great clouds rolling over the hills
and if you close your eyes, does it almost feel
The Falls is close to the Tundra, so even with their slow pace it doesn't take that long. The proximity has always been convenient for Brennen, never so much as now. Still, when the boy breaks the silence with his quick comment, the warrior can't help but glance sideways, assessing, and drawl out a response. "Well you look like hell, kid, but I sure hope that wasn't where you were." He can be snarky, most especially around those who will return in kind, but Brennen was (is?) genuinely concerned about the state that their young Brother had returned in. If he is anything, he is loyal to the core, and the thought of someone messing with his Brothers sets his blood to boiling pretty quickly. But despite his weariness, Nihlus doesn't seem that worse for the wear.
While they wait, the sunny weather turns dark, storm clouds rolling in and a rain starting to drench the travelers. Brennen doesn't think much about it - merely tucks his dark wings tighter into his body and tossing his forelock out of his face. Rain is good for the plants - and since he's not in the air, the moisture isn't as bothersome as it might be. And anyway, it's hard to focus on sudden precipitation when out of the precipitation is coming a figure, and he focuses on that instead.
It doesn't hit him at first. His childhood was quite a few years ago, and much has happened since then. But Brennen does remember his father (with an feeling somewhat akin to hero-worship), and he remembers that after Texas had brought him to the Tundra, the then-King had been killed there. Murdered. But yet here he is, standing in front of them, in apparently excellent health. "Dad," the word is drawn out of his mouth in a sudden, awkward noise, a blunt and naked surprise on his face that probably hasn't appeared there in many, many years. He grew out of the awkward adolescent stage pretty fast, the boy-warrior, and he had never looked back...until now. "It appears you're not dead, either," he murmurs, scrambling to recover his equilibrium, "Which is slightly more important, since I wasn't the one murdered." He returns his sire's smile with a bemused look on his face, still not quite sure the world is right-side up.
Texas turns his attention to the younger Brother, and accuses him of being the cause of the wet. Brennen turns to look at Nihlus as well, taking in the joyful expression and coming to the same conclusion with a sigh. He honestly doesn't mind the rain, but in the interest of positive relations between their Kingdoms, he supposes that he should back Texas up. "Nihlus," he says the boy's name quietly, hoping that he doesn't have to elaborate further. His companion is young compared to Brennen, younger still compared to Texas, but he isn't a child by any means. Nuance should be obvious to him; it's more a matter of whether he feels agreeable or not. Choosing to assume that his Brother will cooperate, Brennen turns his attention to introductions. "This is Texas, former King of the Tundra, apparently current member of the Falls." This thought causes a temporary frown to grace his face, considering this, but he clears his thoughts from his face soon enough.
Slowly, he forces his body to relax from the tenseness gathered when he suddenly discovered his father was not, in fact, dead. This time or any other time (though Brennen knows only of the time Texas died in the Tundra, not the time in the Falls or any other time). As he shoves this new information to the back of his mind, deciding to leave it for later in interest of a successful visit, he shifts to rest a hind foot and exhales. "The Tundra has taken care of our mad king problem." he offers, a fierce, hard expression chasing across his relaxation for a moment; Mountain was still something that could make him angry. "And put Errant back on the throne. From this position of renewed strength, we seek to make a couple of Alliances. Specifically, we seek Alliances with the Falls and the Jungle."