[private] the beginning of the end

[Ivar]

I V A R i'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take Most of Ivar’s taunts glance off the bay stallion in front of him, like so many little drops of water. The old bird is resilient, but Ivar knows that. Finally, it is his mention of Carwyn (or perhaps something that Brennen’s magic has told him about Carwyn – there’d been just enough of a delay in Brennen to suggest something of the sort) that has an impact. There is a reason that Ivar prefers physical fights, and it is not (just) the satisfaction that comes from victory by brute force. Brennen knows it too, which is why Ivar has tried to goad him into a confrontation. The kelpie has had nearly twenty years to hone his hypnosis, and all it takes is a single touch. A touch he is about to get with Brennen lunging toward him, teeth bared and eyes golden with fury. Ivar is eager to meet him, even if he suspects those flat teeth might have the magical ability penetrate his protective scales. Yet in the split-second Ivar has to make a decision, the glow of magic falls away. Behind Brennen glitters the sapphire sea, its call of freedom far stronger than the need to quash the bay stallion. Ivar lunges at Brennen, his own far more impressive teeth bare, but rather than rise up and beat at him with his hooves, the kelpie shoves past him. His hooves land in the shallow water, and a leap forward over the surf ends with his finned tail slapping the surface of the water before he disappears beneath the waves. --- He keeps to the deep, waiting until Aodhan and Aquaria have left the island without the children. Ivar is not sure where they might be hidden, but he spares them hardly a thought. Instead, he spends the fall in the most pleasant of ways. Though he couldn’t track down Carwyn to give Brennen a seventh reason to hunt him down, the kelpie had at least found Kaite. The end is near, and Ivar greatly enjoys his preparation for it. By the time Brennen finds him again, spring has come and the island of Kelpie is lively with Ivar’s youngest children. --- Ivar does not look surprised to find the bay magician on his island. Instead, he arches a golden brow and asks: “Any chance Kaite told you what she named our child?” The tactic had worked once before, and while Ivar is loath to leave his herd behind, the women and children that are restricted to life on land are not his favorites anyway. Perhaps they can get this encounter over as quickly as the last. @[Brennen] and i'll use you as a warning sign that if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

Just some expo to explain last fall's baby making and then fast-forwarding to current time so Brennen can stick him in a hole for good!