[Solo] - In Memoriam...

[Epine de Rose]

Title: In Memoriam (Into Memories)
Time Span: Approx. 6 IC Years
Features: Tempest, Kiyoshii Yukio, Esper, Adria, Catalyst, Syntyche, Sarielle, Equinox etc...

In Character Premise:
The once notorious Purewalker, Syntyche, has vanished from existence. With no trace of the beast, or any indication of what fate befell her, those who once pursued her have entered a state of tranquility. Assuming that the fiercesome zealot's fury has been quelled, the band of hunters has since disbanded, leaving only one to keep watch...


OOC Notes:
Due to my hiatus I never got round to finishing this particular story arch, for anyone who was supposed to take part you can take the above as gospel. As it stands no one knows what happened to Syntyche, only that she vanished without a trace.

After I've finished this solo RP, if you still want to rejoin with this particular set of plots then please let me know!

You can continue to use Syntyche as back story for any previous attacks etc, or if you're only reading this now and want to have her as a former attack on your soquili/herd etc, then you can also do that too, please just let me know! (Haha)  

[Epine de Rose]

[The Present Day...]


They said, that an overwhelming sense of calm immediately after chaos, is always the eye of the storm. There is no such thing as serenity, no sense of true tranquility and peace. Regardless of what the idealists of this world might think, something somewhere is causing havoc and pain. Just because the idealists of this world are not directly subjected to the entity of such despair, does not mean that it doesn’t exist, and nor should they ever declare their world free from it.

Alas, to instruct any idealist to think and feel in this way would destroy the very essence of their being and given their inclination towards the extreme, it would most likely cater to whatever these anarchistic entities may aspire towards. Whether it be despair, violence, anger or hate; these idealists would simply be ill equipped for the realities of the world. It was for this reason that two types of being existed, those who were idealists… and those who swept up the mess in the wake of their latest series of ridiculous adventures.

How individuals were classified would probably have been a source of contention between himself and those he deemed as idealists. They would have disputed their own classifications and subjected him to their perceived definitions, but this was why the stallion in question deemed inappropriate to keep his opinions to himself. What he chose to do with these classifications and the individuals that fell into each category, was a matter for him and him alone.

Thus it should have come at no surprise that the stallion hadn’t settled when the lands he had traversed became silent; devoid of the creature he had pursued for years. If anything, his agitation was noticeable to those who knew him. Not only had the creature’s activities ceased, but activity within the greater area had halted entirely and there hadn’t been the slightest hint of the fate that had befallen it. He had looked as well, high and low, for any signs that creature had perished… but it was as if it simply hadn’t existed.

Syntyche.

More than once the Purewalker had been within his grasp, more than once he had battled with the beast and each time he had failed. Neither had gotten out unscathed, but more often than not he came out more worse for wear than it. Had he not been in the company of allies on many occasions, it was highly likely he would have been dead… And yet here he now stood, infuriated and baffled, as to how a creature of such power had simply disappeared from existence. Nothing in this world had been stronger than it, he had never faced anything so dangerous, so what could possibly have silenced it.

...Had he been more of an idealist he might have been so bold as to assume that Divinity had done away with her, this was however, something that rang rather hollow with him.

So what had happened to her?

As the trail had gone cold, the band of hunters he had gathered around him had soon dispersed, believing that by some grace of the gods, Syntyche’s fury had been quelled; and now he stood alone upon the precipice, gazing down upon a land that he believed to be within the eye of a storm.

The stallion had no immediate clues, and without so much as a tidbit of information, it looked unlikely that the stallion would discover the whereabouts, or fate, of the once formidable Purewalker...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Six Years Ago…]



There was something to be said for pacifism; ever since he had turned over a new leaf (as it were), he had been left to his own devices. His world had become a thing of routine, one that any peace loving soquili would have thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps his age had been catching up with him during this period of his life, or perhaps something deep within him had simply appreciated that, yes, he did in fact deserve a break. His days had passed without any eventful occurrences and the world had forgotten about him...and by extension, his crimes.

Needless to say that it was refreshing to be able to leave his region of the forest to traverse the lands, never to be interrupted, never to have a wing pointed...and never to hear another voice utter fearfully as he glided by. In many respects, the stallion had been born anew, free from the shackles of a past that had subjected both him, and more-so his family, to far more pain than they should have endured. This wasn’t to say that the soquili had successfully mended the bridges that had been burnt - large rifts lay between his offspring and he, but in some areas, even he could sensed the thaw.

