here it comes with no warning; any

[magnus]

To say that he found their friendship valuable would be a vast, painful understatement. He had grown to trust her, to turn to her for advice, to find her hands capable when it came to the running of Tephra. He knew she would be there when newcomers crossed the border and knew she would handle the situation with the grace and intelligence he had come to expect from her; she was a diplomat, to her core.

More than Magnus would ever expect himself to be.

Still, he was not surprised when he saw her grapple with the idea, turning it over in her mind. She was highly capable but perhaps not always trusting in her own capabilities. She was too hard on herself, he thought, but he didn’t voice such concerns out loud. How she dealt with such insecurities was her own business. If she ever wanted to discuss them, he would listen, but he was not about to pry into them.

When she finally spoke again, accepting his unspoken offer, he grinned, his smile infectious. “I was hoping you would say that, Lucrezia.” He took a step forward and nudged her neck, taking in her scent, and finding it both familiar and comforting. “Consider yourself the first Head of Peace for Tephra then.”

It was a private ceremony, and an informal one, but still a precious one to him. He didn’t take such things lightly, and he felt confident in his decision. Confident that it was the right one for himself, and for the land. Those who called Tephra home could do no better. “I have some things to attend to, but we should touch base soon—to discuss formal alliances and such, if we choose to go down that path.”

He gave her another smile. “In the meantime, try to keep yourself out of trouble, Lucrezia.”

Then with a wink and a grin, he was gone.

out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know
I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll

Just to wrap this up. (Did you know we've been doing this one since November?! D

Totally up for another thread if you'd like!