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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    I'd be a fool - Nyxa, Brennen, Any
    #1
    He was happy again. There was warmth on his back and music in his head, a lightness in his step that had been missing. Nyxa had returned. He still only half believed it, despite the physical evidence. So much physical evidence. She was beautiful, every inch, a fact which he'd explored thoroughly. Perhaps it was a readjustment to spending time on shore, but her scent had shifted in the time since they'd been reunited. It wasn't a change he could pinpoint, but he liked it. 

    Now, he had more serious matters to attend to. The changing climate in Beqanna couldn't be ignored any longer, not now that he had a mate to consider. Which brought him to the current task: finding Brennen, and discussing options as far as staying on the island. This was their home. The orca stag didn't even need to use his gift to find his way around, he was so familiar with the lay of the land. The trail he was on currently lead deep into the heart of the island. Brennen's scent drew nearer as he tread, even through the thick musk of the jungle. The constant twisting of his black-rimmed ears picked up each nuance of the lively biome, raucous and vaguely overwhelming. 

    The sea stallion found himself missing the water, the peace he had discovered beneath the waves. Even this short trek from his cove felt like an excursion from his natural habitat. A smile played on his lips, the changes of the last few weeks on his mind. He hoped this meeting would go well. 

    @[Nyxa] @[Brennen]
    Reply
    #2

    Nyxa

    The water mare had come ashore Ischia sometime after dawn, but had been much too exhausted to do anything about it besides sleep. Coming back here had felt like coming home, in more ways than one, and time was beginning to add up in the form of extra weight around Nyxa’s ribs.

    The change did little in the way of making her obviously pregnant. As her pale eyelids blink open and shift to take a look themselves, she even wonders if Hod will be able to feel the miniscule increase. If he couldn’t she would tell him … later, perhaps. Or in her own, special way - because she’s rather certain his reaction will be worth a bit of suspense. With the shuffle of her legs she works loose a few, stiff joints and then she’s off; making her way unencumbered past glossy elephant ear leaves and green swaths of moss-covered trunks.

    It’s about the right time - the sun was close to what they’d agreed on, and she knew her day was right by the lunar cycles. Even when it seemed necessary for them to be apart, Nyxa enjoyed the fact that they’d dreamt under the same moon every night in anticipation of being together again.

    It was why Hod had been so incessantly worried since she’d come back.

    His brief explanation of the changes here in Ischia (that Krone no longer ruled, and that this island was a home for ‘brothers’) gave them reason to believe that Nyxa’s presence amongst the others wouldn’t be accepted - but this notion bothered her very little. Everything about her existence, aside from Hod, was tied to the ocean and these sparse yet beautiful patches of earth. Being landlocked could spell death for a Nereid, but living here amidst the coral and sharks she loved best would be nothing but beneficial for Ischia as a whole.

    Brennen and his brothers would see that, she was sure.

    “Hod, dear-” She calls out, merging onto a wide pathway where he was walking some feet ahead, “-there you are.” Nyxa grins, placing an eager kiss against his withers when she finally catches up. Against his grainy, smokey coat her buttercream color stands out, and while they plod evenly along she can’t help but bump a shoulder, or hip, against his just to make sure he’s real. “Do you think he’ll come?” She asks, while her evergreen forelock parts to reveal vibrant, purple eyes.

    -I'm sailing right behind, like a bridge over troubled water-



    @[Hod] @[Brennen]
    Reply
    #3
    hold me in this wild, wild world
    'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
    Ischia is the new home of the Brotherhood, but Ischia has long been home also to a strange cohort of aquatically-inclined creatures. Brennen rarely sees them, but he knows they are there. As long as they stay in the water, and don’t threaten those who live here or have to cross the ocean, he’s been inclined to ignore them. But when they also wish to walk four-legged across his island Kingdom, that’s a game changer. That affects the Brotherhood, and those he has sworn to protect and serve.

    He’d met Hod before, when storms ravaged their islands and sent the two stallions deep into Ischia to seek shelter from the wrath of mother nature, but he hasn’t seen him since; and if he’s caught his scent here or there, well, it hadn’t been a stretch to assume that it was leftover from a time past. After all, there simply isn’t that much foot traffic on the chain of islands, and so deep in the jungle scents can linger for a long time. So, today, when the sound of eight hooves on the loamy paths brings his head up to scent the air, and he takes a moment to place the stallion’s vaguely familiar scent, and his frown of concentration lightens to a curious neutral expression as he surges to his feet and steps onto the path from the sheltered area where he had been napping, lain flat under the great jungle trees with the island’s lullaby under his head to soothe away his worries.

