01-17-2019, 03:51 PM
His mother and brother were wanderers from the day their eyes met the sun. Blessed or cursed to travel from one adventure to the next, never growing roots in any one place. Raul was different. He had traveled because that was what was called of him growing up, wandering because it was necessary. But it didn't fill him with relief and excitement every time he landed in a new location, not like it did his twin.
Perhaps it was the lack of wings. Maybe it was a trick of his blood that made him seek stability where others found chaos. All he knew was that he wanted a home, and the peace that came with it, and that he felt he was coming close to finding it. Ischia had been a test of sorts. An experiment, to see if his childhood realm still felt right. It hadn't. Not in the way he'd been hoping it would. He'd enjoyed visiting with his uncle, of course, and the warmth of the island, but it didn't feel like roots to him. To much like memory, and not enough like the future.
It was sad but satisfying to leave the humid kingdom, with its aquatic residents still ensconced happily. But he had promises to keep, and a longing in his heart to see another familiar face. He'd anticipated a long trek across the continent before his goal was met. Instead, he found himself spotting the familiar branching antlers merely half a day after returning to the mainland. Volcanic sand sifted underfoot as he picked up his pace, a light breeze trailing in his wake as he made his way nearer. Warm pools of mineral rich water dotted the landscape, filling the air with steam and blurring the verdant landscape into a watercolor scene.
"Warlight!" He growled warmly once he was close enough not to shout. A man of few words, his eyes lit up once they fell on her lovely face, expressing joy in every line of his face. She looked well enough, worn about the edges, but whole. His head tilted to one side quizzically as he looked at their surroundings, half- expecting to find others nearby. The trip to the Taiga had involved a team, and he found it hard to believe that she would be on a political mission without backup.
Dipping his muzzle to brush against her brow, he held there a moment to feel the heat radiating from her skin. "You're unwell, still." He commented, concerned. Shaking his head, he drew back far enough to fix her in a penetrating stare. He didn't presume to have any right in telling her what she should and shouldn't do with her life. Yet he couldn't understand why she hadn't seen a healer yet, someone who could repair her completely. She would when she was ready, he supposed, and wished that event sooner rather than later.
Still bemused, he shrugged, then stepped cautiously forward until he could curve his neck around to embrace her. It was an uncertain, unpracticed motion. A little stiff, even. It felt good, though, to hold her. She was a steadiness he had felt lost without. Gods knew his sleep had been spotty at best this trip, without being able to wake up and find her warm body within reach when the dreams got too bad. Against the dark fall of her mane he felt safer, softer. She eased a pain within him he hardly recognized until it was gone.
Breaking away as quickly as he'd initiated the contact, the young stallion looked away, a bit embarrassed. "Missed you," he admitted gruffly. Then chuckled softly, looking back at her with a mischievous gleam in his mercury-and-sky eyes. "Clayton give any trouble while I was gone?" His blood red maw curled into an easy, lopsided grin. Any trouble given, and he knew Warlight could give it back in equal measure, no matter who the culprit was. She was beautiful that way.
@[Warlight]
Perhaps it was the lack of wings. Maybe it was a trick of his blood that made him seek stability where others found chaos. All he knew was that he wanted a home, and the peace that came with it, and that he felt he was coming close to finding it. Ischia had been a test of sorts. An experiment, to see if his childhood realm still felt right. It hadn't. Not in the way he'd been hoping it would. He'd enjoyed visiting with his uncle, of course, and the warmth of the island, but it didn't feel like roots to him. To much like memory, and not enough like the future.
It was sad but satisfying to leave the humid kingdom, with its aquatic residents still ensconced happily. But he had promises to keep, and a longing in his heart to see another familiar face. He'd anticipated a long trek across the continent before his goal was met. Instead, he found himself spotting the familiar branching antlers merely half a day after returning to the mainland. Volcanic sand sifted underfoot as he picked up his pace, a light breeze trailing in his wake as he made his way nearer. Warm pools of mineral rich water dotted the landscape, filling the air with steam and blurring the verdant landscape into a watercolor scene.
"Warlight!" He growled warmly once he was close enough not to shout. A man of few words, his eyes lit up once they fell on her lovely face, expressing joy in every line of his face. She looked well enough, worn about the edges, but whole. His head tilted to one side quizzically as he looked at their surroundings, half- expecting to find others nearby. The trip to the Taiga had involved a team, and he found it hard to believe that she would be on a political mission without backup.
Dipping his muzzle to brush against her brow, he held there a moment to feel the heat radiating from her skin. "You're unwell, still." He commented, concerned. Shaking his head, he drew back far enough to fix her in a penetrating stare. He didn't presume to have any right in telling her what she should and shouldn't do with her life. Yet he couldn't understand why she hadn't seen a healer yet, someone who could repair her completely. She would when she was ready, he supposed, and wished that event sooner rather than later.
Still bemused, he shrugged, then stepped cautiously forward until he could curve his neck around to embrace her. It was an uncertain, unpracticed motion. A little stiff, even. It felt good, though, to hold her. She was a steadiness he had felt lost without. Gods knew his sleep had been spotty at best this trip, without being able to wake up and find her warm body within reach when the dreams got too bad. Against the dark fall of her mane he felt safer, softer. She eased a pain within him he hardly recognized until it was gone.
Breaking away as quickly as he'd initiated the contact, the young stallion looked away, a bit embarrassed. "Missed you," he admitted gruffly. Then chuckled softly, looking back at her with a mischievous gleam in his mercury-and-sky eyes. "Clayton give any trouble while I was gone?" His blood red maw curled into an easy, lopsided grin. Any trouble given, and he knew Warlight could give it back in equal measure, no matter who the culprit was. She was beautiful that way.
@[Warlight]