Drifting Forward

Take your Serians here to chat or just roam their homeland.
The sun glitters above vast fields ringed by verdant forests to the north, mountains to the south and east, and wide rivers to the west.

Moderator: Tigress

Post Reply
User avatar
Keira
Elder
Elder
Posts: 726
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:47 pm
Location: Utah
Contact:

Drifting Forward

Post by Keira »

The travel had been easy, though the preparation had been harrowing. Leaving the home that we had worked so hard to shape and create to the perfect combination of all of us had been difficult to say the least. Years spent searching and then even more spent bending matter had given Drift so many years to think. Months would go by being lost in thought. He had considered himself one of the ones who had come through less unscathed but now, standing back in Sionayra, he wasn't so sure.

It was hard for him to bite down the bitterness that this land brought up. Though he'd been smart enough to realize he was not strong enough to come back in the beginning, now he wasn't certain he'd ever be. "This was a mistake" he muttered, almost under his breath. While he had coped a great deal better than others he now had to wonder if they weren't stronger and better off than he, for dealing with the grief so wholly.

"You can do this" came the soft reply from beside him. Keira had escorted him back and would stay with him until he either signaled that he would be ok on his own or requested that they go back home. She reached out slowly and stroked just behind his ear as she knew it would calm him down. As his heartbeat started to slow he smiled and looked appreciatively at his bonded. Gone was her usual flowing dress and loose hanging curls. Today she had chosen snug leather breaches and a loose linen shirt. Her hair was hanging in a long braid down her back and the combat boots laced tightly gave the over all appearance that she was ready to either do battle or run for her life at any given moment.

His eyes narrowed as he took her in and for the first time he noticed the tension in her body. Instead of holding herself with an easy grace her body was strung tight with tension and he could see her clenching and unclenching her jaw as her own narrowed eyes looked around. She must be just as nervous as I am being back he thought with bewilderment. She was always the rock of the group. Holding everyone tightly together and reinforcing how important it was to stay close to each other and not take harsh feelings out on one another.

The mountain region they were standing on was a beautiful wooded area and it now dawned on Drift that she had brought them there because this was the terrain she felt most comfortable in. Sighing, he knew what he had to do. "Ummm, I think I'd like to go on by myself now if that's ok Keira" he gritted out. He knew that it hadn't started out very confidently, with him cleaning his throat and staring at his hoof pawing the ground. He had finished confidently though, with a stamp of the hoof and staring her straight in the eye.

A gentle smile graced her face and she resumed the gentle scratch behind his ear. "If you're certain you're ready for that then, by all means, I'll return. But, if this gets to be too much for you, don't feel bad at all about coming home." He returned her smile and gave a low bow, showing his acceptance of their agreement. As she turned to leave something occurred to him and he called out to her. "Keira! Please grant one more request and take my ribbon home with you." She started like she'd just been socked "Are you sure??" He knew this was an odd request. He'd always had it with him.

"I'm sure. As much as its going to be strange without it, I cant bear the thought that something might happen to it here. Plus, I know you will keep it safe for me." In truth, he was wanting to reinvent himself and maybe temporarily letting go that piece of the past could help him discover who he was without his past.

Shrugging out of the ribbon she gently took it from him and a few moments later was gone. Spending a few minutes taking some deep fortifying breaths he glanced around at the terrain. Directly ahead of lay a clearing, to the left and right ran the edge of the forest, and behind led deep in to the forest and up the mountain. Hearing the sound of a stream he headed to his right, along the forests edge but still in the thick of the trees. Maybe, just maybe, a nice cool drink would help clear his head.

Image

Songhue
Posting Elemental
Posting Elemental
Posts: 2768
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:50 am
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Drifting Forward

Post by Songhue »

She loved the water, but then any forest dweller would have a special fondness for the element. It was what granted life to so much of their world, and for some - like Frolic - it sang, played, danced with them over the lush vegetation.

