pay heed the squall Posted on October 4, 2022 at 01:35:37 PM by charybdis
Her mind has been playing tricks on her. Dreams have been seeping into her waking hours, stirring up memories to taunt her.
Charybdis catches the scent, sometimes, imagines she hears that familiar voice - the first one she’d heard upon her arrival here, bruised and battered by a storm. Her body had since recovered from the beating the surging ocean waves had delivered upon her, but her mind... The stark white mare felt as though the ground beneath her chipped hooves was unstable as it had been the day part of the towering mountain ridge had tumbled into the sea, taking a great swathe of the jungle with it.
She wanders, alone, convinced that the rivers would ever run from her, certain that the paths of the shadowed jungle would lead her away from her scattered herd as they often did - not out of spite, but for the safety of them all. Charybdis has long suspected that it is better this way, for her to be alone. A blessing, and a curse. It is why she has not ventured beyond her border into the Harbour again, seeking the son she abandoned. Not even the searing guilt she feels, now that Drogon has returned, is motivation enough.
She’s made that mistake already, by tainting the waters of the Lagoon with her presence there, for asking to be granted wisdom that was not hers to know. And it cost her far too much.
Still, she has been very careful not to linger long alone with Drogon, concerning herself instead with what she can do to make Svenja and her sons comfortable in the humid climes of Atlantis. Charybdis does this for the mare and her colt yes, but also for Drogon, to please him and soften any ill-will he might harbour for her. She spends time trying to seek out the brown stallion’s brother, who has proven to be something of an enigma to her. Sometimes, he carries that scent upon him, just the faintest trace, but Charybdis has not asked about it.
No, she wanders alone, always watchful, ever vigilant. Though the heart of her is slowly breaking, and her spirit has become weary, she cannot stop, and she will not leave. So long as she stays, to protect the Ridge, what little she has left might not be ripped from her, and the darkness that lies in the waters below Atlantis will not break free to spread its corruption upon the islands that yet remain.