the Rift


[PRIVATE] Wasteland (lena) (Closed)
Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#1
The further north one got, the colder and more savage our world seemed to become. The wind howled painfully against this body. Had I still been a Throat resident I might have hesitated longer before coming up this far. The cooler, less tropical Falls had prepared my body for slightly less rigid weather. A thicker pelt offered ample enough protection, but it was little to useless when damp or wet. My wings felt cold and sluggish. Snow is thick upon the ground, I tread carefully. Injuring myself would be unfruitful.

Gaze rose, scanning the ever wide expansion of grey rock and frosty white. Cliffs rose all around, jutting sharply up. Somewhere was the Basin, I’d never laid eyes upon it before and thus didn’t really know how to get there – nor was I favoring the idea of paying their borders a visit. Fina chortled, from her seemingly rather comfortable position astride my right cheek. A brief wash of sunlight broke past the stormy clouds, it touched us and I sighed faintly, eyes drifting appreciatively toward the cloudy sky.

“Are we there yet?” She asked, I didn’t pause. Walking was about the only thing keeping me from shivering to pieces, “We don’t appear to be.” I grunted in reply, she thought about this and fell silent for a few moments before adding a tactful and almost whinny, “I’m hungry.” Lips broke apart in a sigh, deeper this time. ”Go hunt,” a vain suggestion. There was more life in a slice of desert sand then in this frozen tundra. Aqua pools swiveled round, noting my thoughts and scowling, “Nothing here.”

Both ears notched back, ivory banner flicked sideways to slap against hocks, “Aye.”

Lena…Our mission in this beautiful wasteland was her.

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[Image: 5388c9b80fe59]

Lena the Songbird Posts: 663
Aurora Basin Time Mender atk: 4 | def: 10.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 69 | Buff: NOVICE
Imogen :: Common Kitsune :: Fire Heather
#2
Together, the two belles caressed the feral, otherworldly loam, indulgent, whimsical birds on the relentless horizon. Eclipsed and enfolded in the sheen of winter, they pulsed with maddening grace, dancing along the outcrops of ice and glaciers, serenading the stretching, barren whirls with snowflake endeavors and capricious delights; a fuselage of the indulgent, of the tranquil, of the composed. Given over to the frigid walls and tempestuous mountains, they were seraphs of the chilling, frigid tombs, bewitching and spellbinding the whistling wiles and nefarious breezes with the plunge of sanctity and croons of majesty; timeless finesse parading and pervading the choking gales. A jaunt, a step, a twirl, a sway into the midst of the unknown, sunken into the roots of stone and rubble, into the patchwork annihilation of ruins and devastation, painting a portrait of exuberance over the tapestry of mayhem and acrimony, twisting and turning until all the wintry hues altered into honeysuckle filaments and archaic strands. Another adventure could have melted from their scenic junctures, combing amidst the gelid warrens or Siberian labyrinths, surveying the old tomes and particles of their past (a season, a cycle, spent within caves and caverns, hoping for warmth and praying for not all hope to be lost, like their home, like their shelter, like their sanctuary), had a vaguely familiar scent not nestled itself amongst the time maiden’s nares. Once of the desert, and now of the falls, hastened in tropical paradise and unopened treasures; she’d remembered it well, the pieces and parchments of glares, of sedition, of parallel munitions and the burning trails of drawn invitations, the curling bark and leaves left in bitter ashes. Midas.

The fairy didn’t hold much information upon him, truthfully, and could only surmise from actions etched into prior meetings and circumstances: wary, protective of his home, almost unyielding in his disposition, in his opinions. For a few moments, she halted her movement and surveyed the expanse, narrowing her eyes and speculating over her next course of action. Imogen chirped her own recourse, and Lena listened in their silent diatribe, gesturing and attempting to surmise why he’d be here, amongst the trenchant, wayfaring, biting realm, where their kingdom lay just over the next peak, ferocious, merciless, when he didn’t seem to hold them in much regard. A meager instance held her firmly in place, for she could do the same, ignore, turn away, leave him to his wandering amidst the nefarious, raw containers, another void, another vessel, sinking into the snow and rime. But she was no such demon, and no sooner had the second passed did she yield further into the atmosphere, kitsune and nymph of the snow following the presence of a golden King. Curiosity, intrigue, and a sudden will, a fierce determination, to right all the wrongs, all the misgivings, all the poor understandings, drove her limber strides into the onslaught, so as she crested over a frozen knoll, she hovered over his bright frame in the snow valley, stark in the ivory wilderness. A friendly call, despite the hardships, despite the recalcitrance, beckoned and flourished from the tip of her tongue, mellifluous harmony fluttering and flickering in the wind. “Lord Midas!” Thereafter, she tilted her head, Imogen settling between her forelegs (gazing upon the fellow companion, examining fire with fire), and called out once more, diving into the effervescent inquiries. “What brings you to the Steppe?”