...Patience was a virture, as it were.

Nevertheless, there was one disadvantage to pacifism, and that stemmed from the assumption that the decision to reject violence stemmed from weakness. While he had given no thought or concern to those who had begun to circulate rumours of his inability to fight, they had soon reached the ears of the unwelcome and his home had been compromised. Not that this was of immediate concern to him, he could certainly defend himself, but it did give rise to an event in which he simply could not ignore.

There had been a murder in his home.

Worse?

...A family.

He would have left it be and cast the tragedy to one side had it not been for his Grandson. No sooner had the stallion turned his back on the scene behind him, than the pale stallion had stumbled into view. Far from his usual self, the proud male had been subjected to such brutal assault that he was almost entirely unrecognisable. Eyes swollen shut and gaping wounds across his entire body, it was only the black stallion’s blood that kept the pale male alive at this point… Any other being should really have been dead.

What had transpired in Kiyoshii’s absence, had been a battle between gods, or this was the tale he had been provided with by his grandson. Through agonised breaths, the stallion had graced his grandsire with the details before lapsing into unconsciousness. The stallion would survive, if only due to the willing assistance of a unicorn who had witnessed his bravery but he would not be able bodied for a considerable amount of time… And this posed a problem. You see, while the black stallion was more than content to ignore the business of other families, he was not quite so forgiving of those who chose to assault his bloodline.

It was for this reason that the male placed the information he had been graced with into his memory, and departed his home in search of the being who had become an inconvenience.

What had his grandson called it?

Syntyche.

By description alone, the broad-winged soquili knew he had encountered this entity before. They had crossed paths, clashed tooth and claw, and he had won before too. He had even moved this beast before and deposited them a distance away so they would not be an inconvenience, but it seemed that like a cockroach it simply wouldn’t die. He would give points for persistence, but he knew better than to make the same mistake twice.

He knew that his grandson wanted nothing more than to best the beast himself, but on this occasion, the patriarch would not turn a blind eye to precedings.

The blue feline would fall by his might, his grandson would simply have to find another enemy of his divine to turn his ire upon...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Five Years and Eight Months Ago…]



How was it that such a being could so easily slip through the net?

It had taken more than just a kind word from an Uncle to persuade the Angeni to assist in his great grandsire’s endeavours. No, it had taken an absolute miracle to impress upon the angeni that it was of the utmost importance that he take wing and assist. Of course, when it had come down to it, the stallion was fortunate in that he was not required to go alone. On the contrary, his grandsire had been particularly strict when issuing his request. Angelic blood or not, what they were attempting to find posed a very real threat and it was imperative that he should not be left exposed… Consequently, after much wrangling, his younger sister had managed to persuade him that it was advantageous that she come.

Thus, the duo now found themselves scoping out what could only be described as a landscape utterly devoid of any evidence that the being in question even existed. Had they not heard tales of previous attacks (including one on their uncle’s mate), then they would have had rising concerns that Tempest might have been hallucinating. To be perfectly honest, even then they may have questioned it, but he had the advantage of being allied to none other than the peculiar beast’s offspring.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” The black mare heaved a sigh of frustration, her coo an expression of her annoyance at the time they had spent on this hunt. Already it was turning out to be a fruitless endeavour and she was beginning to doubt that there was any chance of finding this thing, whatever it was. Frankly she’d never seen a beast quite like this before, and when she had pressed her brother for details, she hadn’t been impressed to discover he hadn’t either.

“You,” he said in a low tone, his lips pursed. “Are not helping,” he stated, casting his gaze towards the mare. His expression was one of strained patience, lips thinned and eyes somewhat narrowed - it was the only indication that he may have been suffering from a headache. “If anything, you may be -” he paused and sucked in a breath, searching his mind for the correct word in the Kawani language.

“Making it worse?” With a flick of her tail the mare directed it towards him and shook her head. “No need to be eloquent all of the time,” she remarked.

