i am the mace, the map, the fall and the high
Trust is a tricky thing, even for family. Perhaps especially for family. In one breath, Reave utters his requirement for it while refusing to give it in the second. But then, he has been given little reason to do so. His brother has not been tested by fire before. Not like he is now. So the Guardian can only look to the tenuous threads of foresight to find an understanding for what Nashua might do rather than the sturdier fabric of the past.
It’s a strange thing though. Reave wants his cousin’s success, but not at the cost of his own. And that is where the crux of it lies, isn’t it? There is yet a narrow trail they might follow to see them both where they want to go, but it grows more treacherous with each passing step. This conversation is only the very start of it. The rest lies in the future, still waiting to be decided.
And Reave does not intend to slip.
He knows that Nashua understands. That he considers his words. But the leader of the north has always struggled with his blinders. The red and white stallion can see it as clearly as Nash cannot. He focuses on his goals and forgets to inspect the wider picture.
But he would be forced to see, sooner than he might have anticipated.
Reave nods in response to the Freyr’s edicts, though there is something sharp in the blue of his gaze now. He would not gainsay this. Not when it works well with his own plans. But there is one more piece of information Reave needs before he will be satisfied. Before he will be certain if his understanding is correct.
“And if you learn that Gale has something to do with Yanhua’s disappearance?” he asks, the tenor of his tone suggesting he knows far more than he is letting on. “Will you do what is best for the North then too?”
Or would he launch them into a war they aren’t yet prepared to win? That is the real question.
reave
@Nashua