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![[info]](http://www.greatestjournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) what_we_dream
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Schmendrick wandered the woods for a while, after leaving Titania. He had no goal in mind, to particular path he wished to take. Only the vaguest sense of what he was searching for.
There was no way to actively seek a unicorn. Whether beast or maid, that's what she was, and searching for a creature like her would have been foolish. A unicorn came at its own bidding. Even if she were searching for him, it would do him no good.
She would find him. All he needed to do was wait. And try to be someplace she would like to be.
Although springs were plentiful in the Sleeping Forest, it was some time before he found one that seemed suitable. Flowering watercrest was scattered in the crystal clear water, and the sun shone in from a clearing in the canopy overhead. The grass was soft, and Schmendrick even removed his boots to feel it underfoot.
Yes, she would like this spot. Let it be his gift to her, since he had none other but himself. Schmendrick settled against a tree, and waited. As his eyes began to close with weariness, a tune fell from his lips, an echo of a long forgotten memory.
"I am a mortal man, and if I dared to care
The moon that has no mistress would flutter through your hair.
The ground what graced your footfalls would flower as you passed
And all the things that loved you would love you to the last.
"I am a mortal man, and though I won't complain
I wish there was a way for someone to explain
No one yet remembers the things that I have craved
And all that I have cherished has gone into the grave
"I am a mortal man and I grown old within
The prison of my person, the shackles of my skin.
And I would run away and beg from door to door,
Just to see your shadow once, and never more." The song echoing faintly in the small clearing, Schmendrick the Magician drifted off to sleep.
Tags:
schmendrick, amalthea
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She changed form as soon as she was within the relative safety of the Sleeping Wood. The human form had become almost painful to wear, what with its memories and mortality and regrets. She felt out of sorts as she wandered about the forest looking at birds that were not hers, raccoons who were unaccustomed to her appearance, hawks that simply stared. It was disquieting, and yet, it felt more like home than anyplace else she had been in a very long time.
The Fae queen of summer, had said she knew him. The unicorn was very unsure how this made her feel. She was unsure of what to say to him if she found him. And why was Molly not with him? The two had seemed inseparable when they left. This was a cause of much consternation for the unicorn. But she would be content now with at least knowing that he was here, and that he was safe. There would be enough time to talk about Molly.
He was here. That quickly she sensed his presence within the wood. Following it to it's source, she saw the magician sleeping in a dappled glade where watercress bloomed and liquid sang over stone. This was truly a beautiful place, and a wonderful place to meet an old friend.
She stood on the edge of the clearing, unsure how to approach the sleeping man, and sighed.
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The nuzzle would have surprised him, truly. In all their time together, Schmendrick had never touched the unicorn while she was in her natural form. That had been a comfort she had shared with Molly, and one Schmendrick had never been able to follow. It had been enough then, to simply see her. His only contact had been with the Lady Amalthea, and even those had been brief.
She was close enough to smell, and Schmendrick breathed in the scent of her. Of clouds and air, cool lightning in a summer sky, earth and water and air.
"I cannot say I haven't missed you. I hoped that I might see you again. But, what of your forest?" The magician began to climb to his feet, as to better address her. "Your home? Could you not return?"
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Schmendrick shut his eyes, shaking his head sadly at the report of her home. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Mortal man has always been foolish," he admitted. "But unicorns have not been forgotten, as they were when King Haggard possessed all but you. Placed in myth and legend, they will endure there. Tales and legends are the shadow-truths that will endure long after truth has turned to dust. Your kind will not be forgotten again. Can that not be a joy?"
He was trying to sound hopeful but when she mentioned Molly, Schmendrick's face darkened, and his gaze fell to the ground below her hooves. "She became ill," he said. "A fever. Not for all my magic could I save her." He shut his eyes, remembering how they had walked together - the unicorn and Molly, the thin hands of the latter gracing the shoulder of the former. How Molly had always touched the unicorn when she was frightened, or concerned, or nervous. "I'm sorry," he said now. "I know she was dear to you."
Oh, he would have given everything for Molly to be here now. Every ounce of his power, the magic he had desired all his life long. The magic that meant nothing to what truly mattered.
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To see the change now, Schmendrick's eyes widened. Where before it had semed the will of his magic, taking her and shaping her. But this was internal, her own body seeming to fall in upon itself anf leave the human figure.
