from dust she returned [magnus, sloene, any]

[magnus]

It did his heart good to see Aranea so free—so light. He warmed at the sight of her and smiled as he watched her with her friend. When she spoke of her intentions, he could only dip his head, one corner of his scarred mouth lifting into a crooked grin. “Tephra is incredibly lucky to have you call her home.” His gaze shifted over to Sloene and he corrected himself. “To have both of you call her home.”

And then, he fell silent, watching as the two mares conversed. It felt intrusive to watch them, to stand there as they caught up, and in the back of his mind, he felt a rare tiredness beginning to pull at him. It was just as he was about to excuse himself that he focused in on what Sloene was saying.

His ears perked as his gold-flecked eyes sharpened on her.

“We would be lucky to have you serve her, however you wish.” He considered her for a second before he added. “Checking on members, recruiting, monitoring the borders—they are all small but meaningful ways that the residents of Tephra can keep her alive, keep her active.” Another pause. “We also have a very loose structure for diplomats and the army, if you would be interested in officially joining a caste.”

They did not require it of anyone, but it was there should someone crave it. He himself knew that he had always found purpose in the castes, in the work, and he had never wanted to keep that away.

“You just tell me what you want, and I would be happy to oblige you.”

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