her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love
LENA
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Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#3
Senses are nulled here in this misty place. A world that was perfect for those who desired to remain hidden – I was losing hope of ever reaching the Basin. My awareness of direction seemed more similar to that of a child instead of a seasoned warrior, leader. Not to mention the cold was starting to seep past folds of fur and slide across my skin with unpleasant fingers. I paused amid a drift, trembling as another blast hit me square in the face. Eyes pinched together against the painful onslaught.

Only by some miracle would I manage to find Lena. As laughable as it was, the gods seemed to find some pity for me. A call and my name is upon the wind, shivering I looked up and around. A dark figure stood on a nearby bluff, her sudden appearance in this moment nearly made me sink forward to my knees in relief. I turned and forced a tight smile on my frozen mug, “Hail!” A friendly return, though one with wary note evident. I was vulnerable in this place.

“Tis ye that brings me out this far!” Fina is peering curiously around my shoulder at the little creature that sat between her limbs, talons clinched and released cool flesh. My gaze narrows and I call again, “Might we break words?” Attention momentarily shifts toward my companion, “Thee eyes will need to keep watch for trouble; I’d not be caught off guard in this place.” She chirps in reply, a silent agreement.
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Lena the Songbird Posts: 663
Aurora Basin Time Mender atk: 4 | def: 10.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 69 | Buff: NOVICE
Imogen :: Common Kitsune :: Fire Heather
#4
Airs of the tempestuous and turbulent maneuvered and shifted; amidst the altering doldrums, she was amiss and befuddled, confused and bewildered, incapable of perceiving why the Lord of the Hidden Falls needed her. Her brow reflected the uncertainty, a brow lifted in innocent inquiry, sienna gaze strangled and narrowed into an uneasy, disquieted forefront. The lilt of her harmony cast over the icy bluff, rounding over the wild edges and chaotic brim. “Oh?” As she dipped down the glacial shoal, a beckoning, fluid march, as if she’d clambered down icy chambers and maelstrom caverns all her life, blending into the bedlam reverie and exotic, feral inhabitance; once they’d been mired in these depths, and as if her feet had never forgotten the blighted absolution, she polished her footfalls across its chiseled palace. While nymph and kitsune wandered towards the gilded King, her sentiments transpired in an aloof convolution, distorted and warped towards the methods of his madness. The only recent contact they’d had between the rustling falls, with its beautiful, wild verdantry, that she knew of, had been the drifting of invitations, and before then, an attempt at peace and armistice, only to be thwarted and refused soon after. Were they in need of a healer? Was someone terribly wounded? The notion was distressing, but surely they had their own mender, and Midas, though shivering and shuddering in the barren landscape, certainly didn’t seem terribly apprehensive or harrowed. Was something else amiss, drifting amongst the unknown, clawing and clambering their way through the shackles and chains of the world? Incapable of biting down the wayward happenstances, she merely lifted an easy smile to her features, as if wan and serenaded by the virtuous courtyards and the divine parlors, never tracing her steps into the demanding, sinister regions of their twisted, narrow livelihoods. Upon reaching his front, she extended a proper nod of respect, courtesy and civility pressed and ardent in her finessed movements, while Imogen settled near her forelegs once more, a scrutinizing smidgen of ivory. Even if they were not always readily given the same regard, Lena assured and ensured she’d present the Basin, the aurora valleys, the beastly hallows, as a proper kingdom, polishing felicitations and deference to those who’d earned it. Her stare, melded and molded into further curiosity, rendered upon his own, and her harmonious, dulcet speech curled into the puffy fronds, breaths of the valorous. “What words are these?”

her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love
LENA
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Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#5
She descended to me, a fawn of this world. Perfectly comfortable and sure of her motions, of her existence. Where I stood a stranger, a foreigner; traveling to this place only out of necessity and a promise that I would make amends for transgressions. Though, my heart was faint in the belief that my actions or words could be stitched again. “Aye,”I breathed when Lena came near. Is it the cold that makes my smile feel false, tightly woven, “I’ve come to…apologize.” There is a tremble in my tone, one I’m struggling to control, “I was wrong to interfere with thee preparations for celebration.” Wrong. Was it shameful for a man to admit? "My response was out of anger and ye and yon children did not deserve it.”

