nothing i have ever known | danaë & mazuku [stormbreak]

Lightning split the sky with a silent streak of light, flashing in his eyes as moments later the sky was wrent with the crackaboom of thunder, rattling into his bones and the sound seemed to tear the world asunder around him. The rain fell in torrents, pelting him like stones, streaming down his soaked pelt and filling his eyes as he pushed his waterlogged mane from his face, again and again to little avail.

Any sane equine would be inside where it was warm and dry, but the truth was that there were few places like that right now. Everywhere he had looked was flooded, tents mere islands in water, Serorans and vagabonds alike rushing to build dams and drain canals.

He was little help with it, but damn if he hadn’t tried.

But something had called out to him, in the storm, and he had chased after it despite his better judgement.

It had been brief, only for a moment, but he knew he had heard it.

He didn’t dare to hope, but he had to try.

His hooves struggled in the muddy, sucking sand as he ran, a death trap of its own as he raced through the rain, muscles searing and burning as he fought the sky and the land for each frantic step.

His ear swiveled and pointed, and he skidded to a halt, sending up a spray of sodden dirt and sand, head snapping to the side as he held his breath.

Barely audible between flashes of thunder and lightning, a bell rang like a voice crying for help, swallowed by the crash of thunder.

He whirled, racing towards where he had last heard it, heading towards a flooded, engorged river that swirled with dark, frothy water spilling over its edges, lapping greedily at the weakening banks and threatening to pull them into the water at any moment. The river that had been a bare bubble of a creek just days prior, now a torrential nightmare carrying debris and sand past him in a roar.

A voice cried out, not a bell but just as high and clear, and he halted so quickly he nearly fell, gasping as his wing beat hard, trying to catch himself before he teetered right into the frothing foam. He tossed his hair back, squinting into the rain, staring at the rise of land that made up a makeshift island in the center of the rushing water, rising quickly over its shrinking banks.

“Lucie?!”

The shrill scream of his name- a long dead nickname he hadn’t heard in years- made him freeze, his heart sticking in his throat, a hard lump he couldn’t swallow past as his eyes frantically scanned the frothing surface, looking for the source- there!

He didn’t hesitate, taking only a brief moment to pray to whatever god might be listening before he backed up, getting a running start before his hooves sank deep into the muddy bank, pushing off as hard as he could, lone wing straining as for a few moments, he was airborne.

He landed with a splash that was swallowed by thunder, his eyes flooded with murky water and he quickly lost all sense of where he was, only his hooves grazing the bottom grounding him. Panic closed over his throat, icy water pulling his scarf like a noose, dragging him away from the river bottom and flinging him mercilessly into the current, battering him back and forth like a children’s toy.

His head broke the surface only once or twice, only long enough for a desperate gasp of air, a choking of Lucie’s name, struggling to spot her in the muddy river, the water clinging to his lashes. There- a flash of gold, shining bright as though the sun had caught it and cast her aflame. He didn’t question it, only hoped Alya had parted the clouds long enough to let him see her as he plunged back into the river, legs churning the water as he fought the punishing current.

His teke speared the water, searching, grasping, finally closing around something soft and barely warm, and he pulled it to himself with as much gentleness as he could muster, tugging the struggling foal to his chest as he kicked off the bottom, both of them breaking the surface.

“I got you,” He choked, clutching her waterlogged form against him, gasping as he coughed. He could barely tell which way was up or down, let alone find the bank again, turning as he shielded Lucie from them both crashing into a boulder, taking the hit against his shoulder with barely a grunt as they were swept away once more. He held her head above the water, occasionally dipping under himself as the river dragged, beckoning him to the depths, sucking at him and enticing him to surrender.

He bared his teeth in a snarl, head breaking the surface as he scanned wildly, and for a moment he could only stare, muddled mind struggling to comprehend what he saw.

The rain was on fire.

A bonfire, bright as the sun, sending out embers like glowing raindrops, a beacon of hope, a lighthouse he immediately struggled through the water towards. Fire meant land, meant safety, and he fought hard towards it, desperately trying to keep his grip on little Lucie, keep her head above the water.

It’s Mom!

Danaë?

His mind was as exhausted and waterlogged as his body, trying to comprehend that the burning flames dazzling his blurry eyes was none other then Danaë. He shook his neck, and for a moment, he saw her, wreathed in flame as she threw back her head, roaring out a jet of fire like dragon’s breath, the rain scattering in her wake like glittering jewels, turning to embers and steam curling around her legs.

If he had the ability to think of anything but his and Lucie’s survival, he may have thought it was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen.

A wave of warmth flashed through the air around them as he struggled to shore, and for a moment the rain lifted, bells ringing loud and clear like a symphony as he saw a rope tossed out in familiar fiery teke.

With the last of his energy, he stretched his neck out, snatching the rope in his teeth.

