Pebbles scattered at his paws, the faint crunch of snow beneath his weight, wings folding as the great form settled on the world's highest peek, the unearthly realm of the immortal. Pristine, unnaturally quiet and untainted, some might have thought beautiful, yet to the druid it was cold and uninviting, lacking the beauty, the dynamic, of life on the earth.
It was not often Corellon set paw in this place, far more at home among the forest he cherished and the life he protected. Here, they were too far apart, vulnerable beyond his reach. And yet this isolated land had its purpose, reaching far above the greatest peeks, peaceful as an empty snow-covered day, his senses reached their zenith, surveying the far corners of the forest below.
It was for this reason he had come here, a brief, yet vital visit. From here his senses could reach beyond the eyes of his avatars. From here he could here the voices of the forest, the cries of those who needed him most.
Four brilliantly hued wings stretched out in the sun, baking in the weak winter 'heat' the glowing orb allowed to drift into this place. Yet, somehow it wasn't cold. The thought never really disturbed Samsara, he was so used to this place. He had, of course, been born to this place--it was as much a part of him as it was any of the Gods, and thus there could be nothing strange about it, no matter how few laws of reality it broke. Were they not breaks of reality themselves? The thought amused him, even though he knew it was the sort that would surely get him nothing but grief if he were to ever express it to his peers.
The God, lazy these days, stretched himself beside one of the pristine ponds that littered the place and gave a great yawn that startled the timid white and orange fish that swam in its depths. It was a wonderful day to be lazy, really, for there was no one else about the place and time itself seemed to stand still. Not that it really needed to, to one such as he; he had as much time as he needed for anything. ... In fact, Samsara considered with no small amount of bemusement, he may have been laying here more than one day. No matter the amount of thought he put into it, he wasn't entirely sure when he had fallen asleep by the pond... only that it had, indeed, been daylight.
It wasn't hard to see what had woken him, either. As he gazed around the place to see what may have changed while he dreamed, his eyes found the one who had come calling in the midterm. It wasn't a 'brother' Samsara had met before, but introductions were a trivial thing to his way of being. "You'd never think it was summer down there, would you, with the weather we have here. I've always found snow to be an odd thing. So... wet." He shook his head at the snow, as if it had done him some great injustice by its very nature of being, and sighed a aggrieved sigh. "Not that there's anything wrong with being wet, mind, but one is not accustomed to being so without first wishing it. Of course, its going to rain now that I've said that."
Karma, as he was called Formally, tipped his head up to the cloudless sky, "Assuming Irony is still in play."
An ear twitched, turning to catch the voice that had spoken, his gaze falling on the reclining god, green eyes catching the reflection of the crystalline pool. His head lowered in a respectful bow, silent steps pausing at the water's edge.
"Perhaps, and yet it is always winter somewhere, at the furthest corners, the snow never melts."
His voice was soft, calm, yet somehow distant, as if his thoughts had drifted to those corners as he spoke of them. A druid, the god of nature, Corellon saw beauty in all things, in all life, and all elements, he cherished the snow as he did the rain and the sun, the dry desert, the lush forest, and the frozen tundra. And yet he could not help but smile at the god, a small chuckle escaping his jaws as he noticed his own paws had been damped by the snow.
"Not so surprising as the fact that it has melted enough to notice it is wet."
It was unusual, despite the fact he had trod on snow, his paws had not grown cold as might have been expected, there was no bite of winter in the air, as if it were simply a blanket of wool pretending to be snow. But then, there was nothing usual about this place, or the beings that inhabited it.
"It might, or a strong wind could simply blow you into that pool."
"Ah, you are wise in the ways of Irony." Samsara grinned at his momentary companion. He tipped his head, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he pondered the thought. "Or Karma. Though I don't believe I've done anything deserving of a dowsing. ... Not recently, anyway."
He chuckled and turned his head to the pool. The koi had fled to the dubious safety beneath floating plants, and were he to be blown in by a malicious wind he would have met nothing but water and the rocky bottom. That would have not been pleasant, and he had to remember that he didn't deserve it. Not at the moment, anyway, perhaps he'd do something worthy of it later.
Karma turned from the pool to eye the newcomer. This one seemed rather odd, but so did many of the Gods, himself included. Therefore there wasn't much Samsara really could say about that. How dull, he'd have to make do with 'normal' conversation, "I tend to stay away from the places whose snow doesn't melt. As much as the wet is not appreciated, neither is the cold. Indeed, I would not be up here were the world below not so infernally noisy. There never seems to be a moments' rest in that place."
Corellon smiled in light amusement, settling on his haunches at the water's edge, tail flicking to rest at his paws. He would not have called himself wise is such things, though he supposed even he could appreciate the irony in things, or at least the duality.
"I have found that even the inhospitable cold has it's own beauty."
The mountain peeks, the distant poles, even where it seemed impossible, there was live that thrived. To the souls that inhabited those frigid lands, life was as it should be, nothing else could have been called home. Indeed a simple change and that life would have perished, and even such lands fell under his protection.
"Yet it would be a tragedy, should those voices all fall silent."
Noisy perhaps, and yet full of life, could he hear every voice at once, he would have cherished each one as a precious song. Each voice was a treasure, rising to his ears in a glorious symphony, how faint they all seemed from here. Yet there wee those he would have gladly silenced, those who dared to harm the forest in their greed.
Mane rustling with movement as well as a passing breeze, Karma shook his head vigorously and laughed, "Some would say tragedy, some would say ...." He trailed off with a mischievous grin on his face. He didn't mean it, of course, but it was a fact that some Gods weren't as tolerant of mortals as others. "Though I do admit that if it went completely quiet I would miss noise, and so it becomes a no win situation."
The male laughed softly, "Except that I am blessed with the gift of coming to this charmingly boring place when the world is a bothersome chatterbox. Ahh.. such a ride life can be."
Turning once more to his companion, Karma gave him a charming smile. "So you know why you find this peacock up high, what of the.... deer?" He eyed Correllon's antlers.
"True perhaps."
He answered with a tilt of his head, knowing the end of the other's statement and the truth behind it. Just as there were those such as him who cherished each life, as there were those who at least tolerated, there were also those who despised all, who would have happily silenced each voice, every living creature who crossed their path. And yet even those vicious souls would have found tragedy in the silence, for as the life of the earth faded, so too would theirs.
Eyes that had drifted over the crystal pool, turned to fall on the other god once more, taking in his full appearance, the brilliant blue and green, vibrant feathers. The god of nature may have seemed simple compared to such a creature, his hide white trimmed with silver, mane as pure white as his hide, broad wings in earthen tones.
"From here I can hear them all, and find where I am needed most."
Ironic, the god of Karma had come to this place to escape the voices, while the god of Nature had come to hear them more clearly. Indeed they were all as different as they were the same.