She had started with a drink, but she couldn't resist the call of the river to play; even after all this time, she was still playful. Some things never changed. She had changed, there was no question of that, yet she still found herself skipping along the stones and mock-shying from the spray that tickled her hooves.

She was powerful, sturdily built with a few deadly advantages to her anatomy; looking at her one might expect someone rather serious. She could be serious, of course; it'd been quite a serious matter as she battled for her sanity, unable to disentangle her identity from all that she had lost. Discovering who she was on her own had not only been difficult, but deadly.

That journey was done, now. Her family, her circle, had vanished from her life, though the connections were still there; she was still linked, still bound. It was enough. She could spend her days in her own company, or with that of her bondmates, and still know contentment. It was reassuring to know that no matter how far those she had tied herself to had gone, they would never truly be gone from her. And she no longer relied on them for her sense of purpose, of self.

So today she wandered. Home had exploded under recent changes; a few others who were wandering would be stunned when they came back, such was the differences to be found. She wasn't as sensitive to it all as some of her bondmates, but even she could hear the harmony singing throughout her bonded's species as the old Strangeling had her fourth and last cub.

The creature was naturally weakened from the ordeal, and Frolic had found herself too restless to remain in her lily-coated home. It was strange to feel that infirmity in this bonded; always, she had been their rock. Fleeing from what left her on edge, she had found herself returning here, to the lands of her birth. The lands she had returned to when she had lost her previous bonded, rending her life and her soul into shards of pain.

Always, she returned here, seeking familiarity in the face of the uncertain.

The link was still there, of course; it was simply made softer by the vast distance of being in another world, another realm. Easier to ignore.

Easier to submerge herself in the playful song and dance of the river that fed the land, to buck at the shadows and twirl in the uncertain light.

She was Frolic; playing was as much a part of how she coped as fighting.

Her game had so preoccupied her that, at first, she wasn't even aware of someone else approaching.
Last edited by Songhue on Wed Dec 13, 2017 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image

User avatar
Keira
Elder
Elder
Posts: 726
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:47 pm
Location: Utah
Contact:

Re: Drifting Forward

Post by Keira »

As he stepped out of the trees and moved towards the water he drew up short and had to forcibaly hold in a laugh. One of his kind was moving in and out of the water in such a way that he couldn't tell what was going on. Maybe there was a bee they wished to avoid? Maybe some sort of contest with themself? Who knew? But he sure wasn't about to make any sort of sound and end the joyus sight.

On his new land sights like this were common place but here, oh the last time he had been here it had been a somber place indeed. Here, in this home of his, he had not seen anything like this for years. It brought a new life to the land and he was not eager to let go of that. The land had changed enough that he could almost believe he was somewhere new, but the gentle hum that ran through the soil gave evidence that it was still the same place.

He wondered for the first time since leaving if the gigantic shift that had taken place in all their lives had taken the same toll on the home world as it had on their souls. Was all of the new terrain the scars of the broken and mended heart of the world? Was the sheer rejection of serians leaving for new homes the very thing that had poisoned their beloved land? Looking down the stream toward the valley floor he could see it. He could invision the hills and flowers the scars of the land. Once broken and ugly, now growing with love and life anew.

Glancing back at this new serian he wondered if he should say something. He decided to let them keep their own private happiness and maybe journey down to the valley. As he backed up he was still to engrossed with the newcomer and wasn't paying enough attention. Just as he deemed himself back far enough and went to turn around he felt a branch give way underneath his hoof and knew he had given himself away.

Songhue
Posting Elemental
Posting Elemental
Posts: 2768
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:50 am
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Drifting Forward

Post by Songhue »

There were some sounds that one expected to hear in a place of trees. Frolic was accustomed to such things - a branch falling away under the weight of a scurrying creature, leaves stirring and whispering, water tinkling merrily along, and oh, the birds. She had a bondmate that was so very fond of birds; but then, Sparkle had always been a bit strange.

