6 Year Old
Mare
none of
Zenith Citadel
Aurum
13 posts
Played by sabby
Offline
Nerissa
Asterian
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Mar 23, 2016 12:45:37 GMT -6
Post by Nerissa on Mar 23, 2016 12:45:37 GMT -6
honey you're familiar/like my mirror years ago It has been many months of wandering the forests: staying out of the sun, sleeping with the wolves. Nessa has sort of forgotten how to do otherwise.
She has not really left her homeland - beyond, of course, the physical reality of it. But it's still here. In her head, and her heart, and wherever else counts. She still wakes up at night facing north, and has to cut herself off from saying bear's den when any passing stranger asks where she lives. A lot of times when she looks into still water, she finds Sansa at the bottom, washed pale by the undulating ripples and the glare of overhead sunlight, the look in her eyes unsettlingly familiar.
The whole thing is really, really strange. Nerissa doesn't feel real. None of this does. The bright spring sunlight and uncomfortably warm breeze, the citadel surprisingly unweathered by the years, Nessa's heart thrashing around in her chest without pause. It's beautiful, though. The grass is tinged purple, and so lush that it reaches up to Nerissa's chest, shedding seeds like hair in summer; the sun is blazing relentlessly overhead, lighting the marble of the building white and gold, and everything is quiet. Deathly quiet. The only noise is the faint rustling of the flora and the blood thrumming in her veins like electricity before a bad storm. It's comforting, unfamiliar. She's trying to keep it in the back of her mind.
The citadel looming over her head doesn't look particularly foreboding, but something about the sheer size of it strikes up a nervous tremor in Nessa's chest, and her urge to explore wanes in an instant. She's so tired, anyway. So, so tired. The warmth of the sun is spreading a tingling sleepiness through her body, and she's traveled so far already that nothing sounds better than a nap right now. The place is wholly empty, and even Nessa's paranoid mind can't find something scary enough to stop her. There's no herd to take care of, no kids to look after, no wife to go home to. The ache in her chest is as much depression as it is exhaustion, because without any responsibilities to take care of, Nessa is back to being a little kid.
She blinks the sun out of her eyes and sinks to her knees. So much for a fresh start.
(Rhaskos)
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6 Year Old
Stallion
- of
Obsidian Stronghold
Aurum
21 posts
Played by SPACED
Offline
Rhaskos
Kairosian
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Mar 24, 2016 1:42:27 GMT -6
Post by Rhaskos on Mar 24, 2016 1:42:27 GMT -6
There was no telling whether or not he was allowed within the Asterian territories - but for Rhaskos, wandering was a familiar and necessary crutch. Before he'd found Nerissa he had had nowhere to go, nobody to belong to, and therefore no home to cling to. He'd wandered far and wide, searching for something he wasn't even sure existed... and he'd wandered straight into the best thing that had ever happened to him. He'd known Nessa by the grapevine, one of the first women to take lead of her own herd, and he could still remember the warmth that had blossomed into his heart at the prospect. She must be so strong, he'd thought, and he'd admired her from afar - that prodigal daughter, strong and political, a vision of hope for a better future. Rhaskos had made up his mind then and there that he would pledge himself to her - to be a loyal subject, regardless of what blood ran through his veins.
She'd been more than he'd ever dreamed, too. He'd been welcomed, but screened thoroughly before he was given a position of strength. Nerissa had been more impressive up close than even the rumours had claimed - and to Rhaskos, who she was made her all the stronger. Nerissa had been born to a man that was no better than Rhaskos' own father when it came to committing atrocities, and yet here she was: a decent, kindhearted, powerful woman. Hope had bloomed within him - there was a future for people like them. He sighed, not melancholy but calm and nostalgic, his deep chest filling with sweet spring air.
And there she was.
