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 Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 7:14 pm
 Darkness still surrounded her when she broke free of the forest. Her eyes glinted in the moonlight overhead as she turned her head to glance at what she had left behind. Creepy though it was, Miyako Kuze had the impression she wasn't looking at it out of fear of what might pop out to chase her. It was anger she felt. Frustration. But why? She couldn't seem to remember. It was a broken memory, slowly fading more and more into the background of her mind. But as the memory faded, the frustration remained. It was like...Oh, she couldn't remember anymore what it was like. It was nothing like what she encountered at the Kuze shrine where she was born, that was for certain. It felt like it was...Over. Like there was nothing more she could do. Whereas the shrine was always there. Waiting for her to return. Sometimes the inhabitants would go looking for her, as if they wanted to drag her back to live with them as she should be. Kuzes lived at the shrine, after all. They didn't leave and travel the world. At least the girls didn't.
Still watching the woods, the white mare moved her feet forwards, knowing at least she didn't trust it. Couldn't take her eyes off it. Once more she stepped, raking her brain for the cause of her behavior. Making herself more frustrated that she couldn't. After a while, she gave up and turned her head back around. Soon enough the matter was put to rest. Though quick to temper, Miyako was smart enough to know dwelling on something one couldn't even remember was pointless. Little things could trigger a memory. She would leave it there.
Besides, there were more important things to do. She closed her eyes as a shake overtook her body, making her tail fling out to one side like the whip she used it as. Every time she heard the voice so clearly, it made her shiver. Chilled her bones. It was an excitement to be chosen, far greater than anything she would have found by living at the shrine. What could she gain by staying there? Maybe a place as the Head, but not after many fights with Nyomi for it. Not after learning to deal with the unique residents of the place. This voice...This was easier.
Just as quickly as it came, it was gone. And Miyako was left standing alone. As she closed her eyes, a butterfly fluttered softly over her shoulder and disappeared into the darkness in front of her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 7:23 am
 The events of that night were like a hideous dream, full of confusion and terror. The priestess did not believe in portents or omens. If she did, they would undoubtedly be ominous indeed. The vision of those turtle creatures boiling out of the water, frothing and foaming and terrible, grabbing, clawing, scratching... But it had all been a dream, or so it seemed. All of it--the forest spirits, the rope charm, the twin sisters whom she now was convinced had never been there. All a dream, but for the fluttering butterfly that now followed her everywhere. She couldn't say she had any real problem with it--it was just a butterfly, nothing more, nothing less--except that the image of butterflies had been strong that night, from the markings on the mares to their constant companions.
It made the bone-clad mare shiver, wings clutched tight to her body as she wandered through the forest. Her adopted son was bedded down somewhere safe. Up until a short time ago, she'd been curled around him, snuggled up warm and safe. But memories of that strange encounter lingered in her head, and now she found herself wandering through the trees where they thinned out into grassland, pondering a lingering question: her companions. Not the pale twin arions, but the other mares, the algiedi and the half-solara. Who had they been? Where they dead? She wouldn't be surprised if the half-solara was. If so, all she could do was pray--wait.
As if summoned by her thoughts, in the distance by the forest's edge and moving away from it, was the pale form of that very mare. Calendula Mictecacihuatl broke into a trot, determined to catch up with the mare and meet her.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:53 pm
Miyako remained there with her eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the night around her. For an instant she thought she heard the soft patter of tiny wings, but dismissed it as her imagination playing tricks on her. Imaginations were prone to wander after such a strange and more strangely forgettable night. A quick temper she did have, but never randomly. It felt like one of her battles with Nyomi.
And Nyomi had won.
A snort escaped the mare at the very thought. Her sister might have won in the past. No more of that now that Miyako was grown up. Sure, the orange mare had the wolf curse on her side. Curse it was, at least to her. Why anyone would want to become a filthy wolf was beyond her. A wolf could do little but scratch with it's dulled nails when her tail was wrapped around its throat. Than it was only a matter of time. Darkness would take it.
The rage subsided at the thought to be replaced by a grin. Not the kind of grin one would find on someone enjoying a private joke. But the kind of grin that told volumes about what was going on inside the head. The kind that would give most chills. More so with the blood stains making her mouth seem larger than it really was. It truly was a dainty mouth underneath all the black and blood.
Even as the footsteps neared the smile remained on her face, a little less chilling than before. Still not inviting or the least bit friendly. Like she was amused by something not yet said. She merely turned her head, tail curling around one leg in a gesture of complete confidence. If her smile flickered the surprise at her sudden companion's attire, it would be hard to see in the darkness of the night and her muzzle.
