"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
The silver and lavender mare returns to Tephra beaten but not broken. Her will to take Ischia by any means possible -including selling her soul- was swiftly intervined by her brother. And yes maybe he had the best intent at heart but it still infuriated her.
All she had ever dreamed about as a little girl was wearing the shell that had been bestowed upon her mother. The task given to care for the land and all who called it home was her mothers vision. And so it was hers. That is why she wanted Ischia. To rise it up in her mother's honor and watch it flourish. The scaled stallion clearly had other ideas which also sent a maddening tingle up her spine. Or was that the all too fresh reminder of scabbing wounds at her withers. His teeth had raked across her tender flesh, piercing it with razor blades. She was unaware of the markings true meaning and so attempted to ignore it.
Krom and Kove were far behind her as she reaches the innermost parts of the kingdom. A tickling of fresh meadow grasses upon her limbs do little to awaken her senses to the world around her. In her frustrated blindness she hadn't even noticed the golden stallion standing in the meadow. Watching her with intent and possible curiosity. Her breathing labored and silver freckled coat lathered in a frothy sweat, she looked every bit of a woman scorned. Having traveled a long way quickly, her body was nearly pleading she stop to rest, but she was not listening...
@[magnus] short and purposeful lol. I am sure Magnus can talk her off the ledge
I wanna give you wild love, the kind that never slows down I wanna take you high up let our hearts be the only sound
Magnus has seen neither hide nor hair of Kromium and his family since the tense kingdom meeting in the immediate aftermath of the spreading of the disease. He had watched them disappear over the horizon, and while part of him had almost stopped the meeting to go after them, he had trusted the iron stallion with the well-being of his own family. And Magnus had meant what he said. He couldn’t abandon Tephra to care for the rest of Beqanna. He needed to make sure his own home was stable first.
Still, that didn’t stop him from keeping an eye on the border, scanning the edges of it for signs of the green and the lavender that would herald their return. It didn’t stop him from frowning with thought, worrying about their fate and their safety in the shifting of the tides around them.
So it with a sigh of relief that he recognizes the lavender mare begin to make her way back into his home. A sigh that quickly morphs as he recognizes her agitation. He begins to make his way through the meadow, scanning her body for signs of illness. He quickly spots the wounds fresh across her withers and concern blossoms in his belly, his handsome face washed with the worry of it.
“Karat,” his whiskey voice is low as he comes near her. “Karat, are you okay?” He doesn’t think about the possible tension between them or that he may be the last person she wants to see. He simply thinks about the scabs on her body, the frustration in her eyes, the sweat darkening her body. He steps in closer, not touching her, but standing protectively near her. “Is there something that I can do to help?”
I wanna go where the lights burn low and you're only mine
There visit to Ischia had been rather quick and so she had not seen the ill effects of this "plague" that has been spreading across much of the lands. They had seen few faces on their trip, no doubt most had already fled the sickened island. Those that they did make contact with seemed fine and were hesitant to leave. So she hadn't given it a second thought that she could have contracted the disease.
She may have looked sickly, by the amount of sweat and frustration radiating from her core, but as far as she knew she was just as healthy as when she had left. Lavender nares flared in rhythmic succession with her deep breathes and it is only when she hears a familiar voice that she stops abruptly in her tracks.
Silver-hazel eyes watch the golden stag near and it is not irritation to him that shows on her face. Tephra had never been the end goal. It had always been Ischia and the moment she could feel it within her grasps, a sea demon rips it from her. If anything her expression is sorrowed and she does everything in her power to not allow tears to flow freely from her eyes.
His question comes and a snap of an answer leaves her lips before she can think it over, "Do I look ok?!" With scars on her back and anger fueling the wildfire that has threatened to consume her, she looks away with slated eyes, "I... I am sorry. It's just, well, Ischia -my birth home- it's... it has been taken over by some thing." Distaste coats her mouth at the thought of the vile creature that has stolen her kingdom from her. Sure he was handsome and charming, but so was Satan.