It was as if his very thoughts had summoned her, a little older, a little tireder... but here. He had no words to say, and he was saved from having to think of anything by her soft, exhausted breaths: she slept. He crept to her side, broad, strong body standing over her as he always had - protecting her, his Queen. He gazed at her with eyes of liquid gold, his heart light and shining. She was truly here.
Rhaskos let her sleep until the afternoon had worn itself out, the sun low in the sky, peachy and gentle. Then he lowered his rough lips and let his gentle, baritone voice awaken her from sleep:
"Nerissa..."
ooc; holy crap I love them so much Nerissa |
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6 Year Old
Mare
none of
Zenith Citadel
Aurum
13 posts
Played by sabby
Offline
Nerissa
Asterian
|
Mar 24, 2016 14:22:37 GMT -6
Post by Nerissa on Mar 24, 2016 14:22:37 GMT -6
honey you're familiar/like my mirror years ago Something is coming towards her. A wolf, maybe.
It's hard to tell because it's drowning out the sky, all its edges turned to gold and feathesr, and the only thing that's really discernible about the thing is its skin - coal-black like Nessa's - and its eyes, a strange, burnt-butter amber. She opens one eye as far as it will allow (not much) and squints. A mass of wild black hair, spidery lashes, the tone and rhythm of its breathing strangely familiar.
Its hard to tell if this is sleeping or living. Nerissa's lashes are fluttering and heart is slurring its beat in her chest, but the scrape of grass across her cheek is sharp and real. The breeze is still raising hairs across her ribcage, sun shining, the air turning cold, and she's well aware of all this, but it feels like it's all happening at the end of a very long tunnel. Like she has to squint for anything to come into focus.
It's a fever that she has learned to live with - sick and stuck in this place between slumber and wakefulness.
This wolf is acting very strange. Definitely not hungry, though, so Nessa chooses to ignore it. She closes her eyes all the way and falls back into sleep: chest heaving, sunlight spreading sparklers into her vision.
It seems like only a second before the noise hits her ear - Nerissa - and she is struggling back towards the world of the living, tooth and claw, gasping for air, trying to wake up again. Every part of her body is weighted down by sleep, and it is a long few moments until she can crack one eye open and focus on the form above her.
Not a wolf. Maybe at one time. Maybe the son of one.
But then again, she had once been a queen, a legend, a force to be reckoned with. Or the daughter of one. At one time.
"Ah," she says. Swallows the dryness in the back of her throat. Her eyes narrow against the glare of the setting sun, and slowly, a smile cuts into one side of her face. "Hi, sweetheart."
(Rhaskos OMGG I KNOW!! )
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6 Year Old
Stallion
- of
Obsidian Stronghold
Aurum
21 posts
Played by SPACED
Offline
Rhaskos
Kairosian
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Mar 27, 2016 9:44:36 GMT -6
Post by Rhaskos on Mar 27, 2016 9:44:36 GMT -6
"Ah, hi sweetheart"
A smile breaks his solemn face in two, his teeth so white amongst the velvet black of his lips. Rhaskos didn't know how long it had been since such a smile had graced his lips, didn't want to acknowledge that his heart hadn't been this light since before they'd went their seperate ways. The universe must have had other plans, it seemed. It was so Nessa to start with something so simple - not even the slightest bit startled to see her old soldier and friend standing above her. He looked at her with the same warmth, no hint of lust or sexual appreciation - it had never been that way with them. Rhaskos had been happy simply to make her life easier, to be there when she needed him and to take what she gave him: peace and purpose. His smile faltered as he thought of Sansa, unwilling to bring up something so painful, but unable to think of Nerissa without her.
Instead, he let his rugged voice settle in the warm air;
"I'm glad you're here." He paused, continuing after some hesitation; "I was hoping you'd find your way here."