Maybe something more would flash across her face if she had any memories of her companions left. Not that she paid much attention to them.
"A night such as this requires appropriate attire, yes? Where shadows move and imaginations run."
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:29 pm
Now that she got closer to the mare, Calendula was more than a little disturbed. Not at the slashes of blood across the pure white pelt, nor the charred shadows on her face and chest, but at the smile. The blood made the smile seem all the more demented. It sent a shiver down the black mare's body to see that smile peaking out from between cream-colored fringe. The way the serpentine tail curled around the dark legs gave the impression of a snake waiting for the right moment to strike. All in all, it was a very morbid, chilling look...and yet, not ugly. Quite...elegant, in its own way. It gave the impression of someone always in control, even when she didn't seem to be, and her actions in that dark forest only reinforced it (as did her size--she was surprisingly large).
Calendula didn't see any glimmer of recognition on the mare's face. Which seemed odd--she remembered this pale half-solara. Why didn't she remember the priestess? Especially with her "attire." The priestess didn't often think about her accoutrements, or rather, about how other stars from other religions would view them. To Calendula, her family, her entire culture, it was the mark of a guardian, of someone who served the gods and watched over the bones of their ancestors. She remembered the vigil she had sat with the former Mictecacihuatl, sitting at the side of her predecessor all through the long night after she had died. She'd watched over the body of her former teacher and meditated. To her, wearing her teacher's bones, it was a mark of respect. It wasn't often that she looked at it from the perspective of an outsider--here she was, a great black mare wearing the bones of another star across her body. Morbid. Creepy. Maybe even psychotic.
Funny. Calendula would never have associated it with shadows and night time. "Bones are eternal. Does not the lack of sun weaken the skeleton?" she murmured. "Forgive me, there was no time to ask you your name before. I am Calendula Mictecacihuatl. By what name are you known?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:04 am
So can skin if you dip it in something special. For a time, anyway. The skin of the last Priestess who couldn't go to sleep was the only hide Miyako remembered seeing. And it was getting very worn for wear. Inside the Manor, however, it remained whole. As if it had been removed just moments before.
The white mare didn't move an inch as the black one came closer. Nor did the smile. Oh, she was aware how a smile like this appeared to those who found her. It didn't bother her. She didn't need company. She was never alone.
"So it does. But to the ignorant things they do not understand are often associated with darkness." To her eyes, however, and with her experience with her family's rituals, the bones were not grotesque. She knew ritual when she seen it. Customs. Or it could even be a new fashion where this mare came from. Either was possible. It was difficult to tell. There were so many different customs and fashion senses everywhere she went. Not every herd was as full of traditions as the Kuze Shrine. The bones combined with the jewelry and her perfectly curled hair made Miyako's guess lean more towards customs and rituals.
She moved, finally, letting the creepy smile drop as her mood changed with the arrival of another. Dwelling too deeply on the voice and her own mind always brought on these. Where she felt more like an observer than someone also walking the earth.
In a way she still was the observer.
The smile disappeared completely as one of confusion overtook her features. "Before?" She hadn't seen this mare before, or she would have....Yes. There was something. A small spark of memory, too small to see anything but the creature already in front of her. Why couldn't she remember anything clearly? And where was her sister, come to think of it?
Miyako frowned as she answered. "I suppose we did meet before." She shook her head, her forelock flapping to the other side of her face to cover that glassy eye. At least she still remembered her night and every day before last night. She swore if she started to suddenly get fatter, someone was going to pay. Even if she had to travel months to reach this forest, again.
"Miyako Kuze."
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Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:53 pm
The solara stayed stock still as Calendula drew near. She did not appear frightened, however--quite the contrary. She looked very calm and composed. Yes, definitely in charge wherever she went. That assessment still stood. However, her other one, that this mare might be a bit psychotic, did not necessarily stand. After all, Calendula herself looked rather creepy. That did not mean she was, and neither, necessarily, was this other mare. In that vein, she really ought to be more accepting.
The stranger was also rather philosophical, which she approved of. She often spent her time thinking and talking with other stars about matters of the mind and psychology. "This saddens me," Calendula admitted. "That darkness should be tied indelibly to ignorance, for darkness is nothing of the sort. The lines between good and ill are so arbitrarily drawn that they are almost impossible to predict and thus break. It is a matter I take close to heart."
She watched the other mare's expression turn to one of confusion and under her mask she frowned. What was so confusing? Didn't she remember the priestess? She would have thought that she was unforgettable. Indeed, most stars implied she was. "Yes, we met just the other night, in the woods, with the butterfly mares. We fought those strange--kappa?--together." She nodded to the butterfly nestled in her curls. "That was when this creature arrived." No matter. "We are well met, I hope, Miyako Kuze. I was hoping to find one of the others who experienced that night. I have many questions to ask."
