Corwin~~~
Yawning, Corwin opened his bleary eyes and looked around. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he ought to be used to these surroundings by now; however, every time he woke up surrounded by the soft blackness, he had to pause, contemplate, and remember all over again. Sometimes, the revelation made him chuckle, sometimes it made him depressed, but every time, it was tempered with gratitude. With great care, he roused himself from his warm, comfortable nest, and slipped out through the veil of blackness into the crisp, morning air.
It took some getting used to, living in a Soquili's mane, but if nothing else it was comfortable!
Hayalet glanced down at the diminutive flutter as Corwin emerged from Hayalet's mane. In his small size, Corwin, like his sister, was about the size of a small hummingbird; Hayalet, a half-angeni, had a thick mane and tail that reached the ground and offered a perfect respite from the world for Corwin and Coralia. They had met him when they first came to the land, adrift and suffering in both body and spirit from events involving the massive Kalona herd. Corwin still bore scars from that encounter, though he had been fortunate enough to escape with his life. Most of their previous herd had not been so lucky.
But they had rebounded, recovered. At the moment, the siblings still enjoyed Hayalet's hospitality; Coralia had no desire to join any new herds, but Corwin felt they both needed to be around other Soquili. They'd seen a lot, and suffered a lot of loss; they needed to move forward, or else risk the possibility of being swallowed up in tragedy.
"
Good morning," Hayalet offered as Corwin stretched and fluttered his wings. "
Your sister is already up and about, and I believe she's gone off down the path towards the larger plateau." Hayalet was nice host; the kind who posed no restrictions or limitations on their lives while making himself available as they needed. Home for the half-angeni was a small, rocky plateau high in the mountains; while flight was the best way to reach it, there was also a winding, mostly concealed path that branched off down the mountain and northwards, towards another windswept plateau with scrubby vegetation. Not exactly the most hospitable place, but it was nice enough.
Corwin wasn't surprised to hear Coralia had beaten him; she was a ball of energy, his 'little' sister. Isolation was not meant for her, he thought sadly, but that was a bridge that would have to be crossed later on. "
Goo' maernin' tae yeh as well, Hayalet," he said in his thick accent, shaking out his mane. Stepping away from Hayalet, he stretched out his back again, then abruptly shot upwards, rapidly returning to his 'normal' size. That was still small compared to Hayalet, but more than respectable enough for a flutter. "
I'll joost be catchin' oop wi' Cora, then. Enjoy yehr meditations," Corwin offered, given Hayalet a nod before starting down the path.
Coralia~~~
Coralia enjoyed the mountain plateau well enough. It was obviously different from what they'd experienced in the past, but there was something comforting in the wind-swept barrenness of it all. The grasses were scrubby, but tasty; there were berries to be found, and occasionally other fruits. Trees were few and far between, but there were more than enough rocky crags, caves, and gulches to provide hiding places for a whole swarm of flutters. Not that she wanted to be dealing with a whole swarm of flutters, or a whole swarm of anything. Just look at how that last experiment in herd life had gone.
Unconsciously, Coralia clenched her jaw, the empty plateau once again reflecting a vision from another time and place; the day their herd of flutters, who had stayed in their home despite knowing the proximity of a massive herd of Kalona, had been slaughtered. It had been only the best luck and fortune that four of them had survived, and three of them only because Coralia had been blessed to find unicorns in the vicinity of the battle. Corwin would no doubt always bear the scars of that day on his pale body; Coralia would always bear her own on her mind. They had no parents; no other family; the herd had taken them in as adolescents when their father had been killed by a skinwalker. All they had now was each other, and in spite of being younger (by 4 minutes), smaller (by less than two hands), and a mare, Coralia felt like keeping him safe was her duty.
Coralia's thoughts were abruptly broken when a cheery "
Sae this es what yeh do when yeh wake a'fore meh, wander an' brood. Yeh need to wehrk on that smile o' yehrs, Cora, afore I start to thenk yeh've fergotten how."
She snorted in a very unladylike manner at that, but rewarded her brother by turning and giving him her most dazzling grin. "
What, a girl isna allowed to wander an' thenk aboot thengs wi'out a chaperone? Now yeh're joost bein' silly."
Chuckling, Corwin trotted forward and gave his sister a nuzzle of greeting. "
Perhaps, but yeh know I'm roight. Now, what were yeh thenkin' o' gettin' up to today?"
Coralia shook her head, adding an elaborate shrug for good measure. "
I wasna thenkin' o' anytheng in particular; I joost loike it up here," She said, glancing around the plateau. "
It's pleasant oop here, yeh know? An' it's accessible, fehr those of us what canna fly high or far, but prehfehr walkin'."
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