[ b ] Do You Believe in Magic (For All Time & Fierce Warrior)
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2024 9:40 pm
In the morning, when everything was sleepy and hazy, when the grass was still tipped with dew and the flowers had yet to unfurl their petals towards the slowly rising sun, a lone kimeti doe curled beneath a willow tree. Its branches were heavy, overburdened with lush greenery, and it surrounded For All Time like a nest on all sides, leaving only a small opening a few steps away from where she lay. Everything smelled of water and wind and she could hear the twittering sounds of the birds beginning to wake.
"You have to come out some time," said Fierce Warrior, from the other side of a cascading willow branch. His voice was not unkind; a gentle, coaxing tone that indicated he had been attempting to get her to do just that for quite some time now. "Hiding will do you no good."
For All Time sniffled, but she didn't come out. Instead, she rested her head on her bent legs, her short tail giving a little flick that was more out of habit than dismissiveness. "It does me some good," she said stubbornly, and wished For Always was here, but her twin was gathering food for them, off somewhere in the distance where Time couldn't see her. She could sense her, as she always could, the two of them inextricably linked, but Always had slipped into the forest at the edge of the nearby stream, disappearing behind thick trunks and gnarled branches.
Fierce Warrior said, his tone now somewhat amused, "Perhaps. But you'll be all right, regardless. I think you should face this head on, rather than alone, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm not alone," said Time, instinctively defensive, but she knew what he meant even if she didn't want to admit it.
There was a heartbeat of silence. "No," said Fierce Warrior eventually, "no, you're not alone. Forgive me."
She couldn't read the note in his voice, flattened and stripped of all emotion. Lifting her head, Time eyed the slender opening the branches made and then sighed, pushing herself upright once more. She slid free of the safety of the willow and the sun was just coming up over the horizon now, gold streaking across the grass and catching on her hooves.
Fierce Warrior was down by the river, getting a drink. Time stood silently beside him, waiting until he had risen back up, and then she pressed against his side. It was reluctant, her expression a little mulish, but he smiled down at her, some of the flatness leaving his gaze.
"Your children will be wonderful," he said softly. "Do not fear. Both you and your sister will be able to take care of them, and your family will be blessed with safety and peace and happiness. I know it's a bit daunting, but you will be all right. You all will."
Time wanted to say something. She wanted to ask why he looked like that, with his smile not quite reaching his eyes, with the tension around his mouth, why there was something haunted about the way he carried himself. Why he was alone, here in this grassy, mossy place that smelled of reeds and river water, and why he sometimes looked as though he was too much a part of the swamp to ever leave it.
She didn't say anything. She nodded, leaned more fully against his side and kept her mouth shut.
It was probably better that way, anyway.
"You have to come out some time," said Fierce Warrior, from the other side of a cascading willow branch. His voice was not unkind; a gentle, coaxing tone that indicated he had been attempting to get her to do just that for quite some time now. "Hiding will do you no good."
For All Time sniffled, but she didn't come out. Instead, she rested her head on her bent legs, her short tail giving a little flick that was more out of habit than dismissiveness. "It does me some good," she said stubbornly, and wished For Always was here, but her twin was gathering food for them, off somewhere in the distance where Time couldn't see her. She could sense her, as she always could, the two of them inextricably linked, but Always had slipped into the forest at the edge of the nearby stream, disappearing behind thick trunks and gnarled branches.
Fierce Warrior said, his tone now somewhat amused, "Perhaps. But you'll be all right, regardless. I think you should face this head on, rather than alone, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm not alone," said Time, instinctively defensive, but she knew what he meant even if she didn't want to admit it.
There was a heartbeat of silence. "No," said Fierce Warrior eventually, "no, you're not alone. Forgive me."
She couldn't read the note in his voice, flattened and stripped of all emotion. Lifting her head, Time eyed the slender opening the branches made and then sighed, pushing herself upright once more. She slid free of the safety of the willow and the sun was just coming up over the horizon now, gold streaking across the grass and catching on her hooves.
Fierce Warrior was down by the river, getting a drink. Time stood silently beside him, waiting until he had risen back up, and then she pressed against his side. It was reluctant, her expression a little mulish, but he smiled down at her, some of the flatness leaving his gaze.
"Your children will be wonderful," he said softly. "Do not fear. Both you and your sister will be able to take care of them, and your family will be blessed with safety and peace and happiness. I know it's a bit daunting, but you will be all right. You all will."
Time wanted to say something. She wanted to ask why he looked like that, with his smile not quite reaching his eyes, with the tension around his mouth, why there was something haunted about the way he carried himself. Why he was alone, here in this grassy, mossy place that smelled of reeds and river water, and why he sometimes looked as though he was too much a part of the swamp to ever leave it.
She didn't say anything. She nodded, leaned more fully against his side and kept her mouth shut.
It was probably better that way, anyway.