[open] the graveyard follows the trail of the flame; any

[magnus]

desire consumes me like a fire consumes me

It has been a long time since he has seen Ruan.

Another life. Another world. Both of them remain fundamentally the same and yet wholly changed by the circumstances around them, pressing into their sides and molding them into something new entirely. Still, his handsome, rugged face warms when the wolfish stallion appears from the trees. “Ruan,” he greets, one corner of his lacerated mouth lifting into a roguish smile. “It has been a long time,” he muses, thinking back to the first time they met, on a venture similar to this. “I am glad to see you haunt Taiga still.”

He has no way of knowing the pain that has occurred in these woods. The trauma. The shards of it still buried in Ruan’s very heart. Such is the way of slipping in and out of time, the events that feel so catastrophic to others completely pass him by. Still, he dips his head in greeting, chuckling a little under his breath at the question. “Tephra remains strong.” His lips press, gold-flecked eyes defiant—although what they are defiant against is unclear. “I intend to make sure that she stays that way.”

On this, when it comes to their respective homes, the two would always see eye to eye.

Magnus is almost ready to open his mouth to explain more when the magician comes crashing through the vegetation. His gold-flecked eyes widen slightly in surprise although he doesn't startle, nostrils flaring to take in a deep breath. Recognition strikes deep in his belly when he finally places Set’s face, dredging up the memory of that encounter in the field. The stallion’s knowing of his name doesn’t entirely phase him, having guessed he had some sort of power the first time they crossed paths, and his lips curve upward again. “Hello, you,” there is a flash of humor in his eyes. “I haven’t been spat out yet,” he rolls his shoulders, referencing their first, odd meeting. “Although I’m positive to be second course soon.”

He twists his gaze to Ruan, curious to the other’s reaction.

“I had come up see how Taiga fares in the current climate. Keeping my finger on the pulse and all that.” The typical politics. Both intriguing and deeply boring. “It appears this will be much different.”

good shouldn’t need to tempt us above