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    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    do you feel like a young god? circinae, solace, any
    #1
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    Much of Amet's openness has diminished since the last time he had seen Ciri. She had been running for the outskirts of Hyaline, in the direction of their secret place, and he had watched her go. He has closed in on himself since, finding it easier to revert to the habits of his younger self to keep his thoughts separate from the torment of heartbreak. It helps, but only barely, when others expect nothing more from him but cold indifference and a motivation to throw himself only into tasks for the benefit of Hyaline.

    Solace has noticed the change in him, he is sure, but the gilded King cannot find it in himself to open up about his thoughts. She is a quick study ─ motivated, willing to please, terrified to fail, and Amet knows he should be more open about how proud he is of her. So when they decide to take the trip to Ischia to congratulate Circinae and her tribe on their move, the leather-plated King starts their journey by tapping Solace gently on her neck with his nose and mumbling, "You've been doing a wonderful job, Solace. I knew I was right about you." He gives her a hint of a smile, though it doesn't entirely reach his lightless amber eyes.

    They head towards Ischia via the River, where Amet hides his sourness for the place beneath an emotionless facade and a fairly quick pace. He'd rather not spend time here beside the raging waters, where his mind will undoubtedly travel to Ciri and Castile.

    Arriving upon Ischia's sandy shores, he is waterlogged and the Akhal-Teke stallion coughs saltwater from his maw and shakes his head to rid his forelock of the briny drops. He turns his amber eyes towards his blue-tinted companion to be sure that she has fared well before he turns towards Ischia to call for Circinae.

    He hesitates briefly before putting a little extra force behind his call in an attempt to mask his disheartened demeanor. He hopes that she will not notice (or, if she does, will not mention) the hollowness to his frame or the way his eyes have sunk. At least the saltwater has gifted his dull scales with some semblance of their usual shine, so perhaps his malnourishment and his lack of preening may be hidden from the water-wolf.

    "Circinae was my Protector before making Ischia her own. I figured this would be a good place to start your diplomatic visits," he says quietly to Solace as they wait.
    Amet


    @[Circinae] @[Solace]
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    #2

    Solace


    When Amet had approached Solace, proposing a diplomatic visit to another Kingdom, the filly in her had found it difficult to suppress her excited emotions. She knew she could trust her King, and he would be glad to see her enthusiasm, but she was already trying to implement the reserve which she so often saw those in power shield themselves with. 

    But it doesn't take her long to see that something is bothering him, and this trip is not going to go as she had expected.

    She can not see through his facade to the emotions that torture him, but she knows he has placed a wall between them, and she doesn't try to test its strength. The loss of vitality she sees in him worries her, and when he offers her praise she accepts it thankfully but cooly. She doesn't trust herself to say the right thing, and she follows in his shadow, unwilling to make matters worse by interrupting the adult's heavy thoughts. 

    Wisely, she does not contribute his reserve and heavy sighs to her own wrong-doing.  Despite her own inexperience in love, Solace had noticed the way he touched and looked at the smokey, grey-eyed mare whose name she did not know - she also had also noticed his demeanor first changed when sight nor scent of the mare could be caught within Hyaline lands. 

    With this information, Solace attributes his lack enthusiasm and humor to love-sickness and is content to pass most of the journey in silence, pondering the value of love with morbid seriousness. By the end of the journey, the young mare is nearly convinced to love and be loved wasn't enough for anyone, and she sighs and wonders what that means for her. 

    As the ocean comes into view she pushed aside these thoughts, shrugging them off as the product of a wandering mind. Much of her childhood had been spent in Tephra's warm ocean, and the gold and cream girl paddles through the waves with ease. When she steps onto Ischia's shore the petite mustang-morgan is a little winded, but overall more refreshed than exhausted by the crossing. Her tricolored fore-lock is slicked back behind one ear with ocean water, and her brilliant blue eyes cast about for any sign of life as Amet mentions his connection to the island. 

