"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 was dull, having to lurk all the time. Hiding in the shadows, waiting for something to happen. Blah. So on a frigid winter's morning, when the trees stared skeletal and watching, his wings stretched, tendons popping, and beat the air into submission. Butter and lavender plumage was on full display, not that anyone was around to see it. Word on the wind was that change was rolling through Tephra. It had been a long while since he had tred those pumice beaches. With decisive strokes his face turned into the wind, flying east into the face of the sun.
The earth below flowed in panes of grey, white and brown, a far very from the verdant tapestry he saw in the warmer months. As if he were projecting his thoughts on nature itself, patches of green and yellow began to break up the setting. A few leagues further and the view became obscured by thick cloud cover. The cool air streams were combining with warm volcanic humidity. He was getting close.
The tall pegasus drifted to earth cautiously, dodging scrubby trees as they loomed out of the murk. There was that sulphur scent hanging thick in the air. He knew it would linger in his own coat long past however brief his time here really was. A sneeze worked its way from his blazed nose. Blasted ash in the air... whisps of fog clung to the broad sails of his wings, not yet burned away by the weak winter sun. Well then. Better let them know he was here. His lungs filled with fumes and expelled a bellowing introductory announcement.
They were settling nicely, her siblings and her. Krom was often engaged with kingdom greeting and formalities -shaking hands and kissing babies type stuff. So it gave her time to do as she pleased, which often consisted no more than grazing in the open meadow of the main island. She loved the tickle of a fluent breeze across her back and through the lavender veil draped down her silver neck. It was here that she spent leisurely afternoons nibbling at the sea grasses. Her thoughts the only company she needed. They were rambly enough and kept her on her toes...
She faced the west today, welcoming the warm rays of light with a flicker of her tail. Hazel eyes half closed lazily, her maw plucking the sweet foliage below her. It wasn't often that something stirred her to raise her crown, but a familiar beating of air from above had her head shooting skyward. Dad?! Her heart thrummed quickly in her chest as eye -now wide- scanned the smog filled skies. A quiet puff of air from her nares made little effort in clearing the haze from her view...
The wing beats ceased, she stood frozen. Listening. Waiting. Hoping. Than a quick pitched sound erupted from a distance, her ears twitching back and forth to gauge the location of the noise.
It is when a call rises into the ashy air that causes motion to come from the lavender and silver mare. Muscles pushing her into a canter towards the direction the vocalization was made. Eyes continuously scanning for a figure to form within the haze.
As expected, the form that materializes is familiar -though not who she had anticipated. "Kwartz?" She questions softly but it could only be him, "Kwartz!" She calls again with a more recognizable tone just before she slides to a halt in front of him. The momentum of her canter miscalculated, sending her into his lavender and cream body with a slight clashing of their bodies. It doesn't phase her though and she folds into the curve of his neck. The warm embrace of her brother is comforting and all her worries are lost to the moment...
Finally peeling away from his sides, her hazel eyes look to him with a smile painted of silver lips. "What are you doing here?!" It is a rhetorical question really, more disbelief then needing answer. "Long time no see... Where the hell you been?" This she would much like an answer for. The last time she saw him was a couple years ago when she ran away from Ischia- or tried. Other than that she had no idea where the pegasus called home.
What had he been expecting, landing herein the land of ash and brimstone? Certainly not the silver- lavender face of his half sister. He should have, considering this was the last place he had seen this breaking of the family tree. Somehow, he hadn't expected them to linger. Let alone smash into him like a heathered avalanche. "Twinkle-Toes!" The slender stallion exclaimed with genuine warmth. Sure, they came from a family of general fuckups. That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a familiar face when it appeared.
His face tilted to take her in with his good eye. Karat had grown as surely as he himself had, flourished into quite a lovely mare. They shared their father's lavender tints, silvered eyes, and not much else. Returning her embrace, one wing swept forward to brush the gentle curve of her back, Kwartz pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before she peeled away. With a patiently pained expression he listened to her barrage of questions.
The lilac brush of his forelock was tossed out of his face carelessly. "You finished?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and laughing softly. He then considered how best to approach his answer. "Here and there. Went home for a bit. Then... well, wherever the wind blew me, I guess. What about you? The Metallic Wonder's not far off, is he?" The subject was kept vague, and turned around quickly. If Karat was anything like she was as a filly, she wouldn't notice. As long as he'd known them he'd held a measure of jealousy for the bond his half siblings shared. It was a link he knew he would always be on the outside of.
