Light Shining Through the Brambles

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 16, 2020 20:33:59 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 16, 2020 20:33:59 GMT

(ooc: Closed to Orchid and Duskfall. Midmorning in the forest.)

"There... that should be enough."

With a sprig of raspberry leaves betwixt her teeth, Orchid lifted her head and gave her work a look. Not only had she been gathering herbs that were essential for saving lives, but she also had been tending to the plant life in general. She couldn't just let plants that looked like they needed an extra boost go untreated. A little bit of her magic had gone a long way, it seemed, and that was all she needed to know. Now that she had the herbs that she needed, though, she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. The sensible thing was to return to where the herbs were needed and drop them off. However, Orchid felt like she had a bit of time. No one was going to bat an eye at her absence if she was gone a little longer than expected, right? Besides... there was nothing that dangerous within the Great Forest. Or, at the very least, there was nothing there that seemed keen to hunt unicorns. She felt safe.

With that decided, she set her leaves down in the basket she'd borrowed from Tiana and gripped the handle with a simple levitation spell. From there, she started to trot forward. Perhaps she should keep an eye out for other helpful herbs, she thought. There was no such thing as too much rosemary, for instance. Besides, it wasn't just useful for healing. Tiana might have wanted some for a dish, or...

All of a sudden, Orchid became aware of a new scent. Or... perhaps a somewhat familiar sort? Was that Sunray? No, it couldn't have been. She was sure that, at the very least, it must have been some kind of pegasus. But what were they doing all the way out there, she wondered. There certainly hadn't been any within the ranks of the Suns that she'd seen.

Worry got the better of her, and soon she was moving at a faster trot. If it was Sunray, then she wanted to see him. If it was some foreign pegasus, though, she had to at least make sure his or her intentions weren't bad.

Come on, really? Have you ever met a bad pegasus? Orchid wondered. She realized how silly her initial thought had sounded. Still, she carried on with her quickened pace. The scent seemed to get a bit stronger as she moved. As it did, though, she realized it smelled less like Sunray and more like a stranger. There was only one way to figure out who it belonged to and what they wanted, she decided as she came to a stop.

"Hello?" Orchid called. "Is someone there? It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about." Assuming the stranger was worried about anything, that is.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 16, 2020 21:03:23 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 16, 2020 21:03:23 GMT

Large hooves glided effortlessly over the uneven ground. Or at least, as effortlessly as one could manage. The stallion had recently become more or less accustomed to moving about on the grassy earth, his wings held close to his lean frame. His left seemed to be held a bit more tentatively, though, the feathers ruffled despite obvious regular preening. The injury, though several week old, had not healed as quickly as he had hoped, leaving the dark creature to meander about on the floor. A place most flying things seldom travel.

Duskfall's liquid bronze eyes slowly roamed the sun dappled terrain of the forest he found himself in. A decent respite from the previous thorny overgrowth and the foul imbeciles that had dwelt within. Again the fight played over in his mind, retracing all his steps to find how he had messed up and what he could have done to bypass the problem all together. If only he had been that much faster or more nimble. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk, or rather an injured wing.

Something suddenly gave his legs pause, long head rising as he flared his nostrils. Not at all what he assumed to find out here. Something so sweetly familiar amid all the unknowns. Slender ears perked forward as a faint voice called into the speckled gloom. It was then he realized just how much the dense canopy overhead harbored his form. His twilight kissed coat easily hidden in the darker shadows of the forest. A faint smile curled his velvet lips.

Moving slowly the stallion came closer to the sound, wanting to see the one who it belonged to before giving his position away. The slender, feminine frame of a unicorn could be seen through the draping branches, only several yards away. There was sudden fear at what something so tender and kind was doing in this land wrought by war and bloodshed. Unicorns back home had always been tender, even if withdrawn.

"What in the name of Olympus are you doing out here", he spoke before thinking better of it, coming out of the shadows. Had the gods cast their lot into this war? It wouldn't surprise him if so. The pantheon always seemed to be finding something to sate their boredom on, and what better way then a war between mortals?