“I cry pardon.”

Chin fell toward chest, gently brushing the gem that lay embedded within my collar. Fina coo’s softly, feeling the stir and shame that rises toward the surface. I didn’t and couldn’t find much fondness in my heart for these people – or their actions (which were countless in my mind), but I also knew that my choice had been unjust on that day of celebration. Two wrongs couldn’t equal a right answer. Nor would words alone mend this rift – just as with Cera. There was poison between our families, a rich, sickly green slim that coated our blood. It came to the faintest of hearts and the sternest of warriors.

Soon, if nothing was rectified…we would all be consumed by it – even I.
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[Image: 5388c9b80fe59]

Lena the Songbird Posts: 663
Aurora Basin Time Mender atk: 4 | def: 10.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 69 | Buff: NOVICE
Imogen :: Common Kitsune :: Fire Heather
#6
Her expectations, while laden and courted with notions, ideas, and sentiments of what could likely transpire, she never imagined or stroked the anomaly of a King bowing his head to her in shame. For a few moments, all she could do was stare, jaw slackened, eyes widened, and affable smile dissipating for a more token befuddlement, rendered speechless and torn into an impasse. The frame, the mind, of this sovereign and her own would likely never see eye to eye, nose to nose, and only in idle, passing times could they ever beseech one another much more than loathing, passing glares, but Lena was not of this carnivore affliction, and struggled over what to do, what to say. They’d been at odds when he coaxed desert and sand, when their young were targeted, then absconded, when the empires longed to topple one another over and over again, and she’d played some minute part, begging for salvation and absolution when none could be found, playing the role of soldier on the boundaries of glass walls and stolen chambers. She swallowed a foreign feeling down the back of her throat, pictured the burning edges of those bright, brilliant invitations, Mirabella’s tears and tribulations, the constant suffering and agonizing between their herds. Even when they’d come to them, creators and rulers of falls and pools, offering civility and allegiance, they’d been refused, and an unsettled fixation boiled and brewed inside her, crooned to the surface, a choked, bitter, rancorous taste settling across her tongue. She didn’t like the flavor, the simmer, the scorching malice, and instead, tempered it into regality, into finesse, into a building crescendo she’d been longing to say for so long, with no one to hear it. The nymph crooned, stared at the curved form and the ashamed cranium, breathing composure instead of wrath, truth instead of melancholy, deliverance instead of damnation. “Our world responds so readily to rage. Sometimes we corrode our fears with ire, and it becomes infinitely more dangerous.” Her gaze wandered over to the valleys, to the outstretches of verdant fields and clover-ambience hills and peaks away, believing in the foundation of her words, of how many wars had been fought for a just cause, smiting the other side until hypocrisy lingered and chaotic traces kindled. “Then, it’s always the innocent that end up hurt.” The babes, with their tender blamelessness, with their genial outlook on life sundered and ruined, either when they’d been abolished, denounced, relinquished from the mist, abducted and stolen from their homes, or had their beckoning drawings drawn into fire right before their eyes. She spoke again, a smile laden back across her lips, fair, honorable, benevolent, and majestic while the rest of the earth threatened to crumble. “I hope you take more consideration into your future actions, Lord Midas. I appreciate and accept your apologies – I will pass them on to the children.”

her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love
LENA
Credit URL
Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#7
It wouldn’t do either of us any good to bring up the past. When I thought of those that’d lost their limbs and lives to the Basin herd, the memory soured my mouth and made my heart feel a little sick. I kept my eyes low until she spoke, they drifted up, tight and mournful. Sorry aye. I had spoken the truth, it was never my intention to harm those of honest nature and certainly I hadn’t meant to wound children.

Lena’s reply is slightly surprising. There is no scorn or sweetness in her tone that would lead me to believe that she spoke with false tongue. In fact, I found myself in agreement with her statement. Our world seemed keener on violence and the gain thereof. Or at least the belief of gain. My actions had done nothing but fuel the fire.