    "Circinae," She repeats in a low voice so she won't forget, and looks to Amet with a half-hidden smile. "Don't let me mess this up" She teases, in a whisper. But then she quickly realizes that it's would be better to not be caught whispering by this leader, and she faces forward again - holding herself with good posture and as relaxed and friendly a face as she can manage despite her nervousness. 

    you are my sunshine

    Solghostdoll2

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    #3

    -Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-

    Inherently, she feels connected to Amet. His role in her life reminds her too much of Ruan for there to be any semblance of negativity between them. Mutually, they’d only bettered each other’s situations and for the sake of her sanity (which seems to be slipping since her recent visit to Loess) Circinae is more than overjoyed as the wave of his distinct voice crashes over her newfound home.

    “Is that?” Her daughter, Nyxa, starts. “Amet” Circinae finishes, rising from a languid rest to shake her wolf pelt free of debris. The mother is content to be at ease with her youngest again, now that Nyxa has found it within herself to wander home. Their initial greeting had not been so heartfelt (The sting of placing duty above love is still raw,) but Circy had come to see a shift in her little girl. Nyxa was not so little any longer and soon enough, she’d be more a woman than was necessary. “Paws or hooves?” The green pony asks her offspring, never pausing to question if the girl will tag along or not.

    They are pack now, much like she and Crevan had been. “Paws, if you please.” Nyxa chirrups, stretching into a stand with a little shiver of excitement. “I just got a handle on them, after all.” She prompts, rousing a proud sort of smile to her mother’s otherwise blank expression. Nyxa had found her skin and like her ancestors before her, was reveling in the feel of it. With a stark white underbelly that stretched from chin to tail and a rich, fiery red sable coat to color her topline, Nyxa had followed suit and kept her mother’s pattern, all but the color. Even as kin they look related.

    Both dart nimbly from their resting place to make quick work of the small island. An odd sight, maybe -two wolves slipping free from the dense jungle to scatter birds and trot down the white sand beaches to where Amet and his guest wait. Odd, but nothing Hyaline’s King isn’t used to. The duo halt at an appropriate distance and Circinae decides to switch bodies, if only for the sake of Solace and first appearances. Nyxa, content with herself and understanding that she was but an additive to this party, sits with newfound patience and wags a happy tail for the scaled stallion’s benefit. “I’m so sorry that I haven’t tried to contact you sooner, Amet.” Circy says, once her transformation is completed. “It seems like time is running away from me these days.”

    With a breathless sigh she turns animated eyes between the pair - her familiar gold and bronze monarch and the lovely, brightly-colored mare - and for the briefest of seconds, confusion muddies her expression. Her nose twitches; Circinae shifts and replaces the slip with a warm smile and a quick nod in Solace’s direction. “My name is Circinae and this is my daughter, Nyxa. Welcome to Ischia.”

    Turning aside, she carves long indentations into the soft sand with her hooves before moving ahead into a slow walk. No sense in speaking out in the open, especially when there was plenty more to see. “Should we get down to brass tax?” She asks, trying to stifle the curiosity simmering beneath her pleasant exterior.

    Circinae



    @[Amet] @[Solace]
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    #4
    if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

    "You will be great," he says warmly as laughter falls from his maw, watching Solace with amusement from the corner of his amber eyes, "And she will love you." He has missed having the emerald mare in his midst. She, like her two lovers, is chock full of wisdom and truth. She is straightforward and dependable. And he is sad to the empty spot that she had once filled in his ranks, but more than that, the gilded stallion is happy that she has found her own paradise.

    He and Solace do not have to wait long for Circinae once he has called, and to Amet's delight she has brought Nyxa along for the ride. He smiles brightly at the wolf-pup, forcing the expression to meet his eyes as he nickers to the young girl, his eyes drifting to the water-wolf just as she transforms back into her equine self. "You've no need to apologize, Circinae, you've been quite busy," he adds with a small (forced) chuckle, his soft muzzle motioning to the tropical island on which they stand.

