"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
He has no right to wander into a home he has so thoroughly disappointed, to a family he has not protected the way that he should. They are better off without him—without his ghosts, without his failures, without the weakness that permeates a soul too old, too miserable to be of use to anyone.
Still—
Still.
Still, it is not long before sooty legs carry his scarred golden body from the embrace of the unknown curves of a Beqanna that is constantly shifting and changing to the roads that he has so well-traveled. It is not long until his lungs begin to sting from the sulphur, until the air grows bitter and acid in his mouth. It is not long enough the land grows lush, the stallion crossing the waterways and entering into the heart of the land that he once helped create with those he had called friends. Those he had called family.
In this moment, this fragment of time trapped between breaths, it is entirely the same. If he wanted, he could simply close his eyes and pretend no time has passed at all. His children roaming the land. Ellyse walking the borders. Lucrezia, Dahmer, Warrick—all those who called it home resting safely.
But even he knows such things are not true and the reality sits like a heavy stone in his chest.
It does not deter him though or keep him from the path that carries him through Tephra, the sun gleaming as it hits his lacerated hide. He always comes back, even when he has no right. He comes back when he has spent decades beneath the ocean—rising up the banks with salt on his tongue and sand in his mane. He comes back when war is threatening the border and when peace has finally claimed the land.
He comes back with more and more ghosts each time, the burden of his guilt never easing.
And thus he comes back once more, with no pretense and no calls. He simply stands quietly near the heart of the volcanic land, gold-flecked eyes watchful as he swings heavy-jawed head to drink it all in.
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
She is going crazy. She must be, why else is she able to see him. It had been years ago that he had left. And since, Tephra had changed hands many, many times. Lucrezia, Offspring, Ellyse, Warrick. And now? Would Kromium, son of the deceiver Klaudius, be the next to rule the volcanic kingdom?
Amorette dislikes the idea, but she has to admit that she does not know the colt either. She vaguely remembers seeing him with his sister and parents when they first came to Tephra as refugees. But it is true that Warrick has been absent, and the ebony woman cannot help it but to worry. After all, he wouldn’t abandon them just because he feels like it, that Warrick wouldn’t do.
But then, perhaps he had left to search for Tephra’s former leaders, and ask them to come back and help getting things back on track again? But then again, it is too late to avoid Kromium’s challenge.
Because not only Lucrezia has found her way back home, if she has to believe her eyes, her father is standing there right in front of her. “Dad..?” The sound is only a whisper coming from her lips, almost as if she cannot believe it, and soon followed by a louder cry. “DAD!”
She does not waste time, propelling herself forward into a gallop to clear as much distance as fast as she can. It is not very like her, and Byrne would probably think her crazy if he saw her running like this, but Amore does not care. It already brought her much joy that Lucrazia has come back to Tephra, but now Magnus has too.
Slipping she comes to a stop, and her body is trembling while looking up to meet his gaze. Her dark eyes are clouded, wet with tears, and her ebony ears point stark forward. “You’re back.” Again a whisper, but a happy one, which also shows in the smile that curls the corners of her lips.
Here it comes with no warning; capsize, i'm first in the water
She had felt failure when she had first returned to Tephra. The sting of disappointment hitting her, sharp against her skin as the sulphur and acid filled her lungs once more. The thoughts that drowned her when she first stepped back onto the land. A place that had given her more than hope and a refuge.
Tephra had been more than that.
Each step she had taken back into the volcanic land was filled with hope. It filled the empty void within her aching heart. All those years she had wandered aimlessly had been for nothing—only ghost haunting her, her past filled with failures. It all washed away, as she emerged herself once again back into a place that had accepted her. A place that was where her family had been.
There was something renewing within her when she finally called Tephra home again. Perhaps it was a place she knew she only belonged to, a place that needed her, and those that lived within it. It was here where she would find herself again—building herself back up into the person she once had been. Each step she took would be stronger than the next, and within time she would be resilient.
Lucrezia stands within the heart of the volcanic land. She can feel the gleaming sun on her back and the humidity that still warms their kingdom even as autumn has arrived. The sun is gentle and kind today. She allows herself to embrace the heat it gives off. There was something sweet about knowing that no matter what the sun would always come. She could always look forward to watching the sunrise and sunset despite whatever her thoughts filled her head or whatever burdens she carried. There would always be hope, even a glimpse of it, as long as the sun was there.
She turns her head, distracted by her own thoughts, noticing another has made their way into the heart. “Magnus,” she whispers, shocked by what she sees herself. The familiar buckskin appeared like a ghost, as if he is a mirage in the sandy dunes she once knew. Lucrezia instantly fills the guilt within her grow. The disappointment he will have when he hears about the failure of her leading their family and friends. He will never look at her the same. How could he ever trust her again?