“Yes,” he replied with such finality that he had rather hoped the discussion would end there. Unfortunately, given Adria’s natural inclinations, it would be more likely the pale stallion would receive a brief moment of respite before she found something else to talk about. He had long since come to understand that the mare did not like silence, she found it awkward, and as such she would fill it with some sort of useless rambling. Was this an example of a flaw of adolescence? He certainly hoped so, he could only endure so much of it.

Nevertheless he did have to concede that she had a point, though she hadn’t uttered a string of expletives, he could appreciate that they had gotten nowhere in the months that they had been searching. He had found too many false positives, as had she, and when they had chased them down all they had been greeted with was violence in the traditional sense. There were certainly murders, death, destruction… But they had not been caused by the beast they were looking for. Much to the chagrin of the victims’ relatives, they had left each time.

Still, how was it that a beast with such unique techniques could simply vanish? Just how much damage had Tempest done, and if he had done a significant amount, where had the blood been?

“Maybe it’s a ghost,” Adria said finally.

“I know ghosts, this is not a ghost,” Esper replied darkly.

“Yeah, but hear me out, aight?” The mare flared her wings and sauntered towards the stallion, it was then that she motioned towards the expanse they had been gazing over and then turned her gaze back to her brother. “Currently this ‘Syntyche’ is gone, we’ve got nothin’ on her/it,” she continued. “And this kinda-sorta keeps happening, right?”

Esper humoured his sibling with his silence.

“K, so…” she took this as encouragement (as always). “Could be seasonal.” She stated.

“Seasonal.” He repeated warily.

“Yeah! It could be a seasonal spirit, for all we know we’re barking up the wrong tree right now because it’s gone!” she furled her wing at her side once more and shrugged her shoulders. “What else can just vanish without a damned trace, no blood, no trail of corpses, not even a freakin’ whisper that someone got the hibigeebies over some weird looking s**t was goin’ down?”

“Language.”

She ignored him.

“No, but seriously,” she pushed and shook her head. “We’ve got nothin’ right now, and I’d bet my stash of almonds that we aren’t going to get jack until that time of year comes round again, just…” she paused and pulled a face. “Think about it…?”

Unsurprisingly she was greeted by a skeptical gaze, but rather than dismiss her claims immediately, the stallion did cast his gaze back towards the marshes. He had no answers, he had no rebuttals, short of dismissing superstition, he had no way of disproving his sister’s theories...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Five Years and Six Months Ago…]



“I will speak plainly - The behaviour that my mother is displaying is not normal, the silence and the lack of any form of discord is deeply concerning,” the mare pressed her lips together as she turned her head towards the winged stallion. She had been pacing as she allowed her mind to process the information she had been provided with. She had visited Tempest, his injuries ensured he remained indisposed, yet they had discussed in length the various pieces of information they had received and the observations they had made.

In addition, she had now taken into consideration the information (or lack thereof) that those pursuing her mother had been attempting to gather. Generally she didn’t struggle to piece together these puzzles, but on this occasion she was drawing a blank. Every step of this current series of events had not been as one would expect and this posed a problem… She couldn’t read her mother, she couldn’t determine her motives, and as such she couldn’t outline where she expected the feline to strike next.

“I would normally question whether you have the correct walker, but based on the evidence presented to me and the fact that even Tempest has echoed the same, I have reason to believe that on this occasion something is…” she furrowed her brow and let out a grunt of annoyance. It wasn’t long before the mare was pacing again, back and forth, watched only by the winged stallion whose head shifted left and right by just a touch each time she changed position.

“It’s wrong. Something is wrong.”

Another pause.

“She shouldn’t be silent, it’s as if something is stopping her, something is holding her back,” she cast her gaze towards the stallion again and frowned. “You are certain there was no one with her when this happened?”

The stallion nodded once, causing her to give another sharp breath of exasperation.

“This is wrong, she does not go this long without a victim, regardless of how many she might strike down before, the duration between each of her ‘sacrifices’ has always been the same,” she grimaced and ceased her pacing again, much to the relief of the black stallion’s neck. “Six months is unheard of, two weeks perhaps, but six months is just…” she froze and narrowed her eyes again as a thought crept into her head. Up until now they had always assumed her mother was simply programed to function in a particular way, and until now they had never been given a reason to suspect otherwise.

“The game has changed,” she murmured softly, her voice weak and gaze alarmed as she cast it back to Kiyoshii. “We need to find her, and we need to find her fast. I think she’s found something or someone worth waiting for.”  

