[private] remember when i broke you down to tears

[Nashua]

He breathes easier - because of her comforting presence and news of their son - and the copper pegasus exhales gently, making the inhale of his mate's pale mane that much sweeter. Nashua holds her to him, and begins to relax with his neck wrapped over her slender one. He agonized over the absence of their youngest - much like his missing twin - but there is still a kingdom to rule and the rest of Beqanna to consider against the machinations of evil beings like Mazikeen and Gale.

(And he keeps seeming to forget that he is only one man.)

The information that Noel provides grants him a small moment of peace, one that he won't waste. Nash tucks away the mention that they didn't appear to be harming Bolder (marking it as one more difference in the stories of the Curse that he had heard and the one that roams now). The thought doesn't even crease his blazed brow, as he manages to keep it smooth to offer her some peace of mind. She steps back and he knows what she is searching for; he knows that she worries for him more than their wayward son and he is determined to shoulder both their burdens.

Nashua attempts to ease them by smiling softly, and losing himself in the intensity of her dark eyes.

There is lightning in her touch, and he can feel it sparking against his auburn-hued skin. The winged stallion settles his rustling wings, turning his head towards Noel's electric caress. "I wish I could be with you more," he murmurs, with longing softening the edges of his hoarse voice. If he was, Nash might know more know of her struggles. He might know more of other worries, but for now, he can only attempt to ease them by loosening the tight knots in her neck and shoulders.

"Full of ideas," Nashua tells her, mulling over the discussions that took place in the Southern kingdom. Cheri had wanted to join North and South. The creation of an Empire was no small feat, and the more time passed that the entity that wore Gale roamed, Nashua considered the merits of it more and more. Wolfbane had wreaked considerable havoc on the North; this Curse was rumoredly much stronger than the monster had been and so the North would have to match. Reave had a strong argument against it - favoring a traditional alliance instead - and his thoughts were heavy, weighted down by the points both made. He shares them quietly with Noel, considering them carefully.

This brings him back to the topic of his youngest brother, the one he hopes that he can turn away from Aela's influence. Nash had known that Noel had gone to Reave when Bolder first went missing. That had been no secret and the Freyr had assumed that the young Guardian had helped her because they were family. Because that was what family did in times of trouble.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

"When you spoke with Reave about Bolder," Nashua asks, "did he say anything to you? Ask anything of you?"

NASHUA

@Noel