Lucrezia sighs softly, she pushes her gaze away from him. Her nutmeg eyes search the other direction. Just over the crisscrossing lava she could make her get away with ease. Magnus wouldn’t even have noticed she was there. He wouldn’t know the disappoint she had been.
But she does not move to run away. There is hesitation within her decision to commit to running away. Lucrezia has never been one to run away from her problems for long. She knows she must face them head on as she has faced her other demons before. Her failure previously ruling Tephra was another demon she must overcome. Without facing it she would forever be haunted, the ghost of Magnus following her every step for the rest of her life.
The multi-colored mare turns her gaze back to Magnus. She watches him for a couple moments as he takes in the volcanic land and embraces his return to Tephra. Eventually, she gets the courage within her to move. She doesn’t even know she has already taking the first step until she is stepping on her third step now. Lucrezia holds herself together somehow as she makes her way to him slowly. Despite her anxiety and beating heart, there is strength within her movements. She does not cower like a dog licking its wounds, but embraces whatever will happen.
But in the distance, hooves thundering against the terrain, she sees Amorette come. There is excitement within her words. Even she is shocked by the return of Magnus as well. A smile crosses her lips, filling her anxious heart with joy now as she watches the two come together. Perhaps she should go, but she cannot help herself from seeing an old friend too.
“Magnus,” her voice comes softly as she reaches the duo within hearing distance. The multi-colored mare stops in a comfortable distance from the two. Her heart feels like it is in her throat now. She then turns to Amorette to conceal her anxiety returning, “Hello Amorette,” she says greeting. Her eyes then return to the buckskin stallion (her dear old friend). “Are you really back?” She asks, needing reassurance that this is not just a ghost coming back to haunt her.
08-24-2018, 10:23 PM (This post was last modified: 08-24-2018, 10:31 PM by magnus.)
magnus
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
She does not carry his blood, but she is his daughter. She is of his flesh and bone, and he reacts in kind, his eyes turning soft as he watches her approach, joy chasing away the shadows and cobwebs from the corner of his ancient heart. “Amore,” he whispers affectionately, closing the distance between them so that he can pull her close into his broad chest, cheek to her side as he breathes in her scent.
In this moment, this reunion, it is as if no time has passed—the moments and years slipping away to leave nothing but a father reuniting with his daughter. “Let me get a look at you,” he tugs at her forelock as he takes a step back, gold-flecked eyes sparking with his good humor. She has grown, delicate and lovely, and there is enough of her mother in her to make his heart ache. Another ghost. Another that he had not been able to save; another that he had failed. But not Amore. She’d never needed him to save her.
She was utterly and perfectly her own.
“You look wonderful, daughter,” the word catches in his throat, as if reminding him that he has no right to it—no right to claim any relationship with the lovely young woman in front of him. “I am so glad.”
But, before he can even catch his breath, his gaze is caught by another—the pea-fowled mare playing along the edges of his vision. It is impossible to think that he can feel such happiness, his heart bursting in his chest, the tidal waves of relief to see them whole and safe. “Lucrezia,” the words are thick with emotion, with all of the things left unsaid. How much he hated himself for leaving her with the burden of Tephra. For not being there to help shoulder it. For how much he has let her down. Let himself down.
It is a miracle that she hasn’t simply come up and spit in his face, demanding that he leave.
It is a miracle that she stands there, bright and beautiful and always the same.
At her timid question, he swallows his fear and closes the distance between them, embracing her in the same way that he embraced his daughter, pulling her into him and holding her just for a second. “Yes,” the word is heavy with everything that it carries (the weight of his decision, the weight of his guilt), but he says it regardless, committing to something he hadn’t been sure but minutes before. How could he leave? How could he turn from them? If he was needed, in whatever capacity that was, he would stay.
“I’m home,” he says with a crooked smile as he steps back, regarding them both.
“Dad,” she whispers just as affectionately in return. As he embraces her, her own muzzle find his skin, almost unable to believe he really is back. It is like a miracle she had never dared to dream of. His remark and playful tug is met with a chuckle, and a bump of her own muzzle against Magnus’ shoulder. “Oh hush, I’ve only gotten a couple of years older” she mutters playful under her breath, but Amore allows him to take a look as she takes a step back.
She is no longer the girl that had stayed in Tephra, but a woman now. A mother herself, and bestowed upon with gifts from the goddess herself. Not something to boast with, but a message to carry out. Amorette cannot help it but to smile, touched by not only his words, but also the emotion in his voice. “And you very much look like I remember” she offers gently, closing the distance between them again in favour of gently touching his cheek with her muzzle. “I.. I am so happy to see you, dad.”
