As the snow melted away to reveal the beautiful canvas growing beneath the grey could feel the winter blues slipping away with it. Moving around was near impossible when you were buried up to your belly in cold wet snow so it was not hard to imagine why such a period existed in the first place. Being as white as the snow itself it was easy to hide away somewhere so that it was only you and the select few people that you wanted to have around you. With Levex still missing and the thought of her remaining son getting older by the day she was scared that everyone would disappear from her life again. She had spent too much of her early years alone to want to do it all over again but she knew it was only a matter of time until it could be staring her in the face once more. "Why did you have to leave?" She thought silently looking up to the sky wishing that there was a way to reverse death so she might see her parents again.

Her peaceful moment didn't last nearly as long as she would have hoped before her son came sliding up to her asking to go and explore again. Reluctantly agreeing she turned to watch him canter off his step full of excitement and mischief. What was she ever going to do with him she thought shaking her head with a soft chuckle. If only to be that young again and so full of life and energy. Lowering her head to snatch up a mouthful of the green blades she watched her son until he was out of sight before turning to figure out what she was going to do. Wandering along her thoughts went to the latest task that she had been granted by Kahlua. Watching her make all those splendid glass sculptures and creations a few months back had been a learning experience indeed but she still doubted that she could accomplish anything near as good. Glazier... How was she even to go about it? Was there something special that she needed to do or find? Well she imagined that she would need to find some type of items but what exactly? Stones? Pebbles? This was sure going to be an interesting experience for she had no idea what she was doing maybe Kahlua had chosen the wrong person for the job.Continuing along she tried to brainstorm things that she might be good at but came up empty handed. It felt as if she had no talent and no skills how in the world was she going to pull this off?

Picking up the odd items here and there along the way when she finally stopped she had a small collection of odds and ends. Placing them down before her on the ground she nosed through them thoughtfully trying to see something she could make out of them. What could she make out of a few long stems, two large pebbles covered in specks of colour, a few fragrant flowers and a couple shells? Moving them around a couple times to no avail she stomped her hoof in frustration. This was pointless! Sighing heavily she turned away feeling defeated and annoyed at herself for not being more useful to the herd. Defeated by a bunch of stupid stones... this was a whole new low for her she thought in total exasperation. Maybe she would try again later if she managed to come up with some kind of idea but right now she was fed up.

@[Kaj]

Thinking back to the many times she had observed others creating all these amazing things from everything and anything she tried to remember details. How had they started off their tasks? What did they choose to work with? What else was different from what she had been trying? Kahlua had seemed so at peace when she chose to work with her glass making skills making things appear so simple. The crown, the glass sculptures, the wall... so many things of beauty to show off her talent yet her result was a pile of miscellaneous items with no purpose at all. Who else had she encountered? Well there was that one time when she had been helping Parelia gather some herbs and talking about their uses. Their labours had been worthwhile as in exchange her pegasus friend was able to get wing covers made for her. Dragomir had been the artist behind those but from her recollection she could not remember how he had gone about preparing his items. Magic.. it all had to be magic or something. Her magic wouldn't do much other than ignite any desired items and burn them to a crisp surely nothing that would be useful in this category of work.

The soft melodic tune that played throughout the trees shifted as she stood silently letting the sun warm her pale body. Someone was nearby for the sing song lullabies had turned into surprised squawks and chirps from those paying attention to whatever moved in the underbrush. Tipping her ears towards the approaching party she stood quietly until a soft masculine nicker cut through the rustling of the leaves. Turning to see a golden pegasus break through the treeline she tried to remember where she had seen him before. His face was familiar yet he was still a stranger to her for she could not remember ever having spoken to him before. It had been the herd gatherings she managed to pull his face from and if she was not mistaken this was their king, Kaj.

Surprise flitted through her as she wondered what occasion it must be for their king to appear before her and actually know her name. Uh oh.. had she done something wrong? Aeolus.. surely he wouldn't cause much mischief...right? Nodding politely with a soft smile she pivoted around so that she was facing the pegasus instead of standing with her back to him. " Just things not going the way I had hoped them to." She replied with a faint chuckle at her own failures. Not that her statement was anything more than her life story or anything like that. "Is there something I can help you with?"


