Believe it or not, Brennan's old penchant for attraction and devotion to mares who had strength and power in their own right was not a fact easily lost on Nihlus. Although such matters did not occupy the stallion's mind at that exact moment, as he wet Brennen's mane with the salt of his tears, it had certainly come up in conversation before. Not easily, nor smoothly, it being a sensitive and uncomfortable subject and all; but conversate on it they did. Open and honest communication laid as the foundation of their odd-ball love of mentor/mentee to life partners in their own right. And so, Nihlus often contended with the idea of the fact that his lover, his life, had lain and born children with his grandmother, a force of nature whom he'd known personally during her reign as the Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle. But even recalling such ancient titles which once adorned the twice-forsaken Scorch bear a nostalgia so stale as to evoke a kind of time-worn uncaring. At the end of the day, Nihlus felt fondness over jealousy, trust over discomfort, and communication over rumination. And for that, the issue became effectively null.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long. I dreamed of you.
Nih's heart and stomach pulled at one another in a dance of bittersweet and passionate agony, though the bitterness faded by the second, and the agony gave way to the joy of reunion.
It called me home.
Nihlus nodded, making a sound low in his throat to acknowledge what he could not with words: the depth of love he felt by these admittances, the mild confusion of how he, a simple man with simple ideas, could inspire such profound affection, and the overwhelming, blanketed feeling of wholeness once more. For a moment, Nih flickered between astral planes, lost in the effervescent turmoil of reunion. Only the grounding touch of Brennen clutched against him called him back.
Centering himself in this reality, Nihlus leaned back and pressed his lips to Brennen's nostrils, bridge, and forehead. A triumvirate of welcome-back kisses. Resting at the final destination, Nih breathed the following words:
"I forgive you. Always. Welcome home, my love."
Then, Nih stepped a pace away and grinned a fox's grin, though the fox could not make its way to his eyes; nay, in those blue depths, only unadulterated love and gratitude lay.
"For my part, dear heart, I dreamt of our future children..."
@Brennen
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long. I dreamed of you.
Nih's heart and stomach pulled at one another in a dance of bittersweet and passionate agony, though the bitterness faded by the second, and the agony gave way to the joy of reunion.
It called me home.
Nihlus nodded, making a sound low in his throat to acknowledge what he could not with words: the depth of love he felt by these admittances, the mild confusion of how he, a simple man with simple ideas, could inspire such profound affection, and the overwhelming, blanketed feeling of wholeness once more. For a moment, Nih flickered between astral planes, lost in the effervescent turmoil of reunion. Only the grounding touch of Brennen clutched against him called him back.
Centering himself in this reality, Nihlus leaned back and pressed his lips to Brennen's nostrils, bridge, and forehead. A triumvirate of welcome-back kisses. Resting at the final destination, Nih breathed the following words:
"I forgive you. Always. Welcome home, my love."
Then, Nih stepped a pace away and grinned a fox's grin, though the fox could not make its way to his eyes; nay, in those blue depths, only unadulterated love and gratitude lay.
"For my part, dear heart, I dreamt of our future children..."
@Brennen