It is then that Lucrezia joins them. The ebony woman is reluctant to pull away, but she knows better than trying to claim Magnus for herself. As their eyes lock, Amore dips her head in a small greeting nod at the peacock feathered mare. “It’s good to see you, Lucrezia.” And she means it.
Taking a couple of steps back, Amore gives Lucrezia and Magnus the space they need. For a moment she watches them, then glances away to offer them some privacy. However, not for long, because the question that leaves Lucrezia’s lips is one that Amore could have asked herself. Hopeful dark orbs find golden-flecked ones, and for a moment the tension builds up till it almost feels like it is getting too much.
Of course she had hoped would stay, that he would be back for real, but hearing those words coming from Magnus’ make it real. Tephra had changed much, and not just Tephra, Beqanna in it’s whole. Warrick’s reign under fire, while stability is what they need. It is only then that Amorette realise that she has been smiling widely since the moment he confirmed he’d stay.
“Welcome home, dad.”
Her eyes find his for a moment, then Lucrezia’s, before she allows them to roam across the land around them. The green fields, the rivers in the distance, the looming volcano near the sea. How much had changed, since he had last seen it? “Perhaps you’re a better judge than I, Lucrezia, has Tephra changed much?” To Amore, changes wouldn’t be as obvious, and yet, many things had happened during all these years. “And for better, or worse?”
@[Lucrezia]
@[magnus]
Sorry for the wait! This might look a little rush, but wanted to get it up for you both before heading off to bed!
Here it comes with no warning; capsize, i'm first in the water
She can feel a lump growing in her throat. The anxiety rising higher than she had anticipated. Her hear is racing a bit faster now.
What will he say? Her thoughts drawn her for a moment. Skipping over the positive thoughts she often clings to those in moments like these. She can’t find one. Nothing to hold on to control her angst.
When he says her name, Lucrezia lets a silent deep sigh out. She can feel the heavy emotion felt in the way he says their name. Words that could not be said, moments that could not be taken. It was as it was. That was all they could do right now.
He pulls her in, sealing away her doubts and thoughts of pass transgressions. The weight she had carried on her shoulders, weighing her down, lifts away. She can feel the weight lifting off of her. Slipping away from the darkness she had wrapped herself into all these years. It no longer clings to her.
The multi-colored mare embraces him in the same manner. Already can Lucrezia feel her heart filling with joy. The moment of regrets has passed. She then pulls away, watching him with nutmeg colored eyes, waiting for him to give them both the answer to her question.
Magnus confirms he is back for sure—home is what he had called it. His answer sent her lips curling into a wide smile. Nutmeg eyes glistening with joy at his answer. She turns to share the warm moment with Amorette as well.
“Good,” she says accepting the buckskin stallion’s words.
Lucrezia turns to the smoky black mare at hearing her question. Her smile fades softly as her mind churns and turns at her question. How much has Tephra changed? The mare turns her own gaze to take a glance at the land that surrounded their small group.
Everything remained the same, but she could feel that there was more change here. Tephra had seen both good and bad days. However, she isn’t just sure what the new coming months will bring. Will there be prosperity or disaster?
She turns to look back to Amorette. “I’m not certain,” she says, honestly, “There is so much changing around here lately.” The challenge for Warrick’s position of leadership had been forfeited. A new leader had taken the reign of Tephra. But what sort of leader would he be? She has only met him once, just a glimpse of who he was and what he could be.
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
He does look like they would remember, and that’s the trick to immortality.
He never changes. At least not in the obvious ways.
His coat may bear the marks of new scars, but he remains youthful. He had been in his prime when he had been killed during his first life so when he had crawled out of the ocean, and when immortality sunk into his veins just a few years later, that's where he remained. Bright and golden and forever young. But such things do not show the ways that his soul has aged. It does not show the cracks beneath the surface, the wizened and hardened spots of his soul. It just shows the young warrior, the handsome King.
Still, he smiles at her, nudging her gently. “It’s good to know that some things remain unchanged.”
Watching them here together, his heart swells in his chest. For all of the pain that he has been forced to bear. For all of the ways he has been burdened over the years. This was the balance. This was the gift. He was given these moments of peace. He was given these relationships to buoy him during the darkness.
It’s enough, he thinks. Such joy is enough to make everything else worth it.
His gaze sharpens slightly at the mention of change, the kingdom-born stallion straightening his shoulders and concentrating. He has experienced both the good and the bad to kingdom change. He has seen the dual-edged sword it can be—the way it bring people together and subsequently tear them apart. It is therefore no surprise that Magnus is wary of such change, suspicious of the winds that bring them.
“I hope the change is for the better,” he echoes, lifting his ink-dipped nose and smelling the blossoming land around them. When he lowers his head again, he just smiles. “But whatever it is, we face it together.”
