"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
03-18-2018, 07:26 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:13 PM by takei.)
Takei
“If you ever feel like it, you can find me in Ischia.”
Despite Takei’s stubbornness in his self-inflicted loneliness, his brother’s words echoed in his mind. They hadn’t just lingered among the corners of his brain for a few days; they had stayed there all through winter and into spring. Every morning and every evening he heard Trekori’s voice like a persistent drum-beat that wouldn’t end.
“If you ever feel like it, you can find me in Ischia.”
He wouldn’t have considered himself the type to get involved in kingdoms. He still doesn’t consider himself to fit in that sort of lifestyle even as his feet stop at the edge of Ischia’s border. Takei’s skeptic, glancing at the sporadic spread of islands. He glances down at his shadow on the sand — at the bulk of his body (just because he’s alone doesn’t mean he’s not fit) and the long, sharp horns that project from the mess of his mane. They’re a constant reminder of what he had lost over a year ago.
A sharp pain jabs at his chest and Takei lets out a heavy sigh. It’s one filled with regret and grief even now. While the island may be fading from his mind — and Orion with it — the ache of his sadness still clings to the blood in his vessels. The blood and ivory raises his head to examine his surroundings again, quiet against the rush of the beach.
hold me in this wild, wild world 'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
Things are moving, gears grinding into action, and knowing it has caused a constant, low-grade thrum of excitement to form beneath Brennen’s skin. It makes him more awake, more alert, and he’s standing just inside the treeline with his eyes half-open watching the beach and the easiest-to-find crossing place when the stranger wades across at low tide and stands nearly opposite Brennen staring at the treeline. Brennen would be worried the boy was staring back at him, except he knows he’s practically invisible at this distance, in the gloom under the trees, until he moves. Which gives him several long heartbeats to observe the chestnut-and-white stallion before he takes a breath and starts to walk.
His steps are casual but not slow, because it’s not polite to keep someone waiting. He keeps his wings tucked neatly against his side and as he approaches, admire the stranger’s matching set of long horns, and when he’s close enough for it to matter, he offers his brief and habitually half-smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes, because it usually doesn’t, in casual conversation with strangers; he’s a generally private guy, after all. “Hello,” he greets in a polite drawl, stopping and lifting his face for a moment to the warm sunshine, and again he admires how different Ischia is from the Tundra, and mostly in good ways. “Welcome to Ischia. I’m Brennen.”
He has a tingle of hopefulness because the newcomer is a stallion, and he does have his new network very carefully and slowly making overtures to those who might make good Brothers, but he refuses to jump the gun. There’s always the (rather large, in this case) potential that he isn’t here for Brennen’s fledging cause at all, but just happened by or is even a recruit just for Ischia. Of course, that second option doesn’t necessarily eliminate him from a future with Brennen’s cause, it just makes the game of winning him over (if he’s a good fit) that much more fun.
hold me in this wild, wild world and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
03-24-2018, 12:58 AM (This post was last modified: 03-24-2018, 01:00 AM by Trekori.)
Trekori
i'm freezing, it's not winter yet but my fingers and toes are shivering beneath these sheets and i feel so alone i don't want to die, i want to sleep
Welcome to Ischia. I'm Brennen.
I barely catch his words as I am settling down to the earth, palomino wings folding carefully into my sides - sides that have been fleshed out some since my arrival here, under the careful watch of Andulvar. Our time here has been short, and yet a thrum of energy courses through each of us drawn here for the reason - for the brotherhood.
And, well, who better to call brother than your one and only.
I close the distance between Takei and Brennen at a rolling walk, nodding to them each in turn as their eyes turn to me. "Brennen," I start, settling into a hip. "This is my brother, Takei. I invited him here." My gaze rests pointedly on Brennen - I haven't told Takei of the brotherhood in planning, but the oryx-stallion is no dimwit. No, us Noorisons, we are ept at reading between the lines; still, hopefully Brennen will understand my meaning by the pointed gaze.
Turning, I step forward to bump noses with my chestnut counterpart, remembering that awkward moment we'd had before trying out this little social interaction. Well, if we're to make it work in this kingdom, we'd better get the basics down pat, right? I address him easily as I step back, purple eyes downcast. "How was the trip over from Hyaline?"
03-28-2018, 10:48 AM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:13 PM by takei.)
