[PRP] Finding peace (Viracocha and Modera)

[Fatal Irony]

It was surreal.

The woods were dark; the clouds overhead blotted out the sun, robbing the forest of color in the deepening shadows. Still, a few streams of light cascaded twinkling through the leaves above, sending the lingering drops of rain that clung to them sparkling like stars on a dark night. There was a hush to the world, the sort of stillness that is palpable on the wind. Above it all was a simple truth: they had found their home.

Vira was still dazed by the realization, his mind foggy and heart numb by attaining everything he had worked for his entire life. Was this how it was supposed to feel? Part of him had never dared to dream that anyone else had survived the slaughter, let alone that they would find them. He thought it would always just be he and his brothers, wandering desolate and lonely. He had clung to a glimmer of hope but he never truly believed it was possible.

And yet all he felt was numb.

He walked slowly through the rain-soaked forest, his mind at once far away and abstracted into nothingness. Droplets of water clung to his thick fur and ran down his back in rivulets. The rains had only just stopped, the clouds parting above. The air was still thick, however, and Vira suspected there would be more rain to come. He frowned, stopping in his tracks and looking up through the branches at the sky. The clouds were dark, but streaked through with light as the sun fought its way through. The clouds would win out once more, he knew. It was an endless dance, a cycle that was never broken. Was that the way of life, he wondered? Would the darkness always find them?

He grit his teeth determinedly. Whatever darkness found them, he would fight against. He wouldn't allow a repeat of what had happened to their herd from long ago. They would rebuild and this time they would be smarter.

A slow smile found him in the shadow of the forest as it hit him how attached he was already to this idea of a herd, and ho quickly he had become protective of it. Perhaps this was where they were all meant to be. After all, when was the last time he could just take a walk on his own, with no one but his thoughts to keep him company? He'd spent so long looking after his brothers, the six of them banded together in the closest of groups. There was room to grow here, to stretch out and discover who each of them was outside of their small band. Thy could have a real life, finally. The thoughts were strange, alien to the stallion.

It was surreal.

Cajmera

 

[Cajmera]

The water droplet hung in the air at the end of her horn, seemingly frozen in time before Modera's very eyes. It was perfect, round, and completely pristine, an ideal droplet in every way. But Modera knew that perfection was fleeting; even before she'd had time to finish the thought, the droplet had broken free and fallen away towards the ground.

She was a lot like that drop of water, Modera reflected with a soft sigh. For a short, shining period of time, she'd felt perfect, pristine, and complete. Never before in her life had she felt such purpose, or so happy, as she had during those challenging months of what she'd since heard called 'the Kalona War.' Modera knew it was a somewhat peculiar thing, to have been happy amidst such chaos and carnage; though she hadn't been a combatant in the War, she had been in the thick of things as a healer, bringing what aid and comfort she could to the injured and dying. It had been brutal work; she, like many other healers, had pushed herself far harder than she should have, working herself to the point of mental and physical collapse on multiple occasions. The emotional toil had also been rough; Modera had never before seen such violence, such terrible wounds; many Soquili would always carry physical scars from the battles...and they were the lucky ones.

But in healing, Modera had found a purpose she never before suspected. She had had her 'mission' before that, but trying to convince others to be restrained and modest in their lifestyles was a far cry from healing the injured and saving lives. Although a unicorn, born to unicorn parents and raised fully aware of her healing abilities, Modera had always shied away from using those abilities; the amount of personal contact necessary had made her leery. But when faced with the choice of healing or moving on, she had chosen to heal. And in healing, she had found her purpose.

However, the War had eventually ended. While she was happy to see the end of the carnage, the subsequent loss of 'patients' was something else entirely. For a time, Modera had hung around the final battleground of the War, one of the last places she'd felt truly needed. She had served as a self-appointed caretaker for the site, tending to the graves of the fallen and acting as a liason for those Soquili who made pilgrimages to the site of the Kawani Soquili's last great stand. But it had been a hollow replacement at best; it kept her busy, but in no way gave her the same sense of satisfaction and fulfillment she'd lost.

Eventually, Modera came to a realization; she needed to move on. Before the War, she hadn't realized what was missing from her life; now, she couldn't ignore the absence. Chasing ghosts was well and good for some Soquili, but if she wanted to reclaim her happiness and sense of purpose, she needed to go out and find it all over again.

That quest was what had brought her here, to this soggy piece of woodland. There was nothing specific that had directed her steps to this specific place, but here she was all the same. And here...

"Here I am," she said softly to the surrounding raindrops. Here, but to what purpose?

Fatal Irony

Sorry for the wait, but I think I have her now!

 

[Fatal Irony]

He had been staring up at the sky, his mind whirling around different possibilities of the life they had found, when his acute senses picked up a sound and he froze solid. He listened intently, scarcely breathing and swiveling his sensitive ears around to try to pinpoint what he had heard. After a lifetime of survival in the wild, pursued by monsters and their own demons, the brothers had developed highly acute senses capable of picking up the softest of sounds. Or perhaps it was merely their own constant heightened awareness that caused them to seize upon every small sound or smell and raise the alarm within. Whatever the case, he had heard something and tried to steady his heartbeat so he could listen for it again. Perhaps it had been nothing, but he was suddenly more uneasy than he had been in years. After all, he normally had five brothers around him to protect him. He was silently berating himself for stepping out alone, how foolish.

There it was again, but closer. It was unmistakably the sound of a footfall, muffled by the damp - but he heard the telltale sound of a hoof suctioning as it pulled free of the mud. It was large enough, he suspected it was another soquili. He relaxed, however, as the sounds told the tale of another simply passing through. They were moving in his direction too, but when he turned towards where the sounds came from he was still hidden from view. He considered silently moving off the path and hiding to the side from this unseen visitor, but hesitated. On the one hoof this could be someone hostile and he didn't particularly feel up to a fight. On the other there was clearly only one, and the risk of a fight wasn't quite enough for him to pass over company outside of his family.