She does not know if she should think of immortality as a gift, or a curse. An eternity with those you love, if you’re lucky to share the gift, or an eternity spend alone, and watching all around you wither. She sees it in Levi, the father of her son still youthful and in his prime, and now Amore sees it in her father too. Next spring would mark the thirteenth year since her birth, not yet old, but far from carefree youth.
Nonetheless, her smile mirrors Magnus’. “Some things will always remain unchanged,” she agrees with him, lightly nodding her head. But time has yet to proof if those few some things were enough to keep them upright in the ever rapidly changing world.
Amorette fears for the worst. The beloved kingdom is at an edge, and could either fall down, or rise from this point on. But the young stallion’s challenge had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Once Tephra had welcomed Klaudius – and with him, his family – as refugees coming from Ischia. And now, his son, one of those seeking shelter, had rudely found his way back on Tephra’s ground.
Perhaps it is her grief, that clouds her vision, with Warrick nowhere to be found. The ebony woman knows that he has not abandoned them, that the navy stargazer would not do such a thing, but that could only mean the worst.
When Tephra’s former queen and king speak of their hopes for the future, Amorette can only nod her dark head, and offer them her bravest smile. “Together..” she says, agreeing, first meeting Magnus’ eyes and then searching for Lucrezia’s. “I cannot express how glad I am that you both are back home.”
Dark eyes move away from the pair or returning monarchs, in favour of letting them roam across the lands. Her smile returns, more genuine, and ears perk forward through ebony and golden mane. “Do you need a tour, or is Tephra’s memory still branded on your mind?”
Here it comes with no warning; capsize, i'm first in the water
Lucrezia wonders what it would be like to live forever once before. It seemed appealing at the time, but when she thinks of it now she would not like to be immortal. She has seen too much in the short time she has been living. The years of destruction and turmoil haunt her, despite always trying to see the best in things and finding the silver lining on a cloudy day.
Perhaps it is always why she finds herself in a predicament of those who would hurt her, those who would be the end of her. It is with them that she tries to find the good in all of the darkness they are made of. A small glimpse is all she had needed.
It had been the same with Krom, just a brief meeting in the meadow (a glimpse of who he was), for her to confirm that the young stallion’s intentions for Tephra would be good. The change is unwelcoming, but all of them know there is hope for the future of their home.
“Yes, there will always be that,” she agrees with the two of her other friends. A smile from her lips also firms, mirroring the other two’s own smiles. She has found that friendships are never changing, no matter the distance and time away, they would always be there for you. And even a home… maybe not the land itself… but there would always be a home for her where those she loved and cared for would be. It was those who filled the land that made it a home.
Their optimism for the future only makes her feel stronger about the changes that are to come. Hope that the future of Tephra will prosper as it always has. The world outside might try and bring down their home, but it would never be the ending of the volcanic land and what it all stood for. There would always be a sanctuary here, a place for hope.
She finds Amorette’s gaze again, and nods her head. “Together,” she says confirming their silent agreement. No matter what came their way, they would always be together. The mare smiles at her next words. “I cannot agree more. It is good to be back home.” And she cannot help but follow the black mare’s own gaze to look upon the volcanic terrain.
Every part of this land she loved. The crisscrossing streams of lava. The year around heat that reminded her of the sandy dunes. The beauty that had been put together here. Every part of it made it her home, made it Tephra.
Lucrezia turns her gaze back to Amorette when hearing her question. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Tephra again. It’s been too long.” Maybe they would go to the volcano. It was there she had loved seeing her home from the most.
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
Magnus can feel the precipice that they stand on—the way they balance between two realities. He can feel it on the wind, the promise of change and new beginnings with the hint of danger. He has yet to meet their new leader, but when he does, he will be left with fresh worry in his chest. How was he to entrust this land, these people he loved, into the unproven hands of a stallion so young? How was he to step back and stay silent—left with nothing but the ability to hope for a better future? Could he trust a stranger?
Such worries will brand themselves on him in the coming days and weeks.
They will burrow and take root under his skin.
They will linger—and he will not have an answer for them.
Thankfully, he does not have such concerns now. Not yet. Instead, he has the uneasy feeling of a storm on the horizon that he does his best to shake, instead keeping his attention trained on the mares around him, the love he has for them steady and growing. “I would love nothing more than to reacquaint myself.”
He catches the Lucrezia’s gaze and his smile is warm.
“Where would you like to go first?”
He knew that this land was as embedded in her as it was in him; it was not his first home or even his second, and it was not the home of his heart the way that the jungle was (is), but it was uniquely home. From the safety he had felt when he had watched the tired, dirty, confused horses file into it after the Reckoning to the comfort he had felt patrolling its borders to the joy he had felt raising a family here.
![[Image: gqYjsHr.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/KjqNDKxc/gqYjsHr.png)