Schmendrick moved beside her, taking off his cloak to cover her nakedness..... oh what memory did that bring?
But now he was Molly, clothing her, while she was both the caster and the changed. So simple. As though any of the others could have done it.
Cloak draped over her shoulders, he rubbed gently, her skin protected from direct contact by the material. "Amalthea," he said, pulling her tight to him. "Amalthea, she loved you. You loved her. She died, knoeing that she was loved."
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Schmendrick nodded softly. "Adored, treasured, loved, and cherished. She knew those as well. I only wish now that I had told her more often."
When she drew back, he did as well, but risked a soft hand on her shoulder, where the cloth was draped. "You should not hold yourself accountable. You had no fault."
Trying to draw the conversation back from such painful memories, he looked her over. "How is this transformation possible? Not even the unicorn that was transformed by Nikos was ever able to return to human form. You, yes, but how now on your own? The Fae Queen said that I showed you the way?"
His brow furrowed, with confusion and amazement.
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(OOC: So sorry about length. Lots of information to get out!)
"I too wish I had told her, even once how much she truly affected me, but as you said, she knew that well. Such was the way of Molly Grue. And while I do not hold myself accountable, for I had no knowledge of even this place then, I do wish that I could have been with her. I could have helped her. But thank you for your kind words. And actions."
With the word 'actions' she placed her hand over his for a few seconds; a gesture of warmth, affection, and acknowledgment of his kind action. She did not let her hand linger over his for long, only enough to convey those things.
"This transformation is all your doing, magician. I have always been able to do certain things: tell when things are poisoned, see the truth in people, hide almost in plain sight, and change the tainted back to the beautiful. It was not until you transformed me to save my life," she smiled at him, "that I had even seen that it was possible. Indeed then, I was not truly paying close attention to the finer details.
"Upon reflection I realized that it was difficult, but possible to change my form back to that of a human woman. At first I did not want to, but as the emotions within me grew, I found no other outlet for them, but to do as humans do and cry, scream, weep, love, and otherwise express myself through my human body.
"The first time I changed back, I had not even meant to. I was in another forest in another place and I saw for the first time since that day, someone who reminded me very closely of... Lir. I think I was human again before I was even aware of it. At first the changes were tied purely to emotion, but as time progressed, I found that my memories of you working magic helped me to refine and focus my intent and make the change consciously. So that is why I told the Fae Queen it was you who showed me the way to do it. In a roundabout way, you did."
She smiled tentatively at him then, as if unsure of how that bit of information would be recieved.
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[OOC: Hee! No worries, really. You should see one of Schmendrick's replies to Titania in their last log. 2 posts long. Yikes!]
He was startled by her touch, so freely given. It was a kind motion, and he welcomed it, and its brevity.
He listened to her explanation, dazzled by it, and when she was done, the magician shook his head lightly, swallowing his disbelief. "You are a unique and amazing wo... creature, my lady." Even in this form, it was difficult - and wrong somehow - to think of her as a woman. "Though I cannot help but feel I have done you some evil. You are so different now from what you were... That is something I cannot undo."
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[OOC: I know!! I read that and was all o_O XD]
"I thank you for that compliment." She smiled at him, until he said the last bit. Then she frowned slightly, and looked him full in the face. "No, Schmendrick, you have done me no evil. You did what you had to to save me, and for that I am eternally in your debt. Twice I would have died, and twice you saved me from the Bull. Never think that you have done wrong. I only wish there were something I could do in return.
"If I am different, it is because I know more of the world now. I am not naive, nor am I content to simply be. I want to learn about what it is to be mortal, though I am not. There is so much in the world that I would not have ever known had you not been there to help me when I could do nothing to help myself. I am more than content to be a traveler in this world, learning, seeing, and feeling."
She bowed her head, then said, "I do not wish for you to undo it, even if you could."
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Schmendrick bowed his head as well, relieved of that burden of guilt by her words. "Then I am glad to have been of service to you, Lady."
He tilted his head lightly, towards her, moving a bit to the side so he could look upon her. Beautiful, still very beautiful, though not with the ethereal beauty of the unicorn. This was a mortal frame she wore, and as such, it was a mortal beauty. Anything that could die was beautiful, more beautiful than a unicorn, because their beauty was temporary, and would fade to time.
"And I am glad to be your friend."
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