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 16, 2020 21:20:59 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 16, 2020 21:20:59 GMT

There, standing before her and speaking with a booming sort of voice, was indeed a pegasus. Not one that Orchid was familiar with as she had hoped, but a pegasus nonetheless. Her ears craned back and, after letting a small squeak escape her, she shied away a couple of paces. Only a few moments later did she start to collect herself again. Orchid still didn't entirely think Duskfall was a threat. He was a bit intimidating, sure, but he was still just a pegasus. If he'd wanted to hurt her, then he surely would have done it already. All he'd done was ask a question.

"I... I was just gathering herbs," Orchid explained. She used her magic to carry the basket a bit closer to Duskfall. "To help my allies, you see. I'm a simple healer. That's all. But... what about you?" Orchid took a step closer. Was it her imagination, or was Duskfall holding one of his wings a bit differently from the other?

"You wouldn't happen to be from the valley, would you?" She felt like it made sense to make that guess. Greece did seem like a pretty common place for unicorns and pegasi to live. So why couldn't she place him? Unless she'd just never seen him around home before, it was cause for her to wonder. While she wondered, she found her gaze drifting back to his wings. It was rude, she knew, so she tried to correct herself and look back to his face.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't even say my name. It's Orchid."

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 16, 2020 21:43:16 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 16, 2020 21:43:16 GMT

Once coming to stand in full view of the mare, the only thing that moved visibly was a slight flick of the ear. Right, his creeping in the shadows to suddenly appear out of thin air must have startled her. Still, he wasn't here trying to not frighten others. It was a minor irritation that simply couldn't have been helped.

Dark eyes glanced to the proffered basket as she explained herself before looking her over completely as she finished with an introduction. His roaming glare steadily crept over her form, unaware or uncaring to the intensity of his gaze and what she might feel being caught under it. Ultimately his mind was focused on one thing, she seemed to feel as though she was here willingly, giving her healing expertise to this war and the mongrels involved. Pity.

Without missing a beat, his voice broke the stillness that might have crept between them, though with much less enthusiasm than before. "Yes, I am", he finally broke his studious gaze to look her in the eye. Only polite to make perfect eye-contact while speaking. "I was born there with my younger siblings, but we all went our separate ways when old enough to leave the nest. Only natural."

There was a normal shrug, totally natural shuffle, of his wings as he finished. Except one didn't lay as it should with its twin. "I am Duskfall; a pleasure to meet you." Whether true or not, his voice held no malice as he dipped his nose to her in formal greeting.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 17, 2020 17:47:11 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 17, 2020 17:47:11 GMT

"I was born there, too," Orchid said. "Along with my sister. I didn't think I'd be seeing any other valley residents all the way out here, Duskfall." His name did sound pretty nice, she had to admit. Not as pleasant on her own ears as Sunray's, but still a very nice name. She was pleased to meet him, too, now that she'd seen for herself that he wasn't as intimidating as his appearing from the shadows had made him seem.

Her gaze flicked to his wings again as they shuffled back into place. The way one of them was moving in particular, its movements unlike its twin, gave her cause for concern. She had been around Sunray long enough to know how a pegasus' wing should move back into place. There was only one reason she could think of for why it was that way.

"Your wing..." Orchid couldn't stop herself from stepping to the side to get a better look. Now, she couldn't think of what had injured him. That didn't mean that she was going to ignore a fellow equine in pain.

"What happened?" Orchid asked, minty eyes dancing with concern as she looked up to him again. "If you need help, I can heal you. I don't mind." She'd just need to weigh the options. She could either nick herself with something sharp and give him a little of the blood for a quick treatment, or she could make him a makeshift splint. She didn't have the proper ingredients to make a much more effective elixer, but if she did go the injuring herself route to help him... it was something she was willing to do. She'd always told herself when she joined the Suns that, if anyone ever needed the aid of a unicorn's blood, she'd be willing to do whatever it took.

It just was a matter of how willing Duskfall was to let her help him. He read as a very proud pegasus. There was a chance Duskfall would reject the idea of help. Orchid could be stubborn when she wanted, though, and in the face of a pegasus who needed help? She wasn't going to back down.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 17, 2020 19:43:37 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 17, 2020 19:43:37 GMT

He had not missed her subtle attention to his wings, but, like most things, he paid little to no mind as to where her eyes went. It was not until she come closer that he tensed. First instinct told him to side step her if not create distance, but he withheld his stance, only shifting a hind hoof as he watched her. If Orchid had been anything else other than a familiar creature Duskfall would have certainly grown more aggressive. His first endeavors in this land of lands had taught him it was better to be safe than sorry.