    Then they come around the bend, and his amber eyes go to the stranger first - a mare, light in color but framed in green with strangely scale-like markings. Then his gaze flicks to the graying stallion and he allows a brief smile, a nod as he gives his large dark wings a firm shake to settle feathers into place. He’ll need a thorough grooming later, to rid himself of debris stuck between inky black feathers and into his mane and tail, but Brennen too has a mate, and he’d rather save that pleasurable task to share with his Galilee. “Hod,” he greets the stallion in a friendly, rumbly drawl. “I had thought you’d gone, quite some time ago.” Perhaps he had? And just returned. Brennen can’t be sure, now turning over every instance he’d caught the man’s scent recently and examining the memories again. But - other things to think of, for now; “I’m Brennen,” he introduces himself to the stranger.
    hold me in this wild, wild world
    and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
    BRENNEN
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    #4
    Quiet as a fish through a creek, his beloved emerged from the dense vegetation some paces behind him. Perhaps that explained her scent being on his mind, a subconscious acknowledgement of her presence, though it was her voice that confirmed the matter. He gave a low nicker of greeting as she returned to his side. "Good morning, lass. Glad you found the path alright" The sea-wolf commented with a smile, kissing the ever-damp skin of her crest affectionately. She must have come straight from the ocean.

     He nodded cautiously as they continued onward.   "I can't think of any reason he wouldn't." He'd only met Brennen once, and that briefly, but he'd gotten the impression that the winged stallion was of the reasonable sort. Still though, the constant touches between his and Nyxa's hips and shoulders were a comfort. They were walking together into an unknown future, one that would be much easier to handle if Brennen didn't mind them sticking around the island.

    Sooner than expected, the scent of the island's new leader grew stronger, cutting through the murky odors of the loam and pungent herbs. A last curve in the path, and he felt Nyxa come to a halt beside him. They must have found him. The thought echoes back to him on the note of his name, returned in a voice as deep as the lagoon. The graceful curves of his ears pricked forward. A slow smile brightened the blind man's features at Brennen's greeting. "Brennen. I've kept to myself, my cove, and the waters surrounding it. Congratulations on your new position." His voice was salt-water roughened, and truthfully still unused to the frequent use required of social niceties. Still, this was important. 

    Bumping his nose to Nyxa's shoulder, he returned his unfocused gaze towards Brennen's direction. "I'd like to introduce you to my mate; Nyxa. We would like to petition you for the right to continue living here in harmony with Ischia's waters." It was a seemingly forthright request. Hod did not enjoy the politics and intrigues involved with kingdom life. His desires were simple ones: live on a warm beach, spend as much time as he could in the water, and make a happy little family with his sweetheart. It didn't feel like too much to ask of life. Whether or not Brennen agreed would be another question. 

    @[Nyxa] @[Brennen]
    Reply
    #5

    Nyxa

    Hod has settled so naturally into the role of lover that Nyxa knows the soon-to-come role of father and protector will suit him perfectly. She’s elated as her soft, honeyed curves lock into the absent space of his, and beyond that overjoyed to tell him the news. It makes keeping her mouth shut the hardest thing for her in this moment.

    Nevermind that as they roll around a bend in the road, her head snaps to attention at the sight of an unknown stallion, while Hod’s nostrils quiver expectantly. Her ocean mate can’t see the way their eyes lock - Brennen’s thoughts unreadable while hers dance like crashing waves across an otherwise stoney, pale face. All the same, the bay shuffles dark wings and calls out with familiar cordiality to Hod, and Nyxa is content to simply sigh deeply and let her counterpart take the lead.

    Hod shows little concern or hesitation in his speech and Nyxa is proud; she hardly thinks the gray stallion needs the support of her shoulder, with such brunt honesty and confidence. “I’ve kept to myself, my cove,” he says (her thoughts amend that with ‘our cove’) and then, “Congratulations on your new position” slips out and Nyxa knows this is for her benefit.

    So, this was Krone’s replacement.

    The sensation of her unborn child’s father touching her rouses the seamare from her silent stance, and with a brief smile she blinks and turns affectionate eyes to her mate as he introduces her. “Yes,” Nyxa supplies once he’s drawn to a stop. “Hod is correct in saying ‘continue to live’.” She laughs, the pealing sound hardly louder than a songbird.

