|
|
Post by strixx-variaa on Jan 3, 2016 20:52:44 GMT -6
Wave-Mother, I have brought my love for you.
He curls his head and dips the front of his face in the water. The little ripples on the surface of her Sacred pool have half a breath's time to lick at his closed eyes and submerge his muzzle before Thaumas rights his head again.
He opens teal-blue eyes and stares at the pinking glow of sunrise on her stone features.
Wave-Mother, I have brought my life for you.
The dark, earthen-colored stallion presses his strong profile against the surface once more, just as briefly, and then his ritual is finished.
He exhales, feeling free.
If you were to ask him whence comes the verse, he wouldn't have an answer for you. He might ask you how you learned it, since he never speaks it aloud, but past that initial moment the scrutiny would bounce from you to him. It's some old tradition his parents had, and he never questioned it as a foal, and he doesn't question it now. It's something he would teach his foals, if he were the type to have any, but it isn't something he thinks about otherwise.
It is just past dawn in the quiet of Cascade's Grotto, and Thaumas stands perhaps twenty meters from the center, belly-deep in water, feeling peacefully alone even in the company of the other few devotees praying quietly in the near distance.
Where shall I begin today, Mother? I have so many questions of late...
words: 245
tags: none!
notes: editing 1/23/16 to turn this into an open thread! anyone is welcome to post here ♥ |
|
|
|
Post by Queerly on Jan 26, 2016 16:27:07 GMT -6
She needed to feel clean.
It was a desire, warm and curling in her breast. It was a need, urgent like thirst. It was an ache, and it screamed like a beast. She could not ignore it, even had she wanted to.
There was time yet before duty called, and so Eve gathered her personal Guardian and set off for the Wave-Mother's sacred pool. The walk from the Temple to the Grotto was not so long, mere minutes at most, yet it felt as though it took ages. Perhaps Mother is teasing me, and has slowed the Great River of Time, she mused, a vision of playful seafoam floating through her mind. It was a silly notion, but she smiled all the same, and allowed herself to shift from a subdued walk into a flowing stride.
At the water's edge, she removed her cloak, folded it neatly, and left it upon the shore. Without the slight weight of chiffon on her withers, Eve felt oddly vulnerable, and wasn't that how it should be? All were vulnerable before Cascade, and it was their Loving Goddess who crafted them into something more- something better. She took their raw, defenseless souls and nurtured them to pearls. They only had to let her.
The first step into the water was like coming home. It was a breath of life, a fluttering heartbeat. Eagerly the mare waded, careless whispers upon her lips as she lost herself to worship, to reverent prayer.
The tides bring me back to You, Mother. The sea may be tumultuous, and the waves may carry me far from Your shores, but always I will return to You. Cascade, Mother of the Sea, Guardian of Time, I am yours, across the Great River of Time I am yours.
It was long moments before her eyes slid open, and her body felt cleansed, her mind clear of impurities. Whatever demons lurked within her, they ceased to be here in this place, this sacred ground. Eve sighed, content, and the air shivered from her lungs delicate and silvery.
Her eyes settled upon Thaumas, dear to her heart and of no surprise to be spotted within the Grotto. Eve paused but a moment, just long enough to assure herself she would not be interrupting private words owed to their Goddess. And then she waded to him, silver-gold hair shimmering in her wake.
"Good tidings, Thaumas." She murmured. Water carried sound beautifully, and she had no desire to distract the worshipers nearby. "I trust you are well?"
|
|
|
|
|
Post by Jennycallie on Jan 27, 2016 2:29:58 GMT -6
Taishen | Guardian
Taishen remembered the look, he remembered it very clearly, even after all of these years.
"Well, it might be boring, but at least the hours will be nicer. No more dawn patrols."
"You think becoming the Divine's personal Guardian will be boring?" Eden had asked him, his tone determinedly mild. The way it was when he was suppressing the greatest of mirth, or skepticism.
"Well, not boring, I suppose," Taishen had acknowledged. "But I mean, I've been trained to peak physical fitness. Combat and defense." He had preened a little here, and Eden's countenance had certainly been dynamic, but this was not the look Taishen was remembering on this cold dawn- no, pre-dawn walk with Eve. "And I don't think I'll have as many opportunities to use that training."
"And early mornings? You don't think there will be any more early morning duties, assigned to her?"
Taishen had snorted.
"The Divine? Early mornings? What's she got to get up at the crack of dawn for?" He snorted again.
Sea-foam eyes had considered him then, eyebrows askance.
It had been, Taishen decided all these years later as he walked next to Eve, forcing his bleary eyes to alertness, it had been a look of waiting. Damn it but he hated when Eden was right.
Still, the dawn was beautiful. Once you were awake. Which he'd rather not be- but no. No matter. he was, and it was. And he always loved going to Cascade's Grotto. Again, usually in the evening, but-
He shook his sheared mane forcefully.
When Eve waded out and began her ablutions, Taishen paused, mahogany eyes sweeping the Grotto. Unlikely as it was that a threat to the Divine would emerge here- it was his duty. The moment she began wading further in, Tai's gaze snapped to her, then swept forward in her trajectory to see- ah, Thaumas. One of the few equines that Tai fully trusted in the Divine's presence. His withers relaxing slightly, Taishen let loose a quiet breath and with a delicate stride, he too entered Cascade's holy waters.
|
|
|
|
Post by strixx-variaa on Jan 27, 2016 12:23:15 GMT -6
With Her holy water still dripping down the front of his face, from poll to forehead to the bridge of his nose and down to his top lip, Thaumas Anereus spoke to God. There had been a time in his life when he declined to tell Her all the mundane happenings in his life, because in his youth he'd been rather of the opinion that She had better things to listen and attend to. And then he realized at some point that it simply wasn't his prerogative to determine what She did and did not want or need to hear from Her devotees, and that he was being a selfish fool by presuming to possess such intimate knowledge of Her preferences, and so he'd taken up the task again and included his quotidian reflections in each prayer. It was a good exercise for memory, and patience, and observation, and through the peak of his adulthood Thaumas found the routine a great source of comfort and guidance, and he attributed all of those benefits (of course) to Cascade's unfailing, omnipresent benevolence. It was just as he finished his daily prayers that he heard his name called so sweetly, so gently, by a voice he knew well. A brief thanks. You are too kind to me, O Heart of the Seas."My Lady," noted the Defender with a smile on his lips. It was pure, and gentle, and reflected entirely his lofty opinion of the mare to whom it was directed. He didn't move his feet but nodded to her as he spoke, the motion slow and careful, a salute denoting his respect for his colleague. "Bathed in the light and the love of Her presence, I am very well indeed." "And yourself, Lady Divine? I trust this rapscallion continues to keep some of your worries at bay?" It was the question which brought an element of playfulness into Thaumas's sage expression and deep, rolling voice, and though it was directed at Eve, he looked at her escort to speak it. He liked Taishen, though admittedly he was glad not to have spoken to the Guardian in a while. Aside from the usually-scheduled, rather brief reports from each of his departments and divisions, the less the Defender heard from Eve's security detail, the better: no news was good news, where a protection effort is concerned. But now he had good excuse to converse with the both of them, and truly, Thaumas Anereus rarely felt more at his leisure and at ease than when he was in prayer to his God or in the presence of his God's chosen earthly representative, Eve. And now he found himself more or less in both those situations, so his mood was perhaps uncharacteristically light. words: 458 tags: Queerly Jennycallie notes: wahhhh i am so beyond pleased by these responses, thank you so much guys!! ♥ |
|