[Epine de Rose]

[Five years and Three Months Ago]



The target had been acquired, it had taken three months of almost frantic searching. For all intents and purposes every stone had been overturned and every individual encountered had been grilled for slightest whisper of information. Fortune herself seemed to have favoured him in this endeavour and he had been carried upon swift wings to the location that the fearful whispers had mentioned. It was a land that they had informed him no one dared tread, it was nothing more than the land of the dead.

He had assumed this was mere superstition, but as he placed his hooves upon the soil and surveyed the land before him he realised that they had been literal in their description. Whatever had transgressed between the humans of this region had not been pleasant. Whatever fate had befallen them had taken its toll and left a permanent scar on the land. Bones lay in piles, pressed up against boulders and mounds of soil, and tattered cloth long weathered and age fluttered limply upon the needle-like branches and jagged stones that littered the field.

Kiyoshii had never been one who sought to understand the machinations of mankind, they were a novelty at best, but even he could not ignore the message that the scene before him provided. Though they might look peculiar, they were still very much as animalistic and brutal as any other in this life.

...All in all, the Purewalker’s chosen lair was appropriate, poetic even.

Pressed for time and acutely aware of the circumstances for his presence here, the stallion did not delay himself any longer and strode forward. However, every instinct within him screamed that he would do well to respect where he was. Perhaps this was the sensation that they referred to, the reason in which they had dared not disturb this place. He was hardly the superstitious sort, but even he would concede there was something ethereal and almost suffocating about this field of death… an exposed burial ground.

What lay here, was not something that the eyes of the living should see, whoever these beasts were, they had deserved some form of burial and had never received it.

Thus, he stepped careful over the scattered remains that came underfoot. While much seemed to have turned to dust, what remained was sun bleached and fragile. The slightest touch, even from a wandering foal, was liable to shatter them - worse still? Well, if he were to warn her of his presence too early then she might either make her move early or she might flee. He was confident that she would not do the latter; based on what her daughter had said, her mother was not the type to flee regardless of whether the game had, or had not changed. Syntyche would stand and fight, though it would be him who determined precisely when she would expose herself.

And so the winged stallion permitted the Purewalker to ‘slumber’ for a little longer, approaching what those fearful whispers had identified as her presumed lair. Remaining ever upwind, this series of rules would be set by him.

”SYNTYCHE!” He boomed as he drew near the spot he had selected. ”Scourge of the north, you will show yourself.”

As the voice reverberated through the cave, the feline’s ears gave a quiver and the pair of glistening eyes drew open. A rumbling growl would reply to his call.

...Each limb was stretched.

Her back arched.

Her tail flicked.

And then the beast drifted towards the trespasser….
 

[Epine de Rose]

[Five years and Three Months Ago]


Divinity’s chosen were never given fair warning when she arrived. Once they had been selected as the next to be reborn her actions were swift, and more importantly, permanent. Silence was her strength, scarcely known to make a sound as she traversed whatever terrain that the Divine placed before her. Thus, the beast had never been countered - well, she had certainly been interrupted while in the middle of her rituals, but the fact still remained that she always succeeded in ensuring a fatality.

This one would be no different.

She had waited for this one, watched carefully as he wandered the forests with total disregard or consideration for the other denizens. It wasn’t that he was violent towards them, nor did he strike fear into their hearts, but he was entirely indifferent to their existence. He had been a curiosity, set part from the beings she had a grown accustomed to observing. For all intents and purposes this one was much closer to ascension, she was unable to determine what had occurred during his birth, but he had clearly been touched by the Divine. His strength was notable, his indifference a hint of purity… and yet the corruption had still festered within him.

Nevertheless she had determined from her observations that this one was strong and as such, this one was deserving of a different ritual. While the other sacrifices had been subjected to an honourable death, their hides ornately sliced and bloodlet until they had moved into Divinity’s embrace… this one needed something more. He had already been touched by Divine paw, consequently he would be granted his audience… that much he deserved. His fate would remain the same of course, but in this moment, the beast provided him with a rare opportunity… He would face the Reaper of Souls.