    “My mother, Circinae, brought us both here to grow - though I wasn’t born on these shores. Ever since then, I’ve developed … abilities … that directly relate to water. Here - in close proximity to the ocean - is where they climax.” She smiles, knowing that Brennen would take this news and do with it what a King must. He himself seemed well-enough endowed to understand the necessities a gift demanded of the user - but she couldn’t judge his character.

    Perhaps it was the sole interest of his Kingdom that fueled him, so she finishes with, “It’s true, I could go elsewhere. Tephra, maybe. But Ischia was the home I chose … the one that shaped me, and I’d rather use my gifts to protect her and your brothers.” She says, as firmly and gracefully as she can muster in the moment.

    “Especially when it’s in my best interest to not be traveling, right now.” Nyxa adds in a soft murmur - perhaps a newly-made mother’s plea - before settling into silence.

    -I'm sailing right behind, like a bridge over troubled water-



    @[Hod] @[Brennen]
    Reply
    #6
    hold me in this wild, wild world
    'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
    He doesn’t remember, if Hod had been blind when they’d met before. They’d been a little more focused on surviving the storms ravaging their island home; Hod had been a young man then, and Brennen remembers little except worrying about his companion who was soaked and bleeding when he found the cave where the general had already been sheltering. His focus had been on trying to get the other stallion warm and dry, and anyway it had been quite dark with the clouds obscuring all of Ischia’s beautiful tropical sunshine. Today in the bright day it is hard to miss, but it doesn’t seem to be inhibiting Hod any.

    It does, however, mean than his humble nod and flicker of a smile isn’t enough thanks for the congratulations the gray offers: he wouldn’t be able to see either of those things. So Brennen adds a murmur of thanks, though the words feel unfamiliar on his tongue because the unspoken thanks is by far more natural to him. Hod’s next words, though, are not as easy to gloss over. He introduces the mare first, and Brennen gives that personage a friendly nod before turning his attention back to Hod’s other words, requesting that they be allowed to stay, though it does not sound as if either intend to join the Brotherhood.

    The mare laughs gently after Hod has spoken, and speaks herself, and he turns his honey-brown eyes to her once more, for after all Hod probably does not care where Brennen is looking. The words themselves cause a surge of irritation to rise in his chest; he is quite tired of being treated as if he, too, is not a long-time resident of Ischia in the words and jibes offered to him. Brennen had arrived here at the same time as Circinae, after all, and even little Kylin who had been born here had barely a year or two of time beyond that, and that as a child. But he is careful not to let any of his annoyance show in his face or eyes - his expression stays politely impassive, as the mare continues speaking.

    As usual, his patience pays off, because her continued words redeem her a great amount in his opinion as she speaks of helping to protect the Brothers, presumably should a threat come from the water. A rash man would have spoken sharply about the things she had said that annoyed him, but that man would not have heard all of what she had to say. He must admit that he understands some of the Ischians feeling a little unsure with the way Brennen had turned their world on edge, and he can’t blame them for some lingering irritation or uncertainty of their own. The words that form now feel like deja vu, for it seems he has just finished having this very conversation with the shy Kylin.

    “As long as you mean the Brotherhood no harm,” he says solemnly, “I would not ask you to leave the islands where you, too, have made your home.” Brennen-the-King argues that he should do just that; remove all of those unwilling to bind themselves to the order from the islands and force them to find succor elsewhere. But Brennen-the-father remembers a younger Hod, and even the brief few minutes when the near-stranger had been shivering beside him in a storm Brennen feared would swallow the world once more had left an impression, and on top of that he still remembers Circinae with some fondness. “We will not tell you that you cannot stay, as semi-permanent visitors. But the right to be regarded as full citizens of Ischia now is reserved for those men and women willing to swear their oaths as part of the Brotherhood. If either or both of you are interested in that, we would welcome you to our ranks with open arms and open hearts.”

    They seem more inclined to simply exist in the water together, which Brennen will respect if they so choose but he cannot understand. The Brotherhood gave a long-ago pegasus child meaning and purpose where he had none; it had sheltered him in the worst of times and celebrated with him in the best. The time from the destruction of his Tundra to the Brotherhood’s reformation a year ago had been some of the darkest hours of his long life, and he cannot imagine a life where he would not choose to pledge himself to his Brothers and receive their loyalty in return, even if he had to move heaven and hell to reforge the order. A little coup had been nothing, compared to what he had been prepared to do to win his people a homeland.
    hold me in this wild, wild world
    and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
    BRENNEN
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