His apprehension at her approach was slowly drowned by a growing sense of annoyance; he had shown weakness, and even though it was a kindhearted soul it was still weakness. Silently berating himself over his mistake he gave in and gently unfurled his feathered limb as he spoke, showing her the matted downy around his swollen wrist joint. "I was exploring the more westerly lands; curious I found them smothered in the dark overgrowth. I found more than just a tangle of thorns suffocating the indigenous flora..."

He, with as much poise one can muster through earnest pain, tucked his injured wing against his side before continuing. "Though they were not the first creatures I met here, they were the first to leave a great impression." A look of mellowed disgust broke the noble mask for just a moment before he shook his head. "I must decline your offer. You shouldn't worry yourself over my well being. We are strangers, after all."

Pride took over his being, smothering the simple desire to be well and free of pain. He had already shown weakness once, he would not be so foolish to fall prey twice. Especially to the same individual.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 18, 2020 3:56:21 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 18, 2020 3:56:21 GMT

"But that can't be comfortable," Orchid insisted. She hadn't dealt with wing injuries specifically before, but her heart wouldn't let her just... walk away from this situation. Even with Duskfall's pride making itself present, she just couldn't let it go. Still, she did back up a tiny bit. If nothing else, she wanted him to have his space. Only if he consented to letting her help him would she get close again.

"Strangers or not, you're hurt. I'd be failing my duty as a healer if I didn't try to help a little. At least let me make you a splint," she offered. Really, though, Orchid didn't think of them as total strangers. They were both residents of the Grecian valley. Even if they hadn't met properly back there, they still were from the same homeland. That made them... acquaintances? At the very least, she figured that much made sense.

A part of her wanted to get just a smidge closer. She wanted to see how bad the damage to his wing actually was. However, she stopped herself. There was something she wanted to ask first.

"How long has it been like this?" Her mind was churning with other questions, such as how he had escaped what she assumed was a gathering of Cursed Thorns soldiers, but she stopped before they could come out. The last thing she wanted was to irritate him further with inquiries. One thing at a time.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 19, 2020 3:10:42 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 19, 2020 3:10:42 GMT

Persistent, confident, stubborn. These were the traits Duskfall had set alongside the name 'Orchid', cataloging the unicorn's personality with her face. Already she displayed, what he assumed, her truest self. Even as she backed away a pace to give him room he could see the earnest want to help deep in her seafoam eyes. He had to admit, there was a sense of authority in the way she handled this situation.

Cultivated instinct told him to continue arguing his side but something in the way she spoke tempted his tongue to falter. With a sigh he conceded, "If you must know, I had been flying deeper into the lands trying to understand the dark magics that gave birth to the cover of thorns. I felt nothing like the magic produced by the gods back home, nor the meandering wizards that called themselves 'powerful'. It was...knew, foreign. I was surely unprepared for the ambush that awaited me when I alighted in a small clearing.

"Dark creatures, seeped deep in the choking black magics, jumped at me from the shadows. Normally I would have been able to turn and take to air before they could reach me but they seemed well versed in handling creatures gifted by flight. The chains were easy enough to side step or shake off, a grappled hook not so much." Again he unfurled his wing, this time raising it to show the swollen puncture wound underneath.

"It caught me behind the wrist, missing the joint but biting though the muscle", a snort of irritation escaped him, a small break from his stoic facade. "That was almost a month ago, now."

Bronze eyes flicked away as he tried to hide the pain from moving the limb at such an angle, "I don't think a splint will be of much good."

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 19, 2020 17:08:25 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 19, 2020 17:08:25 GMT

"A month??" Orchid's voice rose in surprise. Poor Duskfall! He didn't deserve that. Not at all.