Takei
Takei doesn’t know how important he is (or will become). Pieces are falling into place for an idea that is not yet in his mind. He is just one of the instruments to be used to sing a song that used to play in the ears of many in Beqanna. For now there is a song of his own strumming in his mind — one that twists with anxiety and beats with skepticism and soars with doubt.
When the bay stallion steps from the shadows, the blood and ivory’s muscles tighten with anticipation. Takei forces the agitation in his shoulders to dissipate and by the time Brennen has introduced himself the horned stallion is standing in a relaxed position that does little to give away the compressed feeling of his insides.
Before Takei has time to respond, the familiar frame of his brother is arriving. This eases his stressed emotions tremendously (and he mentally curses himself for feeling so much more comfortable around Trekori) though the firm line of his mouth doesn’t move. Although Takei hadn’t noticed the chess board spread out under him before, the exchange of glances between Brennen and his brother cause him to be aware with a crackling intensity.
He’d been alive throughout the wreckage of Beqanna’s reformation, felt the world shatter around him and rip apart the lives of many. Takei knew of the kingdoms of the old (the Tundra and the Amazons, the Gates and the Chamber, the Deserts and the Valley, the Falls and the Dale); he’d grown up hearing his parents whisper stories into his young ears. Although he’d never taken part in any of their endeavors — again, he’d felt as though the kingdom life would rub him in places too uncomfortable to continue participation — he knew of their beginnings and their unfortunate endings.
A whirlwind of emotions grasp Takei but he isn’t able to pull them apart and dissect them before Trekori is stepping forward in greeting. The blood and ivory easily touches noses with his brother and there’s a click as everything seems to fall into perfect place for once in his damned life. He doesn’t have the heart to tell Trekori that he spent some time in the depths of Beqanna’s hidden corners mulling over what sort of life he wanted to create for himself so he merely replies with, “It wasn’t too bad.”
His hazel eyes turn to take in Brennen again. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Brennen.” Takei’s curious to know how Trekori came across the bay stallion or this kingdom; most of Noori’s children have never made anything of themselves. While the tobiano had frequently placed the blame on their mother, he’s beginning to wonder if they were really just all lazy. The thought sends an uncomfortable prickle through his belly and he shifts slightly, unsure of what comes next. You can’t really blame him — he’s never done anything this bold before.
watch the mind run far away, way ahead of us
@[Brennen] This was not supposed to be a novel holy shit :|
hold me in this wild, wild world 'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
The stranger tenses up, the sort of action Brennen would never miss, but he is already forcing himself to relax when movement draws his attention, and he lifts his head to watch Trekori amble over to join them; Brennen gives the young stallion a quick half-smile and then his full attention as he joins them and speaks, and nods slowly at the words before flicking his gaze back to the newcomer – Takei, as Kori has introduced him – but he gives them a moment as the gold-and-white boy steps forward to greet his brother.
That is one relationship Brennen has never had; of course he has the many brothers his Kingdom had given him, and some of them are quite beloved to him, but he never knew any siblings on either side of his family. He knows nothing of whether he has any maternal siblings, and while he knows Texas had many children, he was never introduced to them and they do not seem to bond together well. Perhaps this is why he is so intent on giving his own children so many relatives – but he rarely stops to examine those motives except for quite briefly in moments like these.
It passes, before the warrior general has too much time to contemplate his life choices, and he turns his bright gaze back from Kori to Takei, and gives him a little half-smile, a tilt of his head as he considers the horned stallion. He is older than Trekori, but like most younger than Brennen; Kori and Andulvar had been so quick to jump on board with the idea, and he wonders how it will be with Takei. He knows not everyone will be so eager – some will be hesitant, some afraid, some only lukewarm about the concept.
“Hyaline is nice. Cold in the winter though,” he chuckles just a little, thinking about snow in the mountains and how even Hyaline had nothing on how cold the Tundra had been – and how nice Ischia is, in comparison. He’s tempted to walk and talk, because it’s easier to be moving, but he likes how open it is here on the beach – they will see anyone coming long before they arrive, and the sound of the waves conceals quiet conversation from anyone lurking in the cover of the trees. “Takei, how do you feel about adventures?”
Because that’s what this plan is, isn’t it? Brennen’s greatest adventure.
hold me in this wild, wild world and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
i'm freezing, it's not winter yet but my fingers and toes are shivering beneath these sheets and i feel so alone i don't want to die, i want to sleep
Although my brother strums a song of his own, its tune harmonizes perfectly with the orchestra conducted by Brennen. I can hear how the two interweave perfectly, complimenting each other - Takei will be an instrument in this reformation, just as I am. Despite his anxiety, and despite my depression, we will be integral - we will be purposeful - we will be brothers.