She can feel his gaze examining her body and then he takes a protective stance, asking the simplest of questions. Can he help? Could he save her mother's kingdom from falling into the deepest parts of hell...? Probably not, but she hasn't given up on her dream of one day calling it hers. So her eyes lift to meet his and her voice steadies, "Perhaps someday Magnus... But for now, I would recommend no one visits the western most island. It is not safe there anymore." A single tear falls from her sorrow-filled eyes before she continues, "Krom has taken Kove to the new island to scout the area. Find out who lives there and what their position in the west is..." Her eyes shift to the coast, "He shouldn't be long."
Her raspy breath has quieted and the sweat is beginning to dry in the warm spring air. With her face turned into the breeze, she allows the wind to toss her lavender locks against her silvered coat while she awaits what all the Overseer has to say...
I wanna give you wild love, the kind that never slows down I wanna take you high up let our hearts be the only sound
The quickness of her anger doesn’t rattle him but instead only serves to deepen his concern as he considers her further. “No, you don’t look okay,” his replies calmly, his voice even and each word measured. She apologizes and he takes a step forward, pressing his nose into her neck as he listens to her story. “I am sorry to hear that, Karat.” He realizes how little time he has spent with Kromium and his brood, how little he knows of their story. He had no idea that they had come from Ischia, let alone that they had any claim to the land. It had always been the home of Ashley when he had been around.
As she expands, talking of what has overtaken it and the danger that lives there now.
He lifts his head, looking to the border, to the sea, where the island lies now. He does not enjoy the idea of housing such things as their neighbors and although he nods at her warning, he tucks it away for further contemplation for later. If what lived there was truly as dangerous as she says, he would need to venture there eventually. He couldn't rest easily without seeing for himself what brewed beneath the surface.
When she mentions his brother continuing to scout, a faint frown touches the corner of his mouth, wishing the stallion had talked to him before venturing forth but he dismisses the annoyance. Instead he just rolls his shoulder. “I look forward to hearing what he found,” he says simply, observing the mare before him. “I am sorry to hear what you have been through,” his voice drops as he looks up at her through his forelock. “I am glad to know that you made it home though.” As safe as he could hope.
I wanna go where the lights burn low and you're only mine
The lavender tinted women does not shy from the stallions touch. If anything she leans into it, and in turn lean on him for support. In her brothers absence it was the only comfort she had, to be able to rest her worries on another. But her worries are ultimately her own and this fact causes her to straighten and face into the sea salt breeze.
He speaks with a sort of certainty that she finds empowering. They would be fine, her family. And so with that thought she turns to look upon the Overseer -the silver of her eyes shimmering in the day sun. A gentle smile christens her lips before she speaks, "I have called many places home Magnus, Tephra longer than any other. Ischia, though broken now, will always be my true home. Perhaps one day, I will return my Mothers kingdom to its former glory. But for now I am glad to serve Tephra." These words were facts and nothing more.
With another twist of her head she looks to the islands settled in the sea, "My only hope is that the family I grew up alongside of in Ischia have made it someplace safe." She has lost so much recently that the thought of losing them too was too much to bare.
She sees the slightest frown bestow the stags lips when she mentions her brothers travels and she can't help but laugh. Laughter was refreshing every now and then, and with a sweep of her lavender tail she wisks it away. Again turning to match his golden eyes, "Yes, Krom can be a pain in the ass, but his intentions are well placed." She pauses briefly to allow the laughter to dissipate, "He grew up on Ischia, as did Kove. They only wish to know what has become of our family. If they should be safe on the island to the north, than I am sure he will wish to protect them from the creatures lurking within the waters." Her eyes shift to the marking on her withers. Now remembering all the scaled stallion had told her. She was marked. Claimed. And she knows he will come for her. It was only a matter of time.
Little did she know that time was nearing ever so close.
With a nod of her head to the Overseer she says lastly, "It is good to see you Magnus. I am sure you have better things to do with your time, so I will not keep you any longer." Time is valuable and she did not want to waste anymore of his with her problems. She is sure he had his own, and with a turn of her body she heads off towards the volcano. A visit to her father's grave was due...
@[magnus] I figured we could wrap this up as the wolf knocks on the door, so to speak
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