[private] the way you kiss me will work each time // Valdis

[Rhaegor]

and I could easily lose my mind; the way you kiss me will work each time
calling me to come back to bed, singing Georgia on my mind

She comes quickly enough, leaving plenty of time in the limit Rhae had set for her. The first sign of her arrival is the sound of large wings beating to lower a thousand-pound creature to the earth, but it could be any pegasus coming to the forest for the night; when he scents her however, he knows she has come. Why, he cannot begin to guess; why he is here is yet a mystery, too. It would be better to get to safety.

But everything is confusing, and he just - just - just --

Brother. It is a poignant word, one the he feels somewhat jolted in hearing come from her mouth, though of course they've always considered each other siblings from the start. He wonders if she thinks poorly of him for lashing out as father when he touched their mother; but then he wonders if Castile has ever actually proven himself a worthy father, if he has ever provided for his family the way Kagerus has. Because of Kagerus, Hyaline - The Sanctuary now - will always be their home... What stability could Castile provide?

But she is asking him why, then, and his wonderings are brushed aside. "I just needed to go somewhere where our parents aren't. To get some air." His voice is quiet, but loud enough that she can hear. Growing up alongside the year-older mare meant that he could converse with her easily, despite the awkwardness inspired by the awareness brought on by young adulthood. The handsome young stallion tries out a smile, as if that would make light of their present situation; but when his sister erupts into calm flames, the smile warbles and fails.

She wonders how many are sick and dying; and and in a cruel twist of irony, Rhaegor coughs.

Only once, but it is enough.

He clears his throat, averting his gaze and shuffling his wings. Hoping to distract Valdis, he sets himself alight too: not with fire, but with tiny and intermittently shone beams of light, creating an illusion of him being swathe in a pale blue light, the same shade as the leopard print markings lining his haunches.

"It must be in the hundreds already," he murmurs, stepping closer to her for want of comfort and familiarity in this new, contagion-ridden world. "Val - what do you think you're going to do?" His eyes suddenly find hers, an urgency in them that hadn't been there before. "Have you spoken to Velk? Will and Koko aren't sure what they're going to do, and I - I'm not either. But I've been in Tephra, like I said... I just don't know."

Rhaegor

@[Valdis]