He was right. With his wing in that condition, a splint alone wouldn't do any good. It might help to keep the wing in place, but it wouldn't aid the healing process alone. Tentative steps forward were taken so she could examine it a bit more closely. Whoever those dark creatures were, they were cruel and undeserving of anything good. She knew it was a bad thought, so she shook it out of her head as best she could and tried to refocus herself. She still wanted to do something for Duskfall. Anything to help him regain his ability to fly. No pegasus deserved to be grounded.

"Then... let me do something else for you," Orchid said. "Just... let me find something really quick." Her levitation spell on the basket she'd gathered herbs in ended, and it landed in the grass beside her with a dull thump. Luckily, none of her herbs had fallen too far. She could regather the ones that had tumbled out in a moment.

Now her attention was turned to the ground. There had to be a sharp object nearby. A stick, a rock... anything. She just needed a small amount of her blood to come to the surface. Why in the gods name hadn't she asked someone to come with her? Someone easily could have helped her with this. A needle prick would even had been fine...

"Oh!" Orchid finally spotted something. She motioned with her hoof for Duskfall to stay where he was, then galloped into the foliage nearby. A couple short minutes passed before she returned with leaves clustered in her mane and a flat, sharp stone hovering beside her. Her levitation spell was all she needed in that moment. Now, Orchid wasn't a fool. She knew that not everyone knew the healing properties of a unicorn's blood. That was why she needed to preface what she wanted to do.

"Before you freak out," she said, "let me explain. I have another way to heal you. I just need a little of my blood. Traditionally it wouldn't administered like this, but... you've been groundbound for too long." There was an earnestness in her voice she didn't think could be matched. She hadn't yet needed to give blood to anyone in need yet, and Duskfall was a civilian as far as she could tell. A small part of her had hoped that she wouldn't need to just yet. However, circumstances being as they were, she was still willing. It was the least she could do. She wouldn't give herself the small wound she intended to just yet, though. She had one more thought.

"I know how important flight is to a pegasus. If his ability to fly were suddenly taken away from him, I don't know what my Sunray would do. So... let me do this for you. Please."

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 20, 2020 0:46:52 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 20, 2020 0:46:52 GMT

The fervent emotion that suddenly drove her to start scouring the ground held in him place more so than the gestured hoof. Even his wing was held still at its previous angle as he watched her with growing curiosity. Orchid was unique to him, mostly because he had never spent much time mingling with the horned horses. In his brief meetings they had seemed kind enough and timid, but there was a driving force behind this mare. Everything she did had a purpose and it gave him pause. It was...intriguing.

It was something he could relate to; a purpose. The stallion had his wants and wishes but he also had a desire to have a purpose. At first he thought it was to explore all the world, known and unknown, but his solitude was growing less appealing with each passing moon. Though pegasi may not be as inclined to living in large herds, or flocks, they did enjoy a social gathering of sorts. Was that his problem?

His eyes had flicked to the basket when it fell from the air only to return to her as she disappeared into the brush. A brow was lifted when she re-materialized in a more disheveled state with a sharp stone at her side. His subtle confusion turned to open surprise when she reveled her tactics.

Duskfall turned his body to face her more directly, tucking his wing back in place. It had been said that unicorns could heal but how they did it was unknown to him. If this was the only way he'd want no part in that. The twilight blessed male may not be a chivalrous type by nature but he was still appalled at the idea of one causing self harm in order to help him. He was about to state his objections when she spoke again, this time her words bringing to light a different kind of emotion.

"What? Sunray?" No, it couldn't be. There was no way any member of his family was here. This other Sunray was a unicorn or some other equine. Or maybe a different creature entirely. The sudden burst of anxiety was utterly foreign to him and it leaked through the practiced mask of solemn authority. "You must mean a different Sunray, and not an orange pegasus."

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 20, 2020 18:54:19 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 20, 2020 18:54:19 GMT

"Yes... yes, that's him exactly!" Orchid answered. She shouldn't have been surprised that Duskfall knew him, too, but she was. She couldn't remember ever seeing Duskfall around the valley. Perhaps he'd left before she'd had a chance to actually meet Sunray. The way Duskfall had asked, though, did make her wonder. The way he was holding himself didn't make her feel much better. Her ears lowered slightly, as did the stone she was levitating. She hadn't been given her permission to administer her treatment, so she wasn't going to for now.