Brisa Speaks

Speaking to one that you do not know well is like speaking to a rock in a way, or at least thats how she would compare it. Without knowing what type of character each possessed it was impossible to predict how certain conversations would play out. A rock was about as difficult a subject to talk to as a stranger was at times as they commonly left you in the dark wondering one thing or another. To her Kaj was their leader, and from the wings on his back a pegasus but thats where her knowledge of him ended. Others had talked about him from time to time but nothing had ever stuck other than the important facts about him being her superior and all, though this was the case for most of her acquaintances and friends. Being at the absolute bottom of the totem pole was a common occurance in her life and she had gotten used to it over the years. Drifting back from her random thoughts she figured that listening to his words might be of some use instead of letting the voices inside her head fill her ears.

Say what did he just say.. Beautiful? Ha surely he wasn't talking about her... was he? Half blushing for a moment as the harmless compliment passed over she tried to cover up her minute embarrassment with a gentle smile and soft chuckle. Compliments were so far and few between that regardless of how they were said she always seemed to react in the same way. "I guess being King allows you to do whatever you wish." She joked softly in response.

As the King's attention turned towards the random cluster of items she gathered her internal embarrassment scale only deepened. Great now she would get to make the confession that she really had no idea what she was doing. Oh wonderful, she thought silently with a sigh. "These? Well they were supposed to be to create something or another but now I have no idea what they are for." Returning her gaze to her small odds and ends collection she could only shake her head and shrug for she hadn't the smallest idea on what could even be created with them. " I was excited when Kahlua asked me to become a Glazier but now i'm wondering if I was really the right member for the job. I don't have any idea what I am supposed to do and as you can see I am terrible at it."


Brisa Speaks

Revealing things about herself was not exactly a strong suit of hers for she had been burned many times in the past from those she had once trusted. There was a fine line between trusting herself and trusting others and to be honest both sides had been difficult for her to accomplish on the best of days. After the catastrophe with everything that had happened with Note she could not trust her judgement or her emotions for both seemed to lead her down unforgiving pathways. His words had reassured her and led her down the path of no return and for what? To use her? To defile her? To make her heart snap into fragments again? Their encounter had taken much from her but had also given her something in which to live for. Without her twins in the equation things very well could have ended in tragedy.

Listening to Kaj speak she was half expecting him to agree with her and dismiss her from her position as Glazier but instead he chose a different route. We were both certain you would do well. Surprised by the confidence their two rulers put behind her she was caught completely off guard. How could someone else have so much faith that she would be good at something when she carried so many doubts in herself? Nodding as Kaj asked if she would like some help she listened intently to everything that he described. This magic was stemmed by darkness and shadows? At first she did not like the sounds of having any dealings with any type of dark magic but as her King continued she tried to accept that she would be using it for good.

"How can someone reach out to it and know that it is what you desire? With my fire magic it seems to come from within yet I still am hesitant to call upon it fearing its ability to destroy. How will I know what I find is really this magic and not something more dangerous?" She inquired quizzically as she tried to get a sense of what might be out there.

---

@[Kaj]
Brisa Speaks

Gazing down to the assortment of objects she had managed to collect she tried to be optimistic that they could form something other than a pile of junk. How could they be formed into something of use when alone they were merely useless items?

Listening as the pegasus spoke once more she lifted her eyes to his as he spoke. It was strange for someone she hardly knew to have confidence in her abilities when there was no telling what she might screw up. So many possibilities, so much responsibility.. Was this something that she was ready for? In the past she had managed to mess up even the simplest tasks. Creating an object out of nothing? Well that seemed almost impossible to the girl who could set herself on fire while managing not to kill herself yet if she tried to light a fire without magic she would burn herself. None of it made sense but then again what about life made sense in the first place?

Focusing on the instructions she had managed to pick out of the stallion's speech the fae placed them all together to make better sense in her own mind. Focus on what you want to create. Well that would be easy if she could imagine something to create in the first place. The second part to this whole concentration aspect was the unreliability of her brain to always assume the worst in a situation. With her luck the whole project would start off decently before blowing up in her face, if it was even possible. Singed hair did not smell nice or look anything other than ugly so hopefully she could manage to avoid that if at all possible. "I think the not knowing portion of that is what I am most afraid of. Things rarely turn out decently when I'm involved. No one has to look too hard to figure that out. All it takes is for others to see me and my son together. They don't have to say anything for I already know I cannot be what he needs me to be." She commented with a smirk. Laughing at her own failures had become easier over the years but it still never changed the fact of them being failures. A mother was supposed to teach their children everything that they needed to know. Yet here she was unable to teach her son how to spread his wings and fly. While he said it didn't matter if he flew or not she could see the disappointment on his face.