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:04 pm
"I am not sure how well I can answer them," the white mare answered, moving her eyes to roam over the forest far behind her. Broken pieces of her memory of the place swam before her glass-like eyes, none of them staying still long enough to make much sense of. Why could she not remember? Nothing should be so dramatic that she would wipe the memory from her mind. She had grown up in the Kuze shrine, after all. Nothing should frighten her easily anymore. Yet as she thought about it, she knew that wasnt the reason she couldn't remember. It was more like someone had put a veil over her head, to keep her from seeing. Only the veil was a little transparent, allowing her to witness what was going on on the other side of it.
"But I do have to agree with yours views. Only the ignorant, the foolish, wish to look upon something they cannot understand and view it as evil. Instead of understand it." Of course, this was something also to Miyako's own heart. The Kuze rituals were not often spoke of, but had they been, she knew few would understand their purpose. The good behind them. Or that all the ghosts now residing in the Manor were victims, not naturally wicked themselves. It was just the Rift causing them to lash out in anger and fear.
She looked closer at the butterfly, another memory coming to mind. Not one of the forest, one of a town that used to sit near the Kuze shrine. Some of the ghosts who were not made by the curse whispered of red butterflies and twin sacrifice.
"My memory has failed me. But you are welcome to prod it."
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:51 pm
The mare had no memories of that night, although Calendula's own memories remained clear. This was...disappointing. She felt last night as if she had stepped into another world, and she yearned to find someone who could explain to her the strange creatures she'd seen the night before. "We walked down a path, carrying lanterns, and made our way into a dark wood," she said. "There we encountered trees tied with ceremonial ropes and encountered strange creatures with water in their heads. Our guide called them kappas, though I am still not certain of what those creatures were, precisely. Perhaps you have heard of such in your travels?"
The priestess smiled at Miyako. Yes, she definitely liked this mare, and liked her quite a lot. "I am pleased beyond words to meet another star so wise and understanding of the dark. Tell me, where do you come from, and where did you earn this wisdom?" She was genuinely curious. Had this mare previously met followers of the Grave Path? Perhaps she knew of a mission nearby. Even more intriguing, was there another religion nearby that shared the same values as her own? The idea sent excitement racing down her spine and into her wings.
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:03 pm
Miyako shook her head as the stranger named Calendula continued the tale. She really couldn't seem to remember. The way it was told she found it difficult that anyone could forget such an experience. Nonetheless, parts of it sparked her interest. As the other mare was telling her tale, Miyako had gone back to looking at the land ahead of her, as if she was searching for familiar movement. When it reached "ceremonial ropes", her head snapped back around, ears pricked forward curiously. That was a term she was familiar with, so much so she couldn't contain the look of recognition on her face. For a moment, it could be mistaken for finally remembering the previous night. But how much did she want to tell?
"I am sorry, I still do not remember," she answered, her Solara tail flicking once behind her. "Ropes. I know of ropes. There is a culture of Stars that tie ropes to trees for protection. My mother told me stories about Kappa. Vile things, if I recall." She paused, glancing back over the land spread before her, contemplating how much to expose about her family. In its prime, the Kuze shrine wasn't kept a secret. Her mother told her stories about the strange Stars who used to travel to have their pain taken from them into the Tattoo Priestess to carry to the other side. Whether this worked or not, she was unclear exactly. Reika spoke of the pain she felt from those Stars who visited her. And the existence of the curse upon the shrine seemed outrageous if she hadn't seen it for herself. Even now, Miyako wasn't sure what about her culture to truly believe.
"I have learned to appreciate the dark." Or be swallowed by it. "Though it still scares me at times. My home is far away, hidden in a forest. For safety reasons to it and anyone who hears about it, I would prefer to keep the location and the name secret." Still looking over the world before her, silently hoping to find some movement that could be Astray emerging from a shadow, possibly also searching for her. "I learned from my mother and the others of my family."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 4:38 pm
As she mentioned the ropes, Calendula saw a flicker of recognition run across Miyako's face. Did she at last remember the night before? Or were those ropes familiar to her? The priestess's inquisitive nature was threatening to overpower her tact. But if Miyako insisted that she could not remember, she would respect the mare. After all, who knew a person's mind better than that person themself? And it would appear as well that the practice of tying ropes, while familiar to her, lacked familiarity enough to further elaborate. Ah, well. But if there were no mysteries left in the world, how could she maintain that constant state of learning she loved so dear? She vowed someday to learn more of these protective ropes around the trees.