She was a creature of the forest and knew which sounds belonged; and which sounds didn't. The snapping branch sang out over the sound of the water she hopped across, loud in the relative stillness of the woodland's peace. A thick bit of wood, then, and not the crumbling of something giving way to rot; no, this had been trod upon by something heavy.

This was their haven in this realm, these lands of Sionayra that had slowly healed under their care. Very, very rarely did they venture forth to the other places; some were still savaged by wild storms, and in others there were different creatures to rule and heal their home. Here, however, there were no such dangers, and the likelihood of a predator that would be any sort of danger to her was virtually nonexistent.

Which is why she perked her ears, planted her hooves in the burbling stream, and stretched her head up high as she called out.

Hello? I'm Frolic, bonded to Songhue, of the lands of Slïthcrûn, in the realm of Enchantra, she called. Then she blinked at herself, laughed, and said Sorry; there's been a big fuss at home, so it's become a sort of habit. I'm Frolic, anyway, and I'd welcome some company if you're willing. Someone I don't have to hold to high manners, for.

That part had gotten old fast, but she understood the need to claim her bonded's protection to strangers. Some of the other species in the realm were powers in their own right, and if they felt she was where she didn't belong it could get a bit scary. The manner of pointing out her ties is what had annoyed her; just because her bonded was inventing a new hierarchy and coordinating with the other Kindred kinds didn't mean that everyone tied to her had to step just as carefully. Ok, it did; but it shouldn't. Frolic wasn't a queen regant, anyway, and so what if she shared her soul with one? Not that some of her bondmates particularly minded... They tended to hold to high manners pretty regularly as it was.

It sucked being out-shouted, even if the shouting was coming from sheer necessity.

Escape didn't have to mean solitude, though.
Image

User avatar
Keira
Elder
Elder
Posts: 726
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:47 pm
Location: Utah
Contact:

Re: Drifting Forward

Post by Keira »

Startled at the voice ringing loud and clear over the water Drift started. Upon hearing a formal and informal greeting he laughed. To himself at first and then out loud. "Greetings, I know of your bonded. I am Drift, bonded to Keira and I have heard tales of the clan."

Never would he have thought to run in to another so quickly in this part of the home realm. But, it would seem fate was eager to get him back to the social part of life again. "I would enjoy some company and do not worry about manners for me." Manners were a fine thing for gatherings, but deep in the woods they seemed a trifle out of place.

He made his way carefully through the water and came to stand next to Frolic on the other side. "I must confess, I haven't been here in a long while and do not know my way around. It's fortunate we stummbled upon one another." His smile was warm and there was a lightness in his eyes that was only now finding its way back. Maybe this trip would be better than he anticipated.

Songhue
Posting Elemental
Posting Elemental
Posts: 2768
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 9:50 am
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Drifting Forward

Post by Songhue »

He was certainly colorful enough; Frolic wondered for a moment how she hadn't managed to see him right away, before remembering that she had been messing about in the laughing water. Distracting oneself did tend to lesson one's general awareness, or so she had heard. Apparently it was true.

He seemed nice, this Drift, and that was a relief. She wasn't the best at keeping her head when it came to some of the pushier ones; although she preferred to play, she was capable of doing some pretty serious damage once her temper snapped. Normally it meant that someone preferred to keep an eye on her, especially after how much she'd struggled to regain her enjoyment for simple frivolity, but today she had run off on her own. It had been a calculated risk; she could always run back if the adventure proved more strenuous than the stirrings at home.

Some manners would still be nice, she said, and returned his smile with interest, her gratefulness at a normal interaction dripping out like the rains over leaves. In order to be polite and even satisfy my own curiosity, I would need to ask what you might have been looking for? she asked, turning the comment into a question with a curious tilt of her head. If you were looking for anything, of course, she added, and tilted her head the other way as she moved to stand beside him, since I suppose it's possible to not know a place well without searching for something.

Oh, she was over complicating this.

Want to see what there is to see around here, maybe climb a tree?
Image

Post Reply