"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'll pick up these broken pieces 'til i'm bleeding
if that'll make it right
“I thought that was how we ended up with you?” Haha, nice try dipshit Brennen.
It takes everything in Nihlus not to bring hell down from the heavens as he stomps towards the Jungle. If he had learned anything at all from his one other kingdom-visit, it was that people don’t like having their parades rained on. Which is ridiculous. The rain is great, and Nihlus can make it rain (wink), and therefore, Nihlus is great.
And NOT a part of the Tundra because of some stupid trade.
You see, Noori had jumped ship at an early age with Scorch and Hestoni. She’d run and gone and fucked three men and borne three children, not that the said children knew anything of the man fucking. But anyways, Mother Spring raised Nihlus, Cerva and Daemron in the Valley with Eight as their pretend father, and when the time came, they moved out like grown ass adults.
It just so happened that NIhlus moved to the Tundra, and that he was conveniently of a royal Jungle bloodline, one that extended back more years than he likes to think about.
And now he’s here again, standing indignantly upon the border of the Jungle, calling for someone he knows