"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
It had been a few short weeks since she had decided to allow Klaudius his chance at redemption. From what she had gathered, he was being dutiful around the kingdom and with the other residents of Ischia. He had been a good father to Kromium and Karat, despite her aversions to him being around, and she hated to say it, but she was starting to like the guy.
Ugh, it was sick, wasn't it?
The twins are lingering behind her as she does her early morning rounds of the kingdom. The sun was cresting over the horizon, turning the sky beautiful shades of orange and blue. The light hit the shell-shaped gem in the middle of her forehead so that it reflected all around her. Her usual routine was growing increasingly boring - she needed something to break the monotony.
So she turns to the twins, lips curling into a mischievous grin. She wiggles her brow at Krom, before giving him a gentle nudge with her maw. "You're it!" She calls, gesturing for Karat to follow Krone away from her brother.
Krone
you could be the King (but watch the Queen conquer)
@[Klaudius] @[Kromium~Karat] Wanted to throw something up.
They were growing quickly. Much too quickly some may say, but they still could be found trailing behind their mother as she checks up on the well-being of her kingdoms residents. Karat, sporting her necklace of shells she had gathered from the beaches, is happily prancing along. Krom is right at her heels but struggling to balance on the weight of his changing hooves. Something strange was happening too him recently. The dark brownish black of his hoof was becoming shiny. It didn't hurt so everyone past it off as just a strange oddity.
As they round a bend in shoreline, a mischievous look befalls their mothers face and instantly they squeal in delight. Karat leaps to the side as their mother snakes her head in Kroms' direction. Planting a touch along his honey coat and then darting off with the customary, You're it!
Karat quickly gallops off after mother. A soft jingling of her shells as she races down the beach. With a slight cock of her head she sees Krom struggling to catch up, so she slows slightly. Allowing him with striking distance. Krom is huffing as he comes up behind Karat. A devious grin and determination on his green pointed face. He pushes forward and nips Karats butt before breaking a skidded stop and turn. "Karats it!" He shouts before darting off in the opposite direction. Karat smiles that her brother doesn't see she purposely slowed for him.
Bright silver eyes look to find mother isn't too far ahead of her. So she surges forwards again. Ears pressed into her purple mane as her lengthening tail flows like a banner behind her. She was faster this time and she was determined to catch her mother.
As her eyes narrowed upon the earthy brown of her mother, she hears a beating of wings from above. The familiar form of her father descend from the sky down the shoreline in front of them. Landing he stands with wings spread wide across the beach and a grin upon his pale lips. She laughs as she guesses he is attempting to block mother's path so she can tag her, but she has different plans...
Her target changes as she gallops as quickly as she can to him. A smirk playing on her own maw. Tiny hooves fly across the beach and she is quick meet him. Ducking under his feathers and snaking her nose to his barrel. With a nip she tags him and continues down the beach, calling out, "Dad's it!"
Krom sees the action from afar. Realizing he is not a target anymore he slows. Now beginning to make his way towards them at a walk. A snort flutters from his nares as he sees his sister still running about. She has way too much energy, is his only thought as he comes to stand amongst the sands. Emerald tail flicking lazily as his eyes begin to shutter close. Nap time.
Krone loved her children. She loved her island, and she loved her family.
Ischia was small, but prospering, and she quite enjoyed her time being on the island. Running the kingdom had its difficult moments, but times like these were ones she lived for. Times with her babies, times with their father (who she could now consider a kind of friend), always seemed to make the tough times worth it.
As Klaudius descends from the sky to meet them, she gives him a friendly smile. "Come to join the action, hmm?" She jests, allowing a singular back leg to kick out playfully in his direction. Karat finds her way beneath his legs to tag him, and soon she sees the purple stallion running towards her.
"Don't you even think about it, Klaudius!" She laughs, ears pinning jokingly. With a burst of energy she is galloping down the island, and soon finds her wings spreading out. With one long stroke, she ascends into the air. She closes her eyes, enjoying the rush of wind on her face, how the sun feels warm as she grows ever closer to it. It has been so long since she's felt this comfort - flying was once common practice for her, but now it only happened in fleeting moments.
From her spot in the sky, she looks down to her family. Family. She had never had much of one...mother was, well, distant to say the least. And Kirin was hardly ever there (and when he was, he was consistently a dick). She sighs in disbelief - she never believed her life would become something like this. And god, she grew happier everyday for it.
She lands, hooves sinking into the sandy beaches, and walks towards Kromium, who has now decided to take a nap. She lowers her maw, tickling at the fluffy emerald sprouts that grow from his neck. "How I love you, sleepy boy. And your..." She looks up to Karat, who frolics happily as her seashell necklace jingles. "Not so sleepy sister, too."
Krone
you could be the King (but watch the Queen conquer)
Watching his family frolicking playfully below on his usual patrol of the island by air, he smiles. With a slight turn of his shoulder and tucking of his wings he falls from the height above the canopies. Quickly arriving in landing distance his wings outstretch to parachute him onto the beaches.