Thus, the feline emerged from her lair and strode with a confidence reserved for only those who regarded themselves as truly immortal. The gap was closed between them at a lazy pace, and in time the feline came to fix her gaze upon the stallion. He was as ‘impressive’ as she recalled, even after all these months in which she had watched as he and others has fruitlessly searched for her lair. It had been a trial of course, designed so that she might determine whether or not he really had been touched by Divinity… And now that he had found her, she had confirmed her suspicions.

Her amber eyes blinked slowly, expectantly.

She was greeted with silence.

“Curious,” she spoke softly, a voice that had rarely, if ever, seen use. “One has to wonder how a child of Divinity was touched, yet did not become whole,” she continued delicately. Had she been of any other species she might very well have been enchanting, but as her words caught the stallion’s ears he did nothing more than narrow his eyes at the feline.
“You are fortunate that he called you here,” her tail swayed from side to side, pausing only once to press against her hind leg as she drank in what would be, perhaps, her single most important sacrifice to date.

“He will embrace you once more,” she uttered.

“I doubt it.” The stallion replied at last, his lips twisted into a grim line.

“It is ordained.”  

[Epine de Rose]

[Five years and Three Months Ago]


Ordained?

Something had been ordained all right, but it had most certainly not been his death. He wouldn’t make light of the state he was in at this particular juncture, but he was alive and the beast was not. He had made certain of this as well, pressing his weight against her, prodding, poking, and then just to make it absolutely clear he had thrown her about just in case she had been playing dead. As she hadn’t responded, flinched, or otherwise reacted to the multiple falls and collisions against rock and tree, he was now confident that she was devoid of life.

Nevertheless, the beast in question was a walker and he had concerns about precisely what she could do even while dead. He had refrained from consulting with Cyn Generis in regards to the qualities a Purewalker might possess and as such, his knowledge on the species left much to be desired.

...Would blood be of concern?

...Their flesh?

A wandering scavenger might deem the beast easy pickings and then he would find that he had a far greater problem on his hands. No; to ensure that she was absolutely removed from this world he was going to have to make certain that she would neither be found or consumed. How he intended to do that he wasn’t quite so sure about, but as his tendrils coiled around the limb form of the beast and heaved her into the air, he acknowledged that he was going to have to work out a solution and quickly.

For now though, the soquili did naught more than gather his wits and fly towards the direction of a region he knew of that was truly barren. He would head in a direction that he knew had no life, and then he would work it out from there. The black stallion was certain that he would be able to cast her corpse somewhere, he just wasn’t entirely certain as to where that was at this juncture.

Still, it was with a great deal of satisfaction that the pressed on, that which had plagued his bloodline had now been purged...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Four Years Ago...]


Life within the desert, while a mere myth to some individuals, most certainly did thrive. The petite raptor’s tribe was living proof of this, and had been for the centuries in which it had wandered the otherwise barren and ‘lifeless’ expanse. The desert contained many secrets, and this particular tribe had long been one of them...suffice to say that they, like many others in the desert, had never really encountered anything from beyond their sandy scope. Truthfully, they weren’t entirely sure anything existed beyond that sandy scope… To the mare, she had long assumed that the large shadowed peaks in the distance were the end of the world.

Her tribe had never attempted to reach them, they had never had any real reason to do so. The belief was that when it came time to pass on into the next world, her spirit would make that journey for her. Superstitious as the young raptor was, she had long since decided that she did not wish to invite misfortune upon herself...and her tribe would very much echo her sentiments.

Thus it should have come at no surprise that the tribe spoke an entirely unique language, had their own interpretations of what was and was not in front of them, and had their own unique understanding of how the world worked. They knew this land well, after centuries of tales and wandering it was practically bred into them to survive… They knew when to hunt, what to hunt and how to hunt - in times of drought, they knew how to survive off smaller morsels.

Their norm was all they had known…

She had arrived during one of the warmest nights of the season, accompanied by the young raptor’s friend. His expression had been filled with wonder, of abject fascination of the creature that he had found in the desert, for she had been unlike anything any of the tribe had seen. Not a single entity knew how to treat the blue feline, they had no concept of what she was, and she didn’t seem inclined to provide them with the answers.

All that the tribe had known was that she was fiercely unwell, she found it almost impossible to stand and it had taken a number of the tribesmen to bring her to the safety of the herd so that she could rest. They had never seen such wounds, the young raptor would always remember the gouges, the scarring that littered her form. She was practically skeletal, and regardless of whether they did or did not know what she was it took no geniuses to work out she needed to be fed.

