[PRP] Old Souls (Regelus and Xocoyolcoatl)

[Cajmera]

 

[Cajmera]

Deep, slow, inward breaths; deeper, slower exhales. With each breath, Regelus could feel the inner peace and serenity he so desired creeping closer, closer; close enough to reach out and touch, but not quite close enough to embrace. He tried to fight off the sensation of petulance that 'almost' was provoking, but it was a failed attempt. Apparently today was not going to be a good day to find inner quiet.

With a slight sigh, Regelus opened his eyes and looked heavenwards. It was a gorgeous summer day, so the sky was a brilliantly beautiful shade of blue, dotted with fat, puffy clouds. It was the sort of sky that fliers would rave about; Regelus himself had enjoyed more than his share of drifting among the clouds in his time, so he knew what he was talking about. However, today he felt no desire to take wing; it was not exhilaration he craved at the moment, but peace. And given how active and tumultuous his thoughts were these days, that peace was proving hard to come by.

Sighing again, he dropped his head to survey the landscape around him. It was mostly unremarkable, a wide, open meadowland, punctuated here and there with small groves of trees that indicated the presence of water. Probably some spring fed ponds, or maybe a meandering stream; there weren't nearly enough trees to indicate a river. So...nothing dramatic, but a pleasant enough place to spend any length of time. Regelus had been here for a few weeks, hoping that the change of scenery would help soothe his nerves and quiet his mind; so far, that had been a failed exercise.

"Medic, heal thyself," he murmured in his deep bass voice. It was an old saying he'd first heard he knew not when, but it was very apt under the circumstance. He was a domained Angeni, sent by the spirits to serve a purpose; how could he achieve that end if he couldn't even calm his own mind? Such mental agitation was at complete odds with his placid exterior, and he could theoretically take solace in the fact that no one looking at him would have any idea he was having such issues. However, Regelus abhorred disguise and deceit of any kind, so that knowledge merely gave him greater distress.

Why was it so hard to find peace? It had never been Regelus' way to be emotional or ruffled; indeed, one of his greatest assets was his ability to calmly accept everything. What was willed to happen would happen; there was nothing Regelus or anyone else could do about it. It had always been his role to accept, and assist others in accepting. Consequently, his current state of mental upset was deeply troubling to him; theoretically, whatever was causing his mental stimulation was preordained, and he ought to be calmly accepting of it. But how could he calmly accept something that by its very nature was troubling? That was like trying to be joyful that he was sad!

Troubling, indeed.

Uta

 

[Uta]

Cajmera

Sorry he's a little bit . . odd.

Xocoyolcoatl had misplaced Bindi. Again. It was sad that it was becoming more of an everyday occurrence, but it wasn't completely his fault: he got so overwhelmed by the knowledge he discovered that sometimes it left him a half-mindless wreck. Xocoyolcoatl was not at all a daft creature, nor was he simple; unfortunately, his domain was both a blessing and a curse, and it was the overwhelming nature of it that often left him in an eternal loop of never quite knowing where he was at any given moment. It's part of the reason he was searching for his brother -- though he knew not where Cuah might have gotten to. He hardly knew how long he had been down in the Kawani, much less where he was headed. Bindi had . . some sort of idea. . . but the pale angeni mare was not with him at present. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite remember if she had said she was headed somewhere else, or if he had simply walked off . . . Hm. Somewhere, some part of him would remember what was happening there. . . but for now. . . trees. Plants. Greenery. Growth. Clouds. Sunshine.

He knew what sort of grass he walked upon, knew what time of day it was; he also knew he was not at a lone, and that had nothing to do with his powers. As he picked his way up a small slope in the mostly flat meadow, his gaze fell upon that of a stranger. There were feathers. Jewels. Red. Blues. Silvers. It was clearly not the mare in which he sought, doubly enforced by the knowledge that the stranger was certainly male. Not Bindi but someone else. Someone that had a familiar feel, a familiar understanding, a . . . a face he both recognized and didn't all the same. It wasn't his brother though, or his mother, his father, his siblings; it wasn't even that of his good friends, fellow domained angeni that he had once worked closely with before his arrival in the Kawni. Slowly but surely, the stallion made his way closer, almost by instinct. This red one was also not at all his brother; this was not Learning but someone else. Still, he would prove to be a good focus, a good way to ground himself, to think around. "Salut. . . . ations stranger," he spoke slowly, giving his tail a little swish.

Now, to piece his thoughts back together so he might form some actual thought. He was curious to know who this other might be, and was glad to have crossed the dual winged stallion's path. Maybe he'd sort out where Bindi was, or where he should be going, by focusing on this one instead of getting lost in the chatter of everything else around him.
 

[Cajmera]

With the stranger's stilted greeting, Regelus was drawn out of his failing attempt to find peace and thrown sharply back into the real world. It was rather surprising to Regelus to be surprised like this; it wasn't often he encountered another Soquili who had no qualms or doubts of any kind. The stallion he was now staring at was...well, he was something else, to be sure, but he was no stallion in need of Regelus' help. Regelus was getting nothing from him, nothing at all; no anxiety, no worry; none of the familiar 'pull' that drew Regelus to the people who needed him, the ones who struggled with circumstances beyond their control. This stallion, unlike so many others, seemed to be at peace.

Well, more or less at peace. Truth be told, Regelus had no idea what to make of the other Angeni, for Angeni he clearly was. Even if it wasn't for the wings, he had the 'presence' of an Angeni; not just any Angeni, either, but one of the Called; one of those entrusted with a domain, and therefore a purpose. Mere visuals told Regelus nothing else, though he had to admit to himself that he'd never before seen anything quite like the colorful stallion.

However, none of that was here or there. In his careful way, he returned the stallion's greeting, raising a wing in a gesture of goodwill and giving him a nod. "Hello to you, as well. Friend. What brings you to this part of the world?" As far as Regelus was concerned, there was nothing wrong with indulging in a little healthy curiosity! He always hated to come out and ask direct questions; it was his way to listen, not to talk. But he'd found in his experience that sometimes you could learn a lot more through the indirect approach than you ever could be asking!

Uta