"He's my coltfriend," she explained, "and he has been for a while. B-But he's not with the Suns. Or the enemy. He promised me he wasn't going to be doing any fighting, just like I'm only here to do healing, if you're worried about that. Or... if you're worried at all?" Orchid didn't claim to know that much about Duskfall. She just was going based off of his tone and his posture. She needed to ask her next question, too.

"How do you know him? I-I mean, I suppose it's normal for pegasi to know each other, but I don't remember ever seeing you around the valley when I met Sunray." She gave her head a small shake to get the leaves out of her mane at last. This wasn't the day she had anticipated, but a part of her was glad that was the case.

There was nothing wrong with a chance encounter like this.

Last Edit: Aug 20, 2020 20:38:13 GMT by Corgi

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 21, 2020 23:44:08 GMT

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Post by Duskfall on Aug 21, 2020 23:44:08 GMT

No, no, no. This was not good. Her confirmation to his growing fears did nothing to stem the clinging anxiety creeping under his skin. He felt dizzy, fuzzy, like his whole being was live with living electricity and he had no conduit with which to direct it.

"Fighting?" The stallion's long face had turned away from the mare as she spoke but now it whipped around to let bronze eyes bore into her. Suns? Enemy? He begged the heavens that this Sunray was not his younger brother, and at the same time cursed the Fates for their twisted sense of humor.

Duskfall was, in this state, utterly immune to the emotions of Orchid and what his actions and words made he feel. Though he was not the closest of his siblings to the sun-kissed stallion, he still felt a sense of kinship. If anything had happened to Sunray... What would he do? He had left them to suffer the world on their own, just as their parents had. Could he really be angry at his brother for getting involved in something better left alone? He himself had ventured into this turbulent land in search of something.

Slender ears barely caught her last question, breaking him out of his roiling thoughts. He blinked several times before any real composure was gathered then his voice slid more softly from his tongue. "I have a younger brother named Sunray. Our parents called him such for he shone like a blazing sunset. I- we- parted ways as siblings usually do when they reach a certain age, wanting to explore the world...

"Please, take me to him. I must see for myself that this is not my kin. I must know that Sunray, or any of my younger siblings, are well and free of this cursed place." There was a sense of urgency that crept into his tone unbidden, though he did nothing to stop it. For all his arrogant pride and selfish wants, Duskfall did care about his family. To know one was possibly in harms way, or, worse, diving right for it, was more daunting than not knowing at all.

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Light Shining Through the Brambles Aug 23, 2020 15:16:58 GMT

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Post by Orchid on Aug 23, 2020 15:16:58 GMT

She frowned a bit as she took in all that Duskfall had to say. If it was the same Sunray they were referring to, then Duskfall was his brother. Sunny had mentioned having siblings, sure, but it had always just been him and her. To think that the circumstances that brought them together was the war wasn't exactly ideal. Then again, she supposed none of them had really asked to get caught up in a war. It had been Orchid's desire to help that had left her restless in their valley. She couldn't leave well enough alone, and Sunray had wanted to come to keep an eye on her. Duskfall having to hear about all of this couldn't have been helping his anxiety that much. Orchid wished she could do more for that much.

"Well... Sunray did tell me he had siblings when we met. But by the time I met him, they'd all separated from one another. Just like my sister and I. I never had the chance to meet any of his family," Orchid said. She understood Duskfall's concerns. If it had been her in his place, with Chrysanthemum running off to a war and having to hear about what had happened from a total stranger, she might have been tempted to act the same way. As it stood, though, she was trying to ease his nerves a bit. Orchid didn't know what she could say to help, but she wanted to try.

Take him to him...?

Now, Orchid was tempted to say that she didn't actually know where Sunray was at the moment. She knew he tended to hang around Arendelle those days since they'd met up in the Enchanted Forest, but she didn't know for sure if he was there right then. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't take Duskfall there. Orchid had to approach this carefully.

"Okay," Orchid said. Her frown had faded and she looked calm once more. "I have an idea of where he might be, so I'll take you there. But!" Orchid's magic levitated her sharp stone up a bit and she held up a hoof. There was going to be a catch. Of course there was. Orchid couldn't just let his injured wing go untreated.

"Before I do, you have to let me treat you. And I don't want to hear no for an answer."