Food was summoned, healers called for, and the feline was welcomed into their tribe as a guest while she recovered.

The elders were cautious, but they had questions.

To be honest...so did the entire tribe…  

[Epine de Rose]

[Three Years Ago...]



To this day, Sarielle hadn’t really been aware of what had spurred her elders into action; they had never given the tribe a reason for their behaviour, but one day long ago they had sprung into action and chased their visitor from their home. Still weakened, the feline had been unable to put up a fight against the flailing claws and sharpened beaks, but soon after they had shooed their guest away...they had made the order that the tribe was to move.

It had been a confusing time for all, the seasons hadn’t called for a change and there certainly hadn’t been any shortages of food. However, there had been an urgency to the voices of the elders that could not be ignored, and the collective might of the tribe knew better than to question it. The elders were elders for a reason, they were battle hardened and worn, they had survived the worst that the desert had thrown at them and for that reason, they knew far more than the average raptor.

Consequently the entire tribe had gathered what little ‘possessions’ they had, and followed their elders towards their new home. Where they ended up, was not what they had expected…Suffice to say that the tribe had never known of the location that the tribal elders had elected to take them to.

They had originally assumed it was a simple canyon, graced with nothing more than shade from the hot sun, but as they moved further in a very different story unfolded. For want of a better word, they had stumbled upon a jungle, she supposed this was what the elders had referred to as an ‘oasis’ in their stories… but she had never actually seen one until now. Completely hidden from view by the canyon’s tall walls, the jungle of plants and flowers provided striking contrast to the dull land above.

For want of a better word, what they had been brought to was a sanctuary. Shielded from prying eyes by the shadows that cast upon the top of the Canyon, those looking down from above would never know of the wonders that lived beneath their feet.

The petite raptor had taken a moment to appreciate the beauty beneath her own claws, marvelling at the odd shapes of both leaf and flower. The faint sound of running water was also something that could not be ignored, it was not only her ears that perked as the trickle turned into a rush, and the tribe walked passed a river. She had never seen a flowing river before, none of them had seen a river flow in such a way - she could do nothing more than pause like the others to stare.

Their reverie was soon to be shattered, as an elder called out to them to follow, they had further to walk, but once they had arrived at the grove they got even more of a surprise.

...Whatever that creature had been was a ‘dire threat’.

The elders had realised too late to protect the tribe in the open, nor did they know how to properly ‘address’ whatever she might be. Rather than risk the tribe’s safety they had chosen to return to this sanctuary. They didn’t specify precisely why it was a sanctuary (other than its apparent bountiful food and water), but they made themselves absolutely clear.

No one was to leave. No one was to enter. No one could know where they were.

It was a solemn oath that they all had to take...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Three Years Ago...]


It was a strange sensation to surrender to the fact that her mother was gone...well, her biological mother. She had always had difficulty expressing herself, of conveying her emotions, and now she was left with an overwhelming sense of emptiness that she wasn’t even aware was physically possible. It had left her very unsettled, unaware of what to do, where to go, how to be. To put how she felt into works was proving absolutely impossible for her and eventually it had become too much for her, she had done the only thing she knew how to do...and she had come home.

Even now the old forested groves hadn’t changed. Her mother hadn’t wandered very far from the Vitterfolk and she was grateful for this. Whether Catalyst had cared to admit it in the passed or not, the Vitterfolk had helped her adoptive mother raise she and her brother very well. For all their faults, and for all their heritage, Catalyst had turned out largely okay.

Granted, she had been remiss in finding out whether or not her biological father was still around or not… but she had always known the Vitterfolk were strong and they wouldn’t be so easily defeated by that Skinwalker. It had been in her best interests to pursue the more dangerous one while they fought against the other...when it came to a battle on all sides, it was better that she hadn’t let them be flanked.

Still… It had been a very long time since she had wandered this region and she had almost felt fierceful that they would have moved by now.

It was a great relief to her when she finally heard her name, in an albeit surprised tone, from her adoptive mother as the pale mare caught sight of her.

“Lys…?” Equinox hazarded as she drew near, taking in the appearance of her daughter. She had grown so much taller in the years, had definitely grown into herself, and yet she still carried that haunting light in her eyes. To be frank, the mare really hadn’t anticipated that her daughter would be back any time soon. She had found her niche in the world, her purpose, and all Equinox had been able to do was to offer her well wishes and hope for the best.

