Talori 704: Wind Down

Relax. Take the day to do what you want. That was the sentiment Xyliana and the others had been left with and she hated it.



It wasn't that she felt the need to be in the meeting, in fact, she couldn't have cared less about that. It was more the feeling of leaving the empress unprotected that concerned her. She had vowed to protect their leader no matter what, and if history had taught her anything, it was times like these that left their leaders most open to attacks.



Still, she bit her tongue, silently agreeing to her empress' wishes, staying close to the other gemini and the conparis instead. While relaxing was simply not a word she was comfortable with in these tumultuous times, she decided she wouldn't let the time they had go to waste. Settling in near the others, she began slowly easing her body into a series of stretches, intending on refocusing her body and mind. 

Even so, she kept a careful eye on the conparis. If she couldn't be there to protect the empress for the time being, she could at the very least protect her husband. While recent events had prevented her from getting to know any of the group really well, she decided now was as good a time as any. 

"How are you settling in to Aquore?" Xyliana asked the pegasus, stretching out her left foreleg as she spoke. 

Xyliana nodded as Faris spoke, not fully understanding, but sympathizing with his unique position. While she didn't have much in the way of a close knit family or community, she couldn't imagine how difficult it must have been for him to leave behind the relationships he held dear for a foreign nation where he would be nothing more than a stranger. 

 ”What about you guys? I know it’s not the same - but how are you all enjoying being a Geminus?” Xyliana flicked her ears forward slightly at Faris's question. In truth, it wasn't something she had thought much on since joining. It was her duty, as much as foraging in the Wilds had been before. 

  ”I love it. I couldn’t find something that suited me better. Although, I do get a bit nervous in times like this while proceedings are going on.” She listened intently as Lydia spoke, intrigued to learn something new about her fellow Geminus, especially since she didn't know any of them well.

"I'm adjusting well enough." Xyliana said with a small smile after the younger geminus had finished. "Though I completely agree with Lydia when it comes to concern over these proceedings. It feels strange to be so far away when we might be needed." She shook her head slightly, as if staving some frustration.

Xyliana snorted softly as the storm finally rolled in, the gentle drizzle turning more severe as water fell from the sky. She'd always enjoyed the rain, but how quickly the garden began to flood seemed a bit strange. 

Her companions began speaking once more, mentioning a strange anomaly with the water, leading the mare to move to where they stood. Swiveling her ears around as she drew closer, she heard Lydia's voice over the storm,

”Not sure what it is? Seems like a passage? Drain? I’m not sure, come see.”

Shaking the water from her eyes, Xyliana slid into the small huddled group of horses, keen on investigating what the others had found. The water swirled about as it seemed to slowly drain out of the area.... but the placement felt...odd. A bit too odd to actually be part of the drainage system, but what did Xy know? She wasn't an architect and her only real experience with drainage was for her grandfather's garden.

She huffed softly, watching as Lydia carefully placed a hoof over the unseen hole, waiting to see if anything changed. "Do you feel anything strange?" She asked, eyeing the other mare curiously.

The mare stood still for what seemed like an eternity, holding her breath while she waited. When the stones didn't move and nothing else seemed to happen, she remembered to breathe as a small sigh of relief escaped her lips. Curious as she might be, something about dragging the conparis on some sort of crazy adventure without permission or instructions from her empress just didn't sound like a good idea.

As she was about to step off the stone, she caught it, a flicker out of the corner of her eye. Facing the direction she'd seen it in, she watched for a moment, as the wall seemed to almost fade in and out, as if it was as intangible as the sea goddess's blessing. A dark tunnel could be seen behind it, and Xyliana froze. In all the times she'd looked over the palace blue prints, she couldn't recall ever seeing something like this in the garden. Unnerved she looked around at her companions. 

”I mean...do we? Should...we?” Lydia asked, only a moment before growing too impatient to wait and stepping through the doorway, with Tzillah following close behind. Xyliana snorted, pawing the ground in frustration. "Wandering into uncharted territory without instructions to do so, with the empress's conparis no less, does not sound like a brilliant idea!" She hissed."We haven't prepared anything and have very few tools among us, in what way does this sound like a good plan?" The mare asked, looking first to the other geminus and then to Faris, desperately hoping the pegasus would see reason. 

”I couldn’t agree with you more, But I don’t want to leave them alone, in case there is something.” Faris's voice was light as Xyliana watched him follow the others into the darkness.

"Seriously?" She asked, utterly exasperated but unwilling to leave them alone with their rash and impulsive ideas. Quickly trotting in after the others, she felt the doorway solidify behind her only a moment after she'd passed through. Irritated, she snorted loudly, huffing as she followed closely behind the others. As her natural bioluminescence began to glow, she tried to take in her surroundings, only to realize the glow didn't go beyond her. It illuminated her shape and form, but the darkness surrounding her was almost unnatural, engulfing every bit of her light. This was ridiculous.

From up ahead, she heard a click, as if something was moving into place before a bright light came to life, illuminating a strange plaque sitting between two pathways.
She froze, her body tense, ready to leap into action if needed when she heard one of the mares speak.

"Well that’s cryptic.” Lydia's voice broke the silence, making Xyliana clench her jaw. Of course the younger mare wouldn't read it alloud.... Straining to see the plaque from the back of the group, she could only make out the largest part of the inscription.

“Go forth with faith or turn back before it is too late.”

It was un-nerving to say the least, and she was less than pleased. It was already too late to go back, and whether or not the doorway was meant to close off before they arrived at the cryptic panel or not, she found it to be a cruel sort of irony.

Xyliana pinned her ears flat against her skull as Lydia spoke once more. ”Your guys’ call. What way?”

"Our call?" She hissed through her teeth. "As if you actually care to take my opinion into account. My call was to avoid this ridiculously foolish and potentially dangerous venture altogether! But here we are, dragging the empresses's conparis into Cascade knows what just because you all are to curious to wait for permission." She huffed, brushing a stray hair away from her face with her teke. Harsh as it may have been, the last thing the herd or the empress needed right now was an international incident, and if something were to happen to Faris, that is exactly what they would have. None of that seemed to matter to the others though, and the thought frustrated her greatly. If these were the types of equines typically chosen as their leader's body guards, it was no wonder the late Emperor Hawkeye was no longer among the living....