Returning her eyes down to her objects she figured that she might as well give this another try instead of facing the rest of her problems. "Focus on what you want to create." Pulling an idea from objects she had seen when she had been a child she drew the image in her mind. While it was simple, it was still complex enough to require her concentration. Closing her eyes for a second to draw her magic towards her she opened them to find silver mist curling around her feet as it slowly moved out to consume the objects as well. Surprised by the sensation she almost let her concentration drop away from the task at hand. In this lapse the mist faded back before thickening once more as her mind refocused its effort onto the object she had in mind. Watching the swirling ball of silver bend and warp before her eyes she was amazed when it finally cleared to reveal the small glass orb laying at her feet. "What the hell...she had really managed to pull it off!"

Lowering her head to examine the object she was pleasently surprised to find the lingering traces of the objects she had chosen. The glass orb was about the size and shape of a walnut and decorated with beautiful swirling blue colours throughout. If you looked close enough you could see the flower petals and slivers of the shells forming the detail. The only deviation in its shape was the curved ring on the top in which the willow stems she had gathered were threaded through to form a loop. Staring at it for a few moments in disbelief she still couldn't quite figure out how it had all happened. "How... did I make that?" She mumbled softly in awe looking to Kaj for some sort of explanation. There was no explosions, no fireballs, no destruction... yet she had managed to make something beautiful.

---

Brisa Speaks
Object being described is something like this: Orb Pendant

So many years of negative impacts and outcomes had warped the mare's mind to operate on a different viewpoint than most others. Having expected the better outcomes in her earlier years only to be sorely disappointed in the end she found it easier to cope while thinking the opposite. If she went about thinking of the worst possible scenarios/outcomes then at least she would never be disappointed, even vaguely surprised in some cases. It had become her coping strategy for so long it made it difficult to twist her mind into believing that good things could actually happen.

Few had ever managed to see beneath the mask that she had transfixed before her so it was a surprise when she looked up to see Kaj turn stoney faced in response to her warped perspective on life. "You are everything and more that Aeolus deserves." Flicking her ears to the side as a torrent of emotions churned deep within her gut she was at a loss of what to say. She had never been able to come to terms with failing her boys with her lack of knowledge and instability of a broken family. When their father had left it had always occurred to her that it had been something that she had done wrong to make him leave. It had been her stupidity that had gotten her into that situation and left her colts without a father in their life. Half shaking her head she tried to come up with words to make Kaj understand her faults in all this. How hadn't she failed, Levex was gone... she had failed to keep him safe when it mattered most. "Aeolus deserved to grow up with his brother by his side and someone he could look up to. I failed to keep Levex safe and now he is gone..." She replied softly, her words sounding hollow and strained.

When she finally managed to gather the courage to lift her eyes from where they had settled at her feet she found Kaj still there beside her. "I'm sorry. Its just been hard trying to do this all on my own and not having any idea what i'm doing. There is only so much I can teach him and it never feels like enough."

Despite her self doubt in all of this she was grateful for his kind words of encouragement and just the notion of being there for them when nobody else was. "Thank you. It means a lot to know that." She finally said after the lingering sadness had faded away once more.

It was at this time that the thrill of her successful crafting attempt once again helped to lighten her mood as her eyes fell on the glass trinket. Admiring it as she watched the light catch each and every colour she couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. Well there was a first time for everything and there was no telling what else she might be able to make with practice. As Kaj held it out to her she found herself taking a tiny step back shaking her head ever so slightly. "I want you to keep it. It can be my gift to you." It felt like the right choice to make as it had been only because of him and Kahlua that she had been able to create something like this in the first place. Later she would have to craft something for Kahlua as well but this was a good start and it had the bonus of not being hideous. "If you would accept it that is."

@[Kaj]

Brisa Speaks