Perhaps the mare was biased, but she had always been confident in both her children… They were strong, they were smart, and quite frankly if they hadn’t behaved then the Vitterfolk would have dealt with it accordingly. However, much to Equinox’s distinct pleasure, both children hadn’t caused a horrific stir that was worthy of such repercussions.

If anything, Equinox has been more concerned about what her former ‘mate’ might have done, and whether or not he would return.

Alas, setting her momentary confusion aside, the mare offered a warm smile and gave the somewhat lost looking child a gentle nudge. From an initial glance, the mare knew that her daughter didn’t necessarily want to talk (then again she never had), but perhaps in time she would take a breath and speak.

For now though, rather than press, she simply gave another little nudge and nodded for Lyss to follow. “Come, come, it’s hardly comfortable out here,” she pointed out with a chuckle. “It’s much warmer in the grove,” she reminded her and began to make her way back to her own ‘house’ as it were...  

[Epine de Rose]

[Three Years Ago...]


Once she had felt settled, the young mare had found it much easier to recognise her home comforts. The sights, the sounds, even the smells, were exactly how she remembered them as a child. Even her mother seemed as though she had been suspended in time - a life without stress had definitely done wonders for her longevity! Nevertheless, she could feel her mother’s gaze on her every now and then and recognised that her return was both unexpected and curious.

Had her mother assumed she would have never come, or only come home in pieces?

Somehow she doubted this, but she could appreciate that her otherwise aloof demeanour had ensured that she had been regarded as a very independent young mare who made her own decisions and stuck by them until the end. As it stood, perhaps she wasn’t conveying the same level of confidence she used to.

“She’s gone,” she said at last. Having found her voice, she started at a croak and then cleared her throat so that her words were more clear. “She disappeared without a trace a number of years ago, we did everything we could to try and find her but…” she shook her head and sighed. “It’s as if she was just a figment of the imagination, which is impossible since I came from her, but…”

“I fully expected that she would strike again, she’s been a creature of pattern for so long. We waited, and waited…. But then there was just nothing.” She furrowed her brow, still struggling to vocalise her thoughts. Expression had never been her strong point, if it wasn’t fact, she simply didn’t acknowledge it. Or rather, she hadn’t acknowledged it until it was about her and she couldn’t shake the unease that she felt.

“It’s as if someone or something finally caught her, but it doesn’t make me feel any better, it just makes me feel -” she scrunched up her nose and grimaced.

“Empty…?” she hazarded.


Syntyche was dead? Equinox couldn’t hide her astonishment as her jaw dropped. If it had not been for the fact there hadn’t been any monstrous deaths reported that matched her theatrics, she might have been suspicious. However she didn’t give herself much time to dwell on the news and instead, observed her daughter a little more closely.

Tone was never an easy thing to read when it came to Catalyst, she could be rather monotonous when she spoke. Body language however, was much more important - the mare had a way of carrying herself, a way of moving, standing...and even her facial expressions spoke the truth when she spoke. All of these were what the mare selected to observe as her daughter spoke, pressing her lips together in thought as she filed each twitch, arched brow, and pursed lips, away for later use. It was only when the young mare had finished speaking that the elder mare sat back to consider what she had said.

“It sounds like you lack closure,” she said at last and smiled wryly at her daughter who had cast a quizzical gaze towards her.

“For years you have pursued your mother, it was almost universally acknowledged that it would be you and your companions that would put her down. Instead if you achieving this end game, it’s almost as though a silent individual has intervened and beaten each of you to your goal,” she tilted her head to the side and popped her lips, temporarily casting her gaze towards the swaying branches of the willow tree. “Whether it was simply luck on their part or not, you never even got to see her or witness her end…”

She paused again and finally returned her gaze to her daughter.

“You didn’t get the conclusion you hoped for, and worse than that… You now have nothing to strive for,” she shook her head. “That’s inaccurate, you have everything to strive for, I just don’t think you know what it is you want yet,” she said finally.

“It’s perfectly normal to feel this way,” she added reassuringly and nudged her daughter. “You don’t have to work out exactly what you need or want immediately, you have more than enough time to consider what you would like to achieve now…”
 

[Epine de Rose]

[Two Years and Nine Months Ago...]