It was otherworldly, standing in the swirling mist with her. A different world, one without fear and hate. Karat could be some tragic spirit. Her grey body melded into the foggy backdrop, while the lavender of her name and tail nearly glowed in the strange light. Well. As problematic as their parents were, they had made for beautiful offspring. No one could deny that, not even himself.
She had always dreamt of the day their family would be whole. Even though he is a half sibling she still considered him just a much a part of their family. Just as she has Kove and Ketzia, they would always be part of the disfunction that is their father. It had been a year since they seen him last and no one seemed to know what happened when they had parted ways. She tried to make herself believe he would return as he promised but that idea seems to grow farther away each day.
Twinkle-Toes.
He always knew how to make her smile even when the world seemed bleak. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, as Krom has done many times, does not phase her in the slightest. They were polar opposites, Krom and Kwartz. One the protector of the universe and the other a carefree bachelor just looking for a good time, and as expected his answer is vague, whimsical even. She chuckles, "Well we can't all be so productive." The witty response is matched with a bump of her muzzle to his neck. "Metallic wonder," she repeats with a giggle and gentle toss of her head. "I am sure he's here somewhere... Lots of stuff to do when you take over a kingdom I guess," her head turns slightly to look at the haze beginning to lift before turning back to her brother, "Are you here to stay? Or is this visit just where the wind blew you to today?" She laughs lightly with a smirk forming at the corners of her lips...
@[Kwartz] try as you might but mess with the bull and you'll get the horns XD
As they stood and spoke, the sun finally began to burn off some of the lingering fog. It was revealing a landscape he vaguely remembered from the time before. Black glass and grey pumice peeked through tracts of greenery, while the pale sunlight glinted on occasional steaming pools. Not much had changed, physically. He wondered what actually had changed.
"Oh sister, thou dost wound me most severely!" He scoffed in a dramatic mockery of offense at her productivity jab. It was true, but still. Her giggle sent him into a little show of hair flips and affected sighs, trying to make her laugh more. She had a pretty laugh, like pebbles falling on a thin sheet of glass. His manner sobered quickly, however, when she mentioned Kromium's new business. "Well, well, you two have been busy." It was an offhand comment, meant only to keep the conversation going while the implications of the lavender grey mare's statement were processed. Kromium, a king? Well, he'd heard stranger things, but not many.
Would he be staying? He didn't know the answer until he opened his mouth to reply. "I can stick around, I guess. If you'll have me, that is. I'm sure there's plenty to do in a new reign. Think brother will be as happy to see me as you were, darling?" Well. It was important, if he wanted a place to kip for a while. They'd been closer, as children, though to be fair, they hadn't spent much time together. Maybe it was time to give this whole family duty thing a shot.
He was so dramatic. Never taking a moment of life seriously, or at least that she had seen. How their lives had changed. The once carefree trio of foals, just meeting in the playground, had grown into quite different adults. One a ruler, one a shadow of a ruler and the other a comedian. She laughs at his exaggerated movements, releasing a snort within her fit of giggles. It only causes her to laugh more.
Before she knows it, he is entertaining her question of his stay here in Tephra. It is unexpected to say the least and she squeals in delight. A half rear follows as she moves to embrace him. "Of course we will have you! Krom will be ecstatic," her voice is every bit of certain in this. A slight blush forms on her cheeks as she realizes he has called her darling.
To hide the sudden heat in her cheeks she turns inland. Eyes searching for where Krom was to most likely be at this time of day. "The border!" She shouts, "Let's go find him." Her lavender tinted limbs are moving before Kwartz can get another word in.
They were not far from the mainlands edge and where Krom would walk most afternoons. She calls out as they approach, ears swiveling to hear for an answer...
His patrol of the border starts most days just as the sun rounds highest in the sky. It is a brisk walk, to ensure any lingering are greeted and any evidence of trespassers are noticed. He wasn't opposed to visitors but manners suggest announcing ones arrival.
He hadn't heard Kwartzs call that day. Not within the density of haze and central location in which he landed. He does hear the call of his twin in the heat of the day and calls back to her a deep whinny. He wonders what has caused the glee in her tone and he quickens his pace to find her, them.
His eyes are drawn to the pastel pegasus at her side. The only child, of yet, to inherit their fathers wings, he knows the one at his sisters side is Kwartz. This knowledge only causes his pace to accelerate. He had not seen his brother in ages and wonders what has brought him here to Tephra.
"Look what the cat dragged in?!" He releases jokingly at the piebald. "Haven't seen you in a while. What brings you back to Tephra?" There is a curious tilt to his iron head as he inquires of his brothers sudden appearance. Coming to a stand before the pair he offers his muzzle in greeting to his sister...