He meets my touch with confidence, and I know by the gleam of his eyes that something has changed since our meeting in Hyaline. And come to think of it, as I inhale his scent, that kingdom doesn't cling to him barely at all; he has been travelling. I lean back to allow Brennen his piece as I mull over this sensory information, wondering if perhaps he has already moved to a different kingdom - but no, he is here now. That alone is proof enough that my words have swayed him.
A grin splits my lips at Brennen's final question, the expression more devilish than perhaps Takei is ready for; but there are a lot of things that he might not be ready for, and the fact that I'm in on this adventure is one of them. The glow of my horn intensifies at the thought, and I shift my weight, unable to keep still as the thought causes adrenaline to rush through my system.
"And don't say 'they're boring,' because I can guarantee you that this one isn't."
Still grinning, I settle into the sand, ruffling my feathers now instead of the fidgety weaving. Amethyst eyes bounce from stallion to stallion, painfully aware of our size differences, but proud to be among their number despite my age and size. Together, we are the sum of our whole: not of our individual parts.
04-08-2018, 02:28 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:13 PM by takei.)
Takei
There’s an undercurrent Takei can’t quite identify. It rolls under them like an earthquake, threatening to crack the surface of everything he’s ever known. But it doesn’t feel terrifying or dangerous — it is more like a catalyst. The blood-and-bone can feel the rumblings of a storm to come, especially in the tension drawn tight between Brennen and Trekori.
His hazel eyes flutter between their faces now, even as the bay stallion speaks of Hyaline. The words feel empty, a precursor for something larger to come. Takei’s lower stomach tightens from a plethora of emotions he still doesn’t have time to identify before Brennen is speaking again. A soft sigh leaves his gray lips.
An adventure. The knots in Takei’s stomach unwind. A large portion of his life has been dedicated to the quiet of Beqanna’s hidden corners (racing along beaches to chase the seagulls, soothing his muscles in hidden heated ponds, waiting out a storm nestled in the thickness of a dark forest) and none of them had been adventures, per say.
But hearing the word adventure paired with a kingdom lifestyle suddenly brings more appeal to his mind.
The oceanfront wind tosses at his red and white mane, shifting the twigs that have grown there. “My life has been too boring so far.” He thinks again of the laziness of Noori’s children, the lack of a name they’ve made for themselves. They are descendents from a great Amazonian queen yet most of them find themselves hidden in Beqanna’s corners or living in the Beyond.
And here Trekori is, his little brother, already doing more in a year of his life than Takei has done since his birth. He cannot deny a tingle of competitive brotherly spirit worms through his stomach. Although he already has an idea, he asks anyway. “What are you two scheming?”
hold me in this wild, wild world 'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
Before Takei has a chance to respond to Brennen’s question, Trekori begins to fidget and out of the corner of his eye, Brennen can see the faint luminosity of his horn become a bolder glow, and he can’t help but turn and give the colt a little smile, ready affection in his gaze. Their brothership is so new, but it is by no means fragile; the bay stallion has embraced those he has brought home for his new Brotherhood as fully as his own family, and he has always had a fondness for youth in any case.
It’s only a brief few breaths though, and then he turns his attention back to the young man’s brother, watching the red-and-white stallion as the question settles and the thoughts that follow; the minute changes in his bearing and expression that tell Brennen he’s warming up to their enthusiasm, even if he doesn’t know any of the details. When Takei confirms his interest in words, even veiled words such as they all are using, Brennen rewards him with a little half-smile of his own, and then drops the pretense and veiled hints.
He will tell Takei their plans – he wants only the truly willing to stand beside them as they take Ischia, and the truly willing are those who are also well-informed. And though he stays mostly relaxed, there is a certain sharpening of his features and his body as he leans forward, ready to tell his dreams. “We are going to take Ischia. For a new Tundra, a new Brotherhood, on these islands.” It sounds so simple, but the gears clicking into place have been a long time coming, and are not simple at all. “Right now we are in the first stage, gathering those who wish to join the Brotherhood here in Ischia. When we feel we are ready, our hope is to simply vote Krone off of her throne, but if that fails I will challenge her for it. And then the real adventure starts – building our new Brotherhood, in whatever way we wish to envision it.”
hold me in this wild, wild world and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
