down the newly formed embankment, beating tiny wings in an attempt to balance herself. Now the mother smiles gently, trying to hide the pain that could be easily painted upon her features. It is easy for her to know what is coming, but how does she explain this to her child? Her beautiful daughter, her little sparrow. For the mother can hardly fear death, when instead she fears what will happen to her daughter with no one to guide the way. “Come,” she is able to whisper, the warmth of her voice drawing the girl forward like a moth to the flame. The filly lays beside her, burying her face into the black waves of her mane. “Let us rest here for a moment,” she says, turning her head, arching her neck, attempting to wrap her daughter in an embrace. They lay like this for a while, letting the moment last as long as possible. This will be the last good memory the child has of her mother, and the dying mare attempts to make it worthwhile. Eventually breaking the silence, the woman speaks quietly. “You know that I love you, little one. I will love you forever. Even when I am not by your side, I will always love you.” She finally pulls her head away, and the filly looks up at her with golden eyes. The mother knows these eyes, as she has seen them in her own reflection. She memorizes the silver dapples in her child’s coat, marred only by perfectly placed splashes of white, and of the soft down that still covers portions of her differently colored wings, and the small prongs that will certainly grown into antlers that are even grander than her own. She traces each perfect detail of her child’s face, though she needn’t bother. A bond between mother and child has no competition, and she could never possiblly forget a single detail about the foal who lays beside her. She just hopes the child will not forget about her. The filly didn’t say anything, looking up at her mother. Why did it sound like a goodbye? The child couldn’t possibly understand what was going on, but she did know that there was something wrong. “Darling, do you know those flowers I love?” The girl shrugs. “You love all of the flowers I bring you, mama. You are never able to pick your favorite.” The mother gives a soft laugh and a smile, nodding. “Yes, you are right. Well, why don’t you go find me the prettiest flowers you can find? Bring me a whole bouquet. It will brighten this room until I am well enough to leave it.” The child, at first, seems hesitant to leave her mother’s side, but eventually she rises, shaking the dust off of her small form. The girl leans forward, rubbing her cheek against her mother’s. The mother repeats the motion, shutting her eyes tightly, holding back tears. Her heart aches. “I will see you again, darling, don’t you worry. Now go, before it gets dark.” Finally the two pull apart, and the filly makes her way towards the embankment. She turns her head one last time. “I love you, mama.” “And I love you too.” The child smiles, then turns again, scrambling up towards the light. Behind her, the mare smiles, tears falling freely. “Goodbye, my little sparrow, my sweet perfect Akeli.” Then she is alone, and for a moment she takes in the streaking rays of sun that are able to break through the ceiling, and watches the particles of dust that float through the air like tiny sprites. Finally, when she is as ready as she will ever be, she lays her head down, allowing heavy lids to flutter, and then close. A single sigh escapes her. Silence falls. Tiny hooves dance upon the decay, so small that they barely leave a trail upon the heavy bedding of fallen leaves freshly shed by the trees that fill this particular forest. Into an empty world the filly calls out, her voice a bell ringing in silence. “Mama!” she calls, ears quickly twisting and pivoting upon her skull, desperate to fill the hollows with the voice she has come to know better than even her own. Held beneath her white wing, which is clasped closely to her side, are several flowers, all she could find as Orangemoon had claimed the rest, as well as some brightly colored leaves, which she knew would stand like fire upon the earthen walls of the cavern. But she had wandered in great circles, losing her path, unable to find her way back. She moves forward with no purpose, unsure of which direction she should even be heading. The dappled coat draped over her delicate frame shivers from the bite of the autumn chill, and her stomach has already begun to purr with discontent. It has only been hours, which is long enough for any child to begin to panic at the unexpected separation from a parent. She wanders, searching for her dam, and thankfully she has not yet found the waiting jaws of wolves ready for a quick meal. She cries out again, and again she is answered only by the soft echo of her own voice reverberating off of the landscape. Finally the filly comes to a stop, shifting nervously back and forth between each hoof. Small wings, not yet large enough to grant her lift from the ground, clap anxiously against her flanks as she considers what to do next. The flowers and leaves tumble free, but she cannot bother with them right now. Barely two seasons old, she is grown enough to forage, but certainly not enough to be alone. This forest is new to her, as if the entire world isn’t, but she and Mother had just arrived. She was so eager to find her mother flowers, that she didn’t even think to stay close by. She hadn’t considered that she would grow lost within the maze of this forest. Well, little sparrow, lost you are. So now she waits, and nestled between the fear pressing against her heart in her small ribcage is the tiniest blossom of guilt. It is her fault that she wandered too far away. But no one could possibly blame her for wandering, nosing around beneath the dying foliage looking for tender grass, peeking with sunlit eyes around every tree trunk looking for a flower to carry back with her. She knew that mama loved flowers, and she wanted nothing more than to make mama happy. In the distance, the cry of a wolf triggers the filly’s instincts to keep moving. She drops her head, picking up what she could of flowers and the leaves, and begins to run, tripping frequently