As he was deciding, the stranger spoke. It was soft and feminine and nearby and all thought of hiding fled from Vira, overcome by curiosity. Instead he made some deliberate noises and began moving in her direction along the path, hoping not to spook her. He couldn't explain the thrill of excitement he felt, but suddenly he was giddy. He realized with a start that he'd never socialized with a mare before, not in any relaxed and purely social capacity anyway. He'd spoken to mares for directions, for information, for practical things and always surrounded by his brothers.

He stumbled at the thought of talking to a lady for the pure joy of talking to her - and doing so alone. What had he been thinking? Too late to make a run now though - he had rounded the corner and there she was before him. He stopped dead and goggled at her, trying to compose himself and hoping his pupil-less eyes made his expression the harder to read so she wouldn't know how terrified he was.

Cajmera

It's ok! I'm sow myself! Sorry for that :/

 

[Cajmera]

You'd think after her experiences with the Kalona War, Modera would have learned to be more suspicious, or at least careful, with regard to her surroundings. However, you would be wrong in that assumption; even after months of seeing firsthand the damage Soquili could do to other Soquili, she was still able to walk about with her head in the clouds. Not exactly the safest strategy, but thus far she'd never had any reason to worry. Her worst first-hoof experiences with other Soquili were regulated to bad attitudes and some harsh words; not once had she ever had reason to fear physical danger.

That didn't mean Modera didn't have her moments of panic, though. So wrapped up was she in her musings that the initial soft 'notice me' noises made by Vira went by unnoticed; it wasn't until the stallion literally appeared in front of her that she realized she wasn't alone. For a fleeting moment, she felt panic as she was snapped back into the here and now, realizing with harsh awareness that she was in a strange place where she knew no one and really ought to be paying attention! But it was a fleeting thought; whatever else she was, Modera was an inherently prejudiced creature, and the moment she registered that the stallion was a fellow unicorn, she relaxed.

Who ever heard of an evil unicorn?

Modera hadn't realized she'd caught her breath until she let it out, a quick, gusty exhale. Though once she relaxed, she realized that she was one step ahead of the stallion. He looked very stiff, she noticed with a slightly concerned frown, and tense to boot. Did he need some kind of assistance? Was that why he'd appeared out of nowhere in front of her? A tiny flicker of hope in her heart at the prospect of being useful, she stepped slightly towards the stallion. "Excuse me, but are you alright, Mister? That is, are you hurt in any way, or is there something else I can help you with? Please, I'd be happy to assist in any way I can." She didn't mean to sound hopeful; after all, it was never a good thing for anyone to be hurt or troubled! Still, if there WAS some sort of need she could fill, then she didn't want there to be any ambiguity. She was ready to be useful again.

Manner had never been her strong suit; Modera was well aware at this point in her life that she could come off as brusque. Hoping to smooth out any bluntness in her words, Modera offered that stallion a somewhat awkward smile. "It would be my pleasure."

Fatal Irony

Clearly we both can appreciate the fickle nature of muses!

 

[Fatal Irony]

The clouds parted, allowing sunlight to cascade in broken rays through the leaves and lingering water droplets overhead. The light was reflected and bounced around from raindrop to raindrop, sending the light dancing around the mare and bathing her in heavenly light. Was this some sort of sign? Vira almost laughed at the idea. He was being ridiculous. Still, the mare, though not flashy in color or dress, was striking in the light in a way that surprised Vira. It awoken something within him that he hadn't realized was dormant.

Her moment of panic gave him the time he needed to compose himself. He took a breath to calm himself, forcing himself to relax. She was clearly no threat, though she exuded a certain strength. Her eagerness to assess and fix whatever he might need assistance with was surprising and he took a step back from her reflexively. Realizing how off-putting that simple gesture might be, he offered her a returning smile. "I'm quite well, I assure you. Though there IS a way you could be helpful. My brothers and I, along with some other unicorns are forming a herd. We can always use help there. Are you a good healer?" The herd seemed over populated with warriors, himself included. Spending a lifetime fighting to survive seemed to breed a single type. They had begun alluring new healers to their herd little by little, but the fledgling herd needed every bit of help they could get.

Besides, there was something about this mare that made him want to linger near her. He realized his heart was fluttering as he waited for her reply, hoping for her to join him back at the herd's home. She certainly was willing to helpful in SOME way, but some small piece of him was hoping there was something more to her earnestness. "We have other positions of course. I don't want you to think that is all we might need." He fidgeted shyly, digging his hoof into the dirt. This wasn't like him. What happened to the strong warrior that once attracted a valkyrie? He felt a pang of regret as he thought about that. He pushed the memories away to focus on the mare before him. "My name is Viracocha, but my brothers call me Vira. I'm the Second in Command of the Kateri herd." He couldn't help puffing up with a mixture o pride and embarrassment at his title. "Even if you don't want to join you would be welcome in the herd lands, if you want."

They would offer her shelter if she needed it, and a place to come back to if she were a traveler. Belatedly he realized he technically needed Abigail's permission before offering membership into the herd, but he pushed that away as well. They had been training him to lead, shouldn't he be able to make his own decisions sometimes? Besides, what's the worst that could happen. He may not yet know the mare before him, but she was a unicorn. He hadn't met one that wasn't fit for their herd yet, even if not all of them joined. He was sure this would end up fine.

Cajmera

I'm literally the worst ugh I'm sorry crying Busy semester. So I believe we discussed his kids would ICly happen before meeting Modera? That's my assumption in writing this reply smile If I'm wrong poke me!