He wanted to say more, but he'd always been a man of few words - especially difficult ones. He wanted to explain how much stronger she made him feel, and how he'd been a little lost without her... Nerissa would probably know regardless. She had a knack for reading people. His eyes grew solemn once more and after a long hesitation asked the question he'd been wanting to ask since he'd seen her:
"Issy?"
ooc; <3333 and by Issy he means Isadore haha Nerissa |
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6 Year Old
Mare
none of
Zenith Citadel
Aurum
13 posts
Played by sabby
Offline
Nerissa
Asterian
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Mar 27, 2016 21:23:49 GMT -6
Post by Nerissa on Mar 27, 2016 21:23:49 GMT -6
honey you're familiar/like my mirror years ago Rhaskos smiles above her - a crescent of bright white that shines like a lighthouse in Nessa's squinting eyes - and, unbidden, Nessa's own grin widens. She feels it, sharp and sweet, cutting into her cheek. It's refreshing, to smile. She hasn't in a long time.
The sun is a faint yellow disk behind Rhaskos' hair, clipped at its edges and bleeding only slightly; the feeling that she has lost too much time sets in, although she has nowhere to be. Sleeping through the day is unlike her even at her worst, and the darkening sky sparks up something nauseating in her stomach, a rip-and-tear of apprehension. She exhales, rolls over a little, trying to find the strength to stand.
I'm glad you're here, Rhaskos says in that way of his, and Nessa suppresses another smile. She's missed him. His unending loyalty to her and to the Den, to her half-sister, the soothing rumble of his voice, the sometimes shy but always sincere weight of his words. They haven't known each other all that long, but she trusts him, maybe more than she's trusted anybody. Calla had a kingdom to take care of, her father was on-and-off crazy, and none of her political friends could be trusted to not have a secret plan. But Rhaskos - he asks for nothing but purpose and protection, in order to give her the same.
Appreciation swells in Nessa's heart, and she opens her mouth to voice as much -
Issy?
And snaps it shut again.
The ex-queen shifts upward, pulls herself to standing and shakes, dirt sloughing off her side. There is an obvious reluctance in the slow way she moves to meet Rhaskos' gaze - all rusty muscles and pursed lips, feeling the sorry already in her throat.
I don't know, she answers bluntly; Nessa has never really been one to mince words. But her tone is soft, and so are her eyes as they glance up to her friend, an obvious concern flickering under the glossy blue surface. She leans over and bumps his shoulder with hers. No one else came over, that I know of.
There is probably something more to be said about that, but it is nothing that Nerissa wants to say.
(Rhaskos )
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6 Year Old
Stallion
- of
Obsidian Stronghold
Aurum
21 posts
Played by SPACED
Offline
Rhaskos
Kairosian
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Apr 4, 2016 21:05:27 GMT -6
Post by Rhaskos on Apr 4, 2016 21:05:27 GMT -6
I already know he told himself with defeat as Nerissa raised herself, gaze averted for just a moment. So when she said the words he was dreading, he had already accepted them as such. Though knowing did nothing to soothe the painful thrumming in his chest - such loss he felt, cold to his bones at the thought that he had left her behind. Dear, darling Isadore. He warmed at Nessa's familiar bump, trying to loosen his tight muscles and think of how glad he was that at least Nessa was here. Maybe Isadore had made it out, made it through that chasm of self-despair she had created. Maybe.
"They have a funny way of doing things here," he said conversationally. Though in reality the kingdoms were probably not so different as their own lands had been - only dictators had risen and made their own kingdoms... they hadn't risen to a position already secured. "I've joined the Kairosian Army, it's very... straightforward." He knew Nerissa would take his meaning - it's easy for me to follow orders, I didn't know where else to go, or what else to do. He paused, licking his lips and averting his gaze slightly "I've met Calla here too."
He still didn't know what to make of the midnight woman, a force of nature, so wild and passionate. He knew that his body yearned for hers, and that when she had grasped at him upon those mountain tops he had felt a rush he hadn't felt for a long time. He knew he wanted to see her again - and perhaps that was all he needed to know for now.
ooc; sorry it took so long! Nerissa |
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