His body snapped to the side, the current dragging him away, his legs pumping through the water as he focused only on lifting Lucie up out of the water, head pulsing with the effort of keeping himself afloat and setting her down on the shore mere feet away. For a moment he wavered, jaw losing its grip on the rope, legs floating weakly in the water as surrender beckoned enticingly, gently pulling him down.

The bells rang, urging him on.

He snorted water from his nose, rope creaking and straining as he gripped hard, the only thing keeping him from being swept away downstream, clinging to the rope and the sound of bells as he shut his eyes, muscles screaming protest as his hooves finally slammed down into the sandy bottom.

He gasped, struggling for air past the rope as he let Danaë help haul him out of the water, planting one foot at a time as he clambered up the slippery bank, sand and mud collapsing under him as he climbed up.

The sudden freedom from the water was like a breath of fresh air, body losing the ability to move as it was released from the river’s resistance, and he crumpled to his stomach with a choking cough, water rattling in his lungs.

In between his desperate gulps of air, the rain finally smothered her flame, and she looked up at him with huge, sorrowful eyes that sent a lance through his heart. Rain fell over her face like tears, Lucie flinging herself against her mother with a sob and Mazuku let her go without a fight, looking at them both in silence, chest heaving as another cough rattled his frame.

For a moment, his face was open, like it had only been in rare, vulnerable moments with Danaë. His eyes were large, lost, and he looked as young and scared as he had the first time they had met, ears swiveling as his mouth worked uselessly, a thousand unsaid words burning his throat.

“...is she ok?” He finally rasped, dragging himself a few inches closer to look Lucie over, eyes darting over the soaked filly. She’d gotten so big over the years, he could barely recognize her, but he’d know those eyes anywhere. Danaë’s eyes.

He had missed them both, more than he could ever say, could ever tell them, and he wished he had the words to tell them, only able to say it in the trembling silver teke that brushed Lucie’s sodden mane back, the anxious look he cast over her shaking frame. His heart thundered in his chest, straining against his ribs, as if it was pulling him towards Danaë. All these years, and she was just in his reach, and yet felt a million miles away from him. He flashed back, remembering the sinking, desperate thrash of his heart when he had realized how far she was, when he had heard of the war. When he had dropped the drink in his teke and bolted out the door, feeling like he was trapped in a nightmare, all of Onea and a war laying between him and Danaë.

And he was the one who had crossed that distance away from her.

And now he was close, so close that he could see every color in Danaë’s burning gaze branding him for the foolish bastard he was.

He shifted, shaking out his wing as he lifted it up, holding it over Lucie and Danaë’s head, casting them in a meager shelter from the downpour, rain falling in sheets at the edges of his wing. The tips of his primaries brushed over Danaë’s curls, and the hairs on his neck stood on end in response.

“Are you… ok?” His voice was barely audible, eyes darting over her face, and for just a moment his own eyes matched her sorrowful gaze. He knew he’d had to leave, knew it down to his marrow, knew the man who looked at her now would never deserve her but damn if he wouldn’t try.

You know I had to go.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, nearly drowning out the filly’s tiny, miserable cough, and his face fell, unconsciously stretching his head forward to nudge her anxiously, as if he could lend her strength. He had nothing to offer her and he wished he did, wished his scarf wasn’t completely water logged or he’d wrap it around Lucie in a heartbeat, the best he could offer was to keep his wing extended over her as they walked, and that didn’t feel like enough.

He reluctantly retracted it as Danaë rose unsteadily, ears flattening as he looked up at her, unable to meet his eyes.

His heart ached.

He climbed shakily onto his feet as well, the absence of bells a silence that pressed into him like a physical weight. His legs ached, trembling underneath him, but they held. His lungs burned with every breath, rasping in and out of his chest like fire. For a moment he just watched her, eyes searching her face until her gaze lifted to meet his.

Lightning flashed, like the electricity that darted between them when her heavy, accusing eyes met his.

The world seemed to pause, frozen around him, the rain seeming to hang in place as he held her eyes, pain flashing in his stormy depths. She drew him into her orbit effortlessly, like she had been for years, now, tugging him unceasingly in from where he had been circling endlessly, unbound, homeless. He stepped towards her, once, twice, until he was a breath away, every color in her eyes visible as he slowly lowered his head towards her.

His forehead pressed against hers, eyes sliding closed as their bridges came flush together, feeling her breath mix with his where their muzzles gently touched, hers like warm velvet. She still blazed, like he was standing in front of a fireplace, her warmth radiating out like a sun and seeping under his coat.

For a moment, that was the world. He breathed with her, savoring the gentle press of her face, wishing he could stay there forever even as rain pelted them both, thunder growling like an animal not far away.

He lifted his head, muzzle trailing up her bridge to touch gently against her forehead.

“I’m sorry,” He said against her, nearly inaudible.

He pulled back, eyes searching her face before he looked down, lowering his head to Lucie’s level.

“Can you walk, Luce?”