Landing ahead of their direction down the runway of sand, he leaves his wings stretched to block his sisters escape. As Krone and Karat barrel down the sands, suddenly he becomes targeted. The filly ducks under his wings as Krone finds a narrow space to escape past him. Jesting words coming from the Keeper he replies, "Gotta give the kids an upper hand." Feeling the gentle poke of a lavender muzzle along his body and the infamous words of the game, he tucks his wings to his side quickly. Turning a 180 and his hooves are flinging sand up behind him. Silver eyes find Krone lifting into the air. Her words daring him to follow, "Watch me!" A devious grin plays on his lips as he begins to expand his flying appendages again. The speed of his gallop and beating of his wings lift him into the sky quickly. He turns to find Krone amongst the clouds already and quickens his massive strokes. Lifting himself high above the scatter puffs of white. Perched high in the sky he glides for a moment. Eyes scanning below for his winged sister. Soon finding her at a leisure speed. A grin spreads across his maw as he positions himself to dive straight for her. Turning his body again and shortening the spread of his feathers.
Nearing her as planned but just before he can tag her, she is diving from the air to land along the shoreline again. The bulk of his body and extreme length of his wings causes him to not be as agile as his more refined sibling. He chuckles as she has bested him this time.
He finds a place to land just south of the three of them. His wings folding again as he walks along the lapping waves. View finding Krom dozing off and Karat prancing about. Eyeing his son curiously as Krone whispers her affections for them. He can't help but notice a shimmering of silver at Kroms' hooves. Moving towards the emerald tipped boy, he lowers his muzzle to brush over the smooth surface. A brow cocking in confusion but knowing that each of his children could potentially have been gifted abilities of the earth. His head rises as he looks to Krone with slight concern...
And then Klaudius is there beside her - the purple of his wings brushing against her russet skin. Her body quivers slightly at the tickle, and then she is looking up to him. Worry crosses his face as he stares back and forth at their son, then to her.
Krone looks to the piece of silver metal forming on Krom’s hoof and touches it softly with her nose. ”Equus Ferrum,” She states gently. She had heard the name before, had heard stories of those who the gods carved from iron, but only now had she seen it in person. ”He’s one with the earth.” She turns her head to Klaudius, giving him a reassuring smile. There was nothing to worry about after all. For a moment she locks eyes with and they sit in comfortable silence, before she turns away and gestures for him to follow.
Krom begins to shift sleepily before his hooves, that baffled the lavender stallion, give way and he is folding his limbs to nap on the warmed sands. Karat is quick to join there family gathering, seashells and all. Her small muzzle lowers to brush along her brothers emerald crest. "Sleepy little Krommie," she whispers sweetly before she is nudging her way in close to him. They are a mixture of earth with a hint of emerald and amethyst.
His ears flicker to hear Krones explaination for their sons oddity. Surely it was genetic or a strange mutation of his own magic. His worry is that it is slowly transforming his son into something he is unsure of exactly what. He only wished he knew of someone with the trait Krone was certain he possessed.
Looking into his sister's face, with a rare expression of worry, she motions their leave and he is at first hesitant to follow. Pausing briefly with a smile to their napping twins then following in her wake. He settles into a leisurely walk beside her as his lengthy stride catches her with ease. Thoughts fumble inside his skull until he attempts to find words, "Krone... I'm sorry for the things I did. Sometimes I don't think." He wants to say clearly but at all would have worked to. The pause though surfaces another confession, "But... I'm not entirely sad it happened. I wouldn't trade them for the world."
The pair walk side by side down the beach, their wings rubbing gently against each other. Twins sleep soundly under a shady palm, and all seems peaceful.
Silence envelopes them for a while, just two horses walking down the beach, water lapping at their hooves. And then Klaudius speaks.
Krone stops dead in her tracks. She didn’t want to think about that day anymore. She didn’t want those feelings to come back. But they did, and there she stood resisting the urge to take a chunk out of Klaudius’ skin for even mentioning it again.
A few short, rapid breaths from the nose and she feels her heart calm a little. She inhales deeply, letting her nostrils fill with the smell of the ocean. Finally, she is able to muster up some words for him.
”It is in the past, Klaudius,” She murmurs, deciding now to walk ahead of him, as to avoid seeing the purple stretch of skin any longer. She closes her eyes. ”Nothing can change it now. But your lack of self-control is sometimes alarming, Klaudius. How in the world do you expect to keep your title if you can’t...stop and think?” She turns her neck and peers into the silver of his eyes. Her own hazel orbs bore into him. ”But I agree, what happened was bad, but what I...we ended up with was something I never knew possible.” She looks past him, to the children. ”I love them more than words can express.”
Apparently, not thinking at all, should have been his statement fore when the mention of their past creeps forth she is stopping. He had nearly cringed at his own words when she reacted, knowing well enough why she did. He wasn't attempting to bring up the past, just noting that he was sorry.
Her ceased movements cause his own to waver. The soft brushing of their feathers is no more as she remains behind him for the moment. In the next she is brushing past him and he allows her to. Slowly he again picks up pace but remains a stride behind. His lavender ears twist forward as she speaks. When she is finished he simply nods in agreement. He needed to stop and think but sometimes primal urges took control of logical thinking.
With another step he concludes their stroll with a simple but true statement, "I'll try harder...For them and you." It is all he had left to offer on the subject and seeing as the twins were safe and sound, his wings unfurl to take flight again...
