Call it aftermath; Levi

[Longclaw]

LONGCLAW

-I close my eyes, ignore the smoke-

Had the two any idea of how alike they were, there’s a good chance they’d be convinced they were from the same lineage. Claw laughs away the sexual innuendo and finds himself remotely impressed with the hard facade.

But it's what he sees inside Levi (what he’s beginning to see inside of himself) that invigorates him. The blue stallion had been living just to, well, live up until this point and that’d been fun enough for a while. Life, however, waits for no horse and it’s slipping by with blinding rapidity. Creating new monsters to shadow Longclaw’s thoughts. No longer does his universe revolve around his personal interests; Warrick had asked a heavy task of him and Claw can’t bear the burden alone.

“It’s everything to me, now that Warrick has entrusted Commander of the Guard to my care.” He states bluntly, one hind leg relaxing now that he’s certain Levi won’t blast him. “I immediately understood that there wasn’t an Ambassador or General to confer with, like there’d been when Warrick himself walked in these footsteps.” Claw explains, the steady weight of his emerald eyes resting upon the mottled bay’s face as he speaks.

“I’m pulling this stuff out of my ass, Levi.” He chuckles, hardly willing to believe it himself. “Maybe it’ll fool everyone for a while, but I’m not fooling myself. I need help, someone I can trust, someone who knows what they’re doing.” He emphasizes, hesitating for a only a moment after he finishes. The pause is weighted, uncomfortable almost - Claw has taken a chance on coming here, on telling him this, and that feeling will not lie still until it has an answer.

“I can see that you’ve been … busy.” The shifter finally spouts out, breaking the tension in favor of turning his curious gaze towards the sabino’s fiery mane. It suited him. “But I’d like to know if you’re still a fighter on the inside, if you still want to be one.” He shrugs, causing his shoulder to reject the action with a deep ache.

“You want in, or do you want to be left alone?”

@[Levi] I know he has control over his mane, so if you'd like me to edit that bit out or tweak it, just let me know!