    Amet pauses as the moss-colored mare introduces herself and Nyxa to Solace, and then remains silent to allow the blue-tinted girl a chance to introduce herself. The gilded stallion smiles encouragement to her before turning back to Circinae and nodding enthusiastically at her inquiry. "I suppose you know I've come to see about an alliance," he says warmly as he moves to match the mare's leisurely walk, "and, as your friend, I'd like to share something with you that I've only discussed with Solace." He had meant to discuss it with Ciri, but.. well, perhaps in the future. Or perhaps not.
    Amet


    @[Solace] @[Circinae]
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    #5

    Solace

    Two wolves break through the dark smudge of jungle greenery up the beach and Solace takes a deep breath to steady herself. 

    Her equine instinct in her sends a shock of energy to her legs to better run away but relying on Amet's better judgment and her desire to meet the new leader (and make a good impression) quickly outweigh her primal instincts. Seeming to anticipate her uneasiness, the larger wolf begins to shift back to her quine form and Solace find an easy smile for the green mare. 

    The tri-colored girl notes the look of confusion which passes like a shadow over the other leaders face, but she doesn't have time to over think it. Introductions are made and she is soon adding her own. 

    "And I'm Solace, it's nice to meet you." She holds Circinae's gaze with brilliant blue eyes as she speaks, but as the conversation turns and Amet continues Solace glances down to the little wolf happily wagging. A smile breaks out across her features as she looks at the other girl, all of her instinctual aversion completely cast aside. "Hi, Nyxa," she adds without her previous formality and a dash more enthusiasm. 

    Father, Svedka, Smoak, Kaiode, Amet - her closest companions had always been male, and being introduced to another girl so close to her age is something new and exciting ... even if she is a wolf. Solace momentarily observers to the compact paws and the thick ruff of fur around her neck she questions her previous aversion to the predator.

    The word Alliances brings her attention back to the important matter - the reason they had traveled here. Her pale face turns back to Amet as he speaks, and as Circinae leads the group away the cream and gold girl falls into step beside her King's other shoulder.  She walks a little faster to better look across him to the alpha-she-wolf, and the young mare takes in all of her movements and phrases with a student's sharp eye, nearly forgetting she may be expected o be involved in the conversation. 

    you are my sunshine



    @[Circinae]
    Solghostdoll2

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    #6

    -Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-

    This group melds well and even though Circinae can’t discern at first where the conversation is headed, all beginnings of it are crafted with respect and mutual affection. Circinae’s immediate impression of Solace is one of admiration; the girl can hold an eye and still look pretty doing it. “Good,” the pony mare thinks with a soft nod in the lady’s direction, “that’s half the battle won already.” She thinks as she walks. Half would be charmed into loyalty with Solace, the other half jealous of that steady beauty.

    “Hi, Nyxa.” Solace calls out, rousing the attention of the smaller wolf and turning away the attention of the elder. Happy to be brought into the loop, Nyxa weaves through her mother’s feet with daring bravado to slink alongside the cream-and-blue diplomat. “I don’t remember you from Hyaline.” The girl clips with a tilted head. Her mother across the way jerks an ear, and then a sharp eye, in her daughter’s direction but her wily offspring ignores the glance. “Have you always lived there?” Nyxa asks.

    With a weary sigh Circinae turns back to Amet, the words, “Then I suppose you know that my answer is a resounding yes.” spilling free without losing a step to her beat. “Oh?” She pauses at the next matter, her insatiable drive to discover the strange something she felt emanating from his person rousing at the mention of a secret. With the slide of her gaze to Nyxa, she turns those questioning eyes back to Amet with the wordless thought, “Should I send her away?”

    “Let’s head inland then, where prying eyes and ears might not hear.” The Keeper says aloud, clipping into a brief trot to take the lead. A worn trail gapes open ahead of them, one path among the hundreds that Ischian inhabitants alone had worn into the soil. As they slip beneath the humid cover, Circinae lags until she can feel the haunting brush of stone-hard scales against her shoulder again. “My attention is yours, Amet; Solace.” She speaks, head drifting between them as their names slip through her teeth.

    For a second, she feels nervous.

    Circinae



    @[Amet] @[Solace]
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