like the dawn, you broke the dark - magnus/any

[magnus]

desire consumes me like a fire consumes me

The trio that comes upon his border is not one that he is used to witnessing.

Two of the mares are normal enough—normal by Beqannian standards, at least—but the third is a mixture of tentacle and equine and he watches with narrowed eyes as they near Tephra. Still, despite his reservations, despite his own concerns for what they may bring with them, he has never been one to believe in the power of a closed border. Those with ill intentions never listened to such things and those who wanted to bring harm were unlikely to be the ones who looked like it. So, instead, Magnus did his best to greet everyone who made their way toward him; he did his best to welcome everyone equally.

He shakes the reservations from his mind and continues along his path, through the twisting magma and saltwater and lush vegetation, the summer heat turning his golden coat to crushed gold. When he nears them, he lets loose a greeting call of his own to answer Solace’s own, the husk of his voice whiskey and ash. She looks enough like her father that he feels a twinge of recognition, a twist in his belly that reminds him of his friend, but not enough to make him say anything. Just enough to warm his smile.

“Hello there,” he finally offers when he is close enough, when he comes to a stop, hooves sinking into the volcanic loam beneath. He looks at them each in turn, dipping his wild head as the matted pieces of his mane slide forward to reveal the map of scars beneath. When he lifts his head again, the smile remains. “My name is Magnus.” He doesn’t know how many times he’s said such things, how many times he has been in this situation, but it feels like a riverstone in his hands—worn and familiar and comforting.

“How can I help you today?”

good shouldn’t need to tempt us above