Nothing.

It was with unreserved interest that Adria watched her older brother, she had visited him on and off as normal, but today something seemed all the more… Off. He was distant, gazing endlessly into the distance with eyes that seemed entirely devoid of life. She had already made a series of attempts to strike up a conversation and they had all failed, it was as if the angelic being had vacated his body and was off elsewhere in some ghostly form. She had half a mind to jam her horn into his shoulder, but instead, she chose to stand beside him and fix her own gaze on the horizon.

Suffice to say that after a few moments she was still entirely unsure of what she was supposed to be looking at. On the horizon she could see nothing special of note, nothing worthy of pausing and admiring. For a mountain dwelling soquili, the view was really quite predictable and something she saw every day. Large, undulating mountainsides with sheer drops here and there… Peaks covered at their tips by thick cloud, and a tell tale mist that trickled down to the base. If she were to be so bold as to say it, the damn thing looked exactly like it did every morning...and how it did almost all winter.

Minus the snow of course.

Alas Adira had never been one for having much patience and after she had satisfied her curiosity as to what was most certainly not on the horizon, she elected to give her brother the swiftest kick she could muster to his legs. The first was ignored, in fact, he barely flinched… But she wound up for the second and connected to the knee with much more force than her first. Much to her satisfaction the second was enough to cause him to suck in a sharp breath and his eyes slowly moved to gaze at her.

“Ah, fabulous you aren’t dead,” she observed as he levelled his gaze on her. “Can animals even die standing up or do you think they might topple over eventually?” she enquired curiously, well aware that her beloved brother wouldn’t humour her with an answer. After all, he very rarely did, particularly in recent years.

“What is it…?” he asked at last, resisting the urge to rub at the now swelling regions of his leg where she had applied her ministrations. They would leave bruises for quite some team, that was for sure, but this wasn’t really something that the pale stallion was often concerned with. As it stood the mare had interrupted his reverie and he couldn’t help but display his lack of approval… Suffice to say that for a generally neutral stallion, his facial expression at this precise moment in time displayed his irritation.

“What are we looking at?” she replied with a question of her own and returned her gaze to the horizon. “It seemed like it was something of world altering proportions,” she mused, to which the stallion responded by returning his gaze to the mountains.

“Have you ever been beyond those?” he asked. “Not over the initial boundaries, I mean towards the ones you can barely see in the distance,” he continued and pressed his lips together. The pale stallion hadn’t noticed them before, but on days where the sky was devoid of cloud, in the distance there lay the faintest outlines of another set of mountains. If it hadn’t been for one of his many reveries he probably never would have noticed them at all…

He knew what lived beyond the immediate mountains, Tut’s former herd lived there… But what lived beyond the other ones.

“Isn’t that where the desert starts?” she popped her lips and peered towards the distance, squinting in an attempt to see whatever he had mentioned was there, as of yet she remained unsuccessful. Then again she had never really travelled terribly far, she had never seen much point in it when there was so much to see here.

“Somewhat, yes,” he mentioned. “At least on the immediate side.”

He paused and returned his gaze to his sibling, rolling his eyes when he noticed her continuing squints into the distance. Adria had never been the most observant, she had a good heart, but her exuberance often got the better of her; rather than a gentle breeze, she tended to be a bit of a whirlwind.

“I honestly have no idea, why’s it important?” she said finally and shrugged her shoulders. “Are we going through one of those exploration phases, you haven’t had one of those yet. Uncle Azzinoth will be delighted that you’re -”

“That isn’t it,” Esper interrupted before she had the chance to get into the full swing of her monologue. No doubt that she would talk his ear off given a chance, dissecting each and every one of his mannerisms as she was often want to do. “There’s something about it that keeps calling,” he shook his head again and sighed. “There is something over there…”

“Oh dear,” she sighed. “This is one of your crazy episodes then,” she murmured and clucked her tongue. “You can’t go on a wild goose chase, everyone will do their nut,” she pointed out and glanced back towards the shrouded mountain tops. “Besides -”

“I wasn’t intending to go over there,” he furrowed his brow and wacked his sister upside the head with one of his wings. “Not yet at least,” he added and returned his gaze back towards the distance. “I think it will come to us first…”