"They did indeed act most vilely," Calendula said. The other mare was looking around at the trees as if anticipating something. With a gentle movement of her head, Calendula encouraged the turquoise butterfly to fly off into the woods. If she was in danger, the insect would return to warn her. She did not expect it to have to. While Miyako seemed nervous, Calendula did not believe herself to be in danger from the other mare.
That curiosity surged within the lyra all the more powerfully at the hints that Miyako was dropping. Something dangerous, something unsafe. But what? Did it have anything to do with last night? Would she ever stop thinking about last night? Well, hopefully some day. She must sound broken to keep repeating it over and over and over... "I am sorry to hear that your home is unsafe," she murmured. "It would appear that your home is a strange and unusual place. I have my duties, however, and I am afraid they do not allow for exploration into dangerous places. Even," she added hastily when her brain caught up to her ears, "if you had not requested I stay away.
"As for the dark? There is very little in the world more beautiful than the dark. Some stars, of course." She smiled.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 4:48 pm
Miyako, on the other hand, wasn't feeling anything new. At least not at the degree the other mare was. It was strange to be in the presence of someone who was not a family member or decided they needed to be somewhere else. But it was equally strange to be near a Star with similar ideas as her own. And who seemed to wear the bones of another so easily. That alone peeked her interest and since she was rather enjoying the company despite usually not enjoying company, she didn't feel it was the right time to just ask. Where she came from, nearly everything was heaped in ritual and tradition and to ask was not always polite. Though she wore them openly and without shame, Calendula may have another motive that wasn't as open as her display.
Turning back, her mind for the moment going inside itself, Miyako gave the golden haired mare a smile. Not creepy as before, but perhaps just a little distracted. "So am I. I hear it was a fine place in its prime." She paused, moving her eyes to watch a owl take flight before continuing, the strength in her voice restored. "I have only seen the ruin." At the last comment, she continued her search of the world around her, glancing over once without much turning of her head. "Stars are beautiful. Nothing can shine like them at night. To which do you refer to?" she asked, tossing her head towards the night sky.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:59 pm
To dwell forever on a memory clearly not shared with another was not only to be rude but to invite grave misfortune. Whether that misfortune be a misplaced hoof in a mountain pass where concentration was vital, or to lose a potential friend or family, the consequences would always be dire. To that end, Calendula forced the experience of the night before from her mind. There would be time to dwell on it later; until then, it would merely be a very special dream, one that would flutter in her memory like butterflies in a meadow. The other mare said she had not been there; who was she to not know her own whereabouts? Calendula did not believe the other mare had anything to hide. Her wings twitched, then stilled on her back.
"Perhaps your home could be restored? If the damage is not too great, it might yet be recoverable from its sad fate. A place such as that should not be allowed to waste and ruin." Her eyes tracked the silent movement of an owl across the sky. Fly safe, child of storms, find your feast to feed your chicks. With the other mare's next words, Calendula's head turned toward her. The skull on her face masked most of her emotions, her facial expressions covered in a layer of bleached bones, but underneath it all, she was smiling gently. "Yes. The stars in the heavens are each a beautiful gem, shining above us in the crown of night. But the jewels I spoke of are the fallen stars that walk this earth from field to field. Scarcely a one of them is foul in visage, though there are many that could be called stunning by any standard of bewitchment."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:53 pm
To hear someone ask such a thing of her home left Miyako with a weird sensation. It could be hope. It could be pity at the mare's wish to help despite not knowing how difficult it would be. Sadness that it couldn't be achieved. She didn't know as much about it as she knew she should have, but that was clear enough. It would be no easy feat to restore it. Even if you weren't scared away by the ghosts, you would than have to learn to navigate around the dangerous ones. Hide yourself. Survive long enough to get deeper into it.
And than what? What big thing would need to be done to keep the Rift from spreading and send all the spirits to where they belonged? To pin Reika back to the floor? The tattoos had already spread and she had mutilated herself. The last resort would be to replace the skin of the last Priestess who would not sleep on the wall, the one that was nearing the end of its days. Miyako knew the family would not allow that. There was enough pain clinging to Reika. If they did that, she would be cast directly into the Rift, left to forever suffer.
Wait, why did she care? She had left the Kuze Shrine behind her when she left to follow a different path.
"It does have a noble cause," the white mare replied, closing her eyes, picturing the ruins clearly in her mind. "The damage is great, unfortunately. Very great."
Putting that out of her mind, Miyako smiled almost sweetly. "I did not fall. But many a Star is indeed breathtaking in their own right. I have seen such diversity from afar."
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