Yar, the Basin had reached out. I’d sent them away out of caution and wisdom from past events; but that didn’t mean I desired war with their kin, nor would they be harmed at our borders. Trust had to be built, it was currently as a bird whose wings had been broken. So easy it was to snap the fragile bones, their strength zapped and the pain of memory a strong drink that often sought escape. It was difficult to set and mend those bones again – just as it was difficult to build trust.

Difficult. Not impossible.

If their numbers were like Lena. Perhaps, one day I could learn to call these strangers, sister and brother. “Aye,” I whispered softly, without flinch I held her gaze. Composure had returned. She titled as me a 'Lord,' I smiled just a little and nodded politely, “Thee speaks true. I hear ye well and say thank ye.”

Lena mentioned children and my mind slipped to the little lass Earth had named. The one who’d witnessed just a taste of power and destruction. How anger and fear could collide. “If possible I’d like to speak with Mirabella; she witnessed my actions and I would make attempt to mend my fault with her.” I had no intention of traveling further than the Steppe and I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be granted safe access to talk to a foal, “If such is impossible, I would like to leave a gift for her.”

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Lena the Songbird Posts: 663
Aurora Basin Time Mender atk: 4 | def: 10.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 69 | Buff: NOVICE
Imogen :: Common Kitsune :: Fire Heather
#8
The Songbird surmised some form of argument, a quarrel of natures building, sculpting, flowing between voids, worlds, and regimes, of rights and wrongs, of hypocrisies and double standards, and she equipped herself with compassionate armor: a righteous, regal head, a kind eye, a beneficent stance, a harmonic chirp to her stately affairs. All of it was for naught, oddly, strangely, and her valorous depths heaved a softened sigh as the winged sovereign agreed and concurred with her statements (hadn’t they fought tooth and nail for possessions, for innocents, for blood and fire and ash? Was he tired of it too, the loss of life, the bleeding of comrades, of family, the dysfunction and chaos burning through their cores?). But just like before, an easy lilt into the chill and frozen aperture, she accepted his thanks, his appreciation, flicked her ears back and forth to capture the remnants of his speech, Imogen dulled at her feet, perhaps dismayed or disappointed the walls had not come to blows. But he yearned to talk to Mirabella, the little belle who’d carried the task of delivering their invitations from land to land with the Mender and Sialia, and the nymph couldn’t forget her conviction, her determination, even amidst the tired, flailing movements or the tear-stained diatribes, forced to face the notion of cruelty as a tender shoot, as a tiny sapling. A protective surge billowed in her chest, swelled along her mind, and she didn’t bother to fight away the anxiety and apprehension of bringing Midas into her lands or searching far and wide for Mirabella only to lose sight of him thereafter; time was precious, hearts were fleeting, and she adhered to the here and now, to the struck vows and reverberations between sinking lacerations and punctured wiles. Her gaze hastened across the horizon, towards the depths of glaciers and walls, down the primrose paths and gateways to tundra, to springs, to beautiful whims and treacherous ideals, swallowing the notch of pride, the simmering of consternation brewing in her throat. The nightingale’s stare settled back thereafter, the gentle, dulcet rhapsody dancing across her lips, cautious, deliberate, lavender and honey, ambrosial and stalwart, shielding and preventive. “Perhaps its best if I deliver the gift to her?” She smiled, an amiable, affable grin, tended to her fierce convictions, always a fierce, righteous gale in her sentiments, in her ruminations, in her pledges and purpose. “I promise its safe journey and swift arrival.”
her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love
LENA
Credit URL
Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#9
I wasn’t offended when she stared off no sooner had my question settled between us; likely wondering and perhaps worrying my intentions weren’t as pure as she’d like to believe. Ebony lips sealed together tightly, I said nothing further though. Silently, I and Fina stood by in the bitter cold, waiting for Lena’s decision. Watching, waiting. Yar, say true, I’d have reservations against bringing a Basin clan member into our home as well. Her contemplations were understood... Not matter what words are spoken between our families, there was too much bad blood for frivolous desires such as free trust; too many wounds needed attention. Cera, Africa, and countless others have suffered because of differing ideals.

My memories served as a firm reminder.

With some effort I shoved those negative thoughts beneath a sturdy wall, while reminding myself that this moment wasn’t about their sins. It was about mine. Lena meet my gaze without bite and agreed to carry my gift forward; even going as far as to promise it would arrive to the intended individual. I nodded, dropping my gaze to the ground. It would have to be enough for now, I’d have to take her word as truth.