over her tired and gangly legs. She runs blindly, her wings flapping feebly at her sides. She continues to run until the ground drops away to a steep yet gradual decline, and she tumbles down a soft embankment, landing with a soft thud beside her mother’s sleeping form. “Oh mama!” She calls out, picking herself and her gift off of the floor, and bounds towards the only one who she has every loved. “Oh mama, I thought I would never find you again! Look what I brought you!” The words are barely audible as they escape between her clenched teeth. She drops the gift at her mother’s feet, nosing her mother’s neck to wake her. The sudden chill that meets her nose is enough to startle the child. Something is wrong, and terrible, and very not good. “Mama?” She murmurs, again brushing her nose against the arch of her mother’s neck. “Mama!” She cries out, this time panicked and terrified. She tries this several times, doing all she can think of to wake her mother from this sleep. She throws herself against her mother’s still form, beating upon her side with small hooves, even goes so far as to bite and tug at her mane. Still, her mother never stirs. She struggles towards the open air, tears running down her face. “Help!” She screams, “Somebody, please help!” Again, silence. Her entire world has gone silent and dark. Slowly she retreats back into the cavern, laying beside the cold shell of her mother. She rests her head upon her mother’s flank, and she cries. I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time, That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes. image | coding @Ktulu ~ RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Ktulu - 06-10-2017
RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Akeli - 06-10-2017 akeli
The longer she lays there, the colder her mother feels. She tries nestling closer, and runs her small tongue against her mother’s silver shoulder. It was as her mother had done for her when she had grown cold during the recent evenings. Still the woman didn’t stir, but the child did not want to accept what she could barely fathom. In a world where life was easily consumed by the natural ebb and flow of time, it was a miracle that she was happened upon by a creature that didn’t want to eat her. She barely turns her head towards the sound of hooves and the shifting of debris, instead simply glancing out of the corner of her eye to see that another form had entered the scene. Had she been braver or older, perhaps she would have stood and attempted to chase the full grown mare from this hallowed place, or at least stood in an attempt to protect herself or escape. But the filly could barely muster the heart to pull away from the husk that once held the most important thing to her. Where many would be gentle, comforting, or reassuring, she instead receives the truth in a rough and jagged blow by some mean lady she had never met. Your mother is dead. If you stay here you will die as well. Tiny ears pull back, and she squeezes her eyes shut. She knows what death is. Her granddam had died mid-tallsun, and though she didn’t have the emotional range to be effected back then, her mother had explained that the matriarch was gone to the meadows of the afterlife, and wouldn’t be returning. Death means gone forever. The little sparrow needs her mother, and refuses to stand. She does, however, turn her head. Her brows furrow, and her nostrils flare. It would almost be comical had the circumstances been more light-hearted. If she was standing, the defiant expression would have been paired with a dramatic stomp of a hoof. But this was the best resolve she could gather. “Then I’m going to stay here. If I die, I will see mama again.” It is a petulant and stubborn response, and despite mama’s words about being nice, albeit cautious, to strangers, none of that mattered now. Mama was gone. None of those lessons matter anymore, not in this moment. Her golden gaze, molten and vivid upon her white and grey hued face, brushed over the mare. Blackened like the coals of a dead fire, with waves of white splashing over the arch of her neck like foam upon rapids. Eblazoned upon her were beautiful intricate markings, and in a moment where the things hadn’t spiraled so out of control, Akeli would certainly fill the room with numerous bubbling questions about what it meant, and how it looked like a beaver wolf (for the child had never seen a bear), and if she was born with it, and where beaver wolves live, and it would be nearly endless. The girl refocuses, finding it mildly difficult to not be distracted by the questions that rushed forth within her head. Her nose scrunches as she tries to be strong, attempting to hold back the big fat tears that skewed her vision and made the woman look like a mirage. “Besides,” her voice shakes as she speaks again, “daddy is gone now too, and mama was the only one who knew the way.” She turns her head back again, burying her face within the blackened locks, breathing in the familiar scent that was slowly being ruined by the time that had finally gotten away. I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time, That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes. RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Ktulu - 06-10-2017
RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Akeli - 06-10-2017 akeli
“I’m not stupid,” she huffs, this time the tears rimming her eyes borne from anger instead of sadness. But the rest of her statement was so true. Obviously her mother would want her to continue on. Why would her mother have spent so much time tending to her and caring for her if she didn’t want her to grow? Her bottom lip puckers out as she pouts. She turns her head ever so slightly away from her mother’s mane so her words don’t get too muffled. “I dunno. We’ve been walking forever. I felt like my legs were gonna fall off.” No doubt your mother was searching for a safer place for you to grow up.’ The filly nods then, turning her head further away from her mother. “Mama said that she wanted me to live somewhere I could grow big and strong.” Again, she was slapped across the face. “I would never do that to mama! I’m not mean like you.” A stabbing pain, starting in the core of her heart, rips through her body, and she again buries her face into her mother’s side, pitiful whimpering escaping her as she cries again. The sliding of more stones signals the approach of someone else. She just wants everyone to leave her alone. She almost wishes it was a wolf, because the sharp pearly whites would be so much less painful than the curt words of this awful mare. Something comes close to her, and she doesn’t recognize the smell. She peeks shyly away from her hiding place, eyes rimmed red from the tears trailing down her face. She is then so suddenly startled by what she sees, the tears stop completely. Her eyes grow wide, ears twisted and pressed forward, awestruck by the furry beast who came close. The noise he emitted was like the rolling of distant thunder. She was frozen. “What. Is. That.” She is ensnared, so overwhelmed by this creature, that for a moment she can’t help but be drawn away from her dead mother’s frame. Slowly she stands, never moving her honey gaze from him. A real life beaver wolf. He has a striking resemblance to the woman’s mark, so much so that it must be related. “Eytan,” she repeats, voice hushed but somehow still excited. Her fluffy dual-toned tail wags slightly, face still stretched with surprise. She looks, and is surprised that something comprised of two creatures has no tail. She had almost wished it had been one of those big loud flappy ones. “Mama never showed me one of these before.” She finally drags her stare from the companion and looks to Ktulu. “I don’t know where we were going. My mama said that we would know where we were going when we got there.” She looks back to the… the… the whatever he is, reaching out with a fluffy wing to try to touch his inquisitive nose. She then leans her own face towards his, her own nose wiggling to mimic his. It is evident that she has no fear. Though her heart still aches for her mother, she is consumed by the desire to learn more. If mother is gone, what does it matter? She tips her head as she examines him. “Does he have a marking that looks like you?” Again she looks back to the mare. “I have a marking on my butt by my tail that if you squeeze your eyes little like this” —her eyes squint, brows furrowing— “It kinda looks like a weird cloud. Wanna see?” She looks at her rump, shaking her tail again, as the marking she speaks of is the same one that taints strands of her hair stark white against the onyx hues of the rest of it. Eyes again fall upon the red ones settled into the mare’s face. So many questions, and even though the mare has been mean (her mother must not have taught her any manners), she is the only one to answer the questions that she has. And there are plenty. I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time, That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes. RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Ktulu - 06-25-2017
@Akeli RE: [P] Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? - Akeli - 06-29-2017 akeli
Something stirs within her breast, a sense of profound loss and longing for her mother, a feeling that will undoubtedly follow her forever. The sharp edges may dull, the flat surface may bow to fit the inside curvature of her heart for a more comfortable fit, and she will eventually outgrow the overwhelming ache, and instead hold close a sadness that only creeps in under the cloak of the night. Certainly she will always miss her mother. But, blooming within the murky haze is a glowing light, warm and comforting, a desire to continue on. Perhaps the When she introduces the cool brown creature, the filly dips her head and bends her knees, dipping into the smallest curtsy, eyeing the beaver wolf curiously. “Oh, a bear? He’s really cute. He doesn’t look like he’s a predator.” Mama always said that predators ate grown ups for dinner and foals for dessert, so she is naturally wary, despite the way she can’t help but feel somewhat reassured. “You guys must be best friends if you’re bonded by your hearts and minds! Maybe some day I’ll have a companion, too.” She pauses her yammering when the mare asks to see her marking. She misses the look exchanged between the bonded pair, otherwise she would have probably shown more discretion. She hadn't thought that the lady would actually want to see her cloud spot, so now she’s giddy with excitement. The child, so consumed by this mare finally being a little friendly, twists around, jabbing her nose at a white patch at the base of her tail. “See?” She trills, looking back at the mare expectantly, her tail wiggling. Honestly, the patch doesn’t look like much of anything, other than a splash of white paint that mars her grey dappled hide, just as the other white markings do. One could assume she made the correlation staring at clouds one day, but still, she hopes for some validation. Finally moving past the ridiculous game of figuring out what her markings look like, Akeli straightens up, bringing her eyes to meet the mare’s. “You’re right, I think,” she states, nodding her head affirmatively. “My mama is gone, but I am not. Its kinda scary out there, though, especially because night is almost here.” She peeks around the constrictor, noticing how the inky blues have already begun to assume their place in the sky. She thinks about asking the woman if she could follow her around, if maybe she would protect her and let her hang around until she is grown enough to take care of herself. But isn’t that rude? Ears and brows rise as an idea is born, and a wide smile curls her lips. “Hey, I know! Maybe I can follow Eytan around and he can be my friend too? He can’t eat me if we’re friends. Besides, it’s too cold to go out there by myself.” Her skin shudders with the harsh nerves of anticipation. She casts her gold gaze towards the bear, again nodding, hoping he will play along with her rouse. “So, whaddya think, uh,” she tips her head, realizing that she doesn’t even know the name of her new protector. “Miss unicorn, what’s your name? My name is Akeli!” I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time, That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes. @Ktulu ~ |