Right forehoof rose from frosty earth, the fur was wet and beneath a too thin layer of fur my skin felt numb. Golden threads rose from where I stepped, they climbed beneath my collar and gently slithered to unsnap a silver and green amulet from beneath the steel that sheltered it. A feather, which had been tucked neatly away was also pulled free, the pinion was one of my own and it fluttered to the ground gently against snow. Gold crept toward it, then over it, slowly at first, then faster until the entire thing had been sealed. I wove the golden feather near the amulet and into the chain with magic.

It swirled on honeyed threads, twisting and shimmering. I held it out for her, “Will ye give this to her?” my eyes rose, questioning.

OOC: Am transferring one of my amulets to her <333 The earth one.

Image Credits
[Image: 5388c9b80fe59]

Lena the Songbird Posts: 663
Aurora Basin Time Mender atk: 4 | def: 10.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 69 | Buff: NOVICE
Imogen :: Common Kitsune :: Fire Heather
#10
Silence hung, gathered, tethered, and clasped hold of the wintry landscape. The sylph watched and waited, patient, regal, and composed, a nymph of the mist and ice, awaiting the finality of the decision, the altered state of their befuddling interactions. Where the rest of her herd may not have even agreed to meet with the flying King, she’d granted him an audience, reminded and remained stalwart, valorous, polite, and courteous, even when they hadn’t been bestowed the same accord – the results were quiet, listless, and languid, but a telling tale: for once, he’d been willing to listen. It was a step, a tread, towards some pinnacle beyond the icy, malicious measures of violence and abhorrence. Her eyes followed his to the ground, flowed, drawn, to the movements of gold and steel, tracking the motions until the Falls Lord revealed Mirabella’s destined trinket: an earth amulet, spun and webbed with silken threads and vibrant, gilded plumes, a resting nook of apologies, apprehensions, and trivial games they’d all played: an artifact of trials, tribulations, and attempts to sow over torn grains. The lithe femme noted its twirl, its innocence, its honeysuckle embraces, as if naught had ever happened, as if it was all just a murky misunderstanding, another shift into the world of paradigms and labyrinths. She followed suit, taking hold of the proffered token with her maw, dipping her head low towards beloved Imogen, who settled it around her neck, another mighty monolith of the snow. Soft arias, warm, bright, tender with compassion, with intrigue (would the girl accept it, or would the jewel be left to shatter, a moment destroyed by the bitter, rancorous notions of ignorance?), ripened and enriched amongst the Siberian threshold, noble head gesturing a nod. “Of course.” The pair turned to leave then, twisted through the archaic windfalls of frozen bliss and tempestuous earth, grinding amongst the gelid rime and past the bleak, lost caverns, measuring out the ways of her personality with a final smile, a beneficent grin. “Take care!” Then they vanished into the barren regime, lingering into the icicle void.

her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love
LENA
Credit URL
Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#11
The amulet slipped around her neck, I stood by on the slide chance that she would have something else to add. Those eyes rose, looking to me and preparing to bid our conversation farewell. I smiled just a little, a tiny grin that allowed a small amount of compassion to shine through. “I say thank ye.” She turned to leave, trotting off into the pale abyss. “Long days and pleasant nights,” came the reply to her considerate reminder that I should ‘take care.’ Yar. Say true. We should all take care.

“Come on,” I said aloud, when her dark body had finally sank from view over yon mound of snow. “Let’s go home. My feet are stiff.” There had never been a time before now that the word home didn’t leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Truly, after visiting this frozen Antarctic. I would be thankful for our hollow. Fina glanced up and replied, “Maybe they are fair now.”

A soft grin turned higher, spreading until the gleam of teeth glittered through, “Perhaps,” tone was dry, tasteless, “Time alone will witness such truth.” Their reputation was damaged. But was the damage beyond repair? Who knew?

The sun would be setting soon and danger was mounted double in the dark. I turned to begin our walk back home. Fina huddled herself in the soft sheath of ivory, falling asleep to the steady sway of my gat and the howling northern wind. I’m left alone with my mind still spinning troubles and worries.

OCC: Thanks girly <333 could you link me the thread when Lena gives the amulet? I want to stalk it like a little fangirl ^^;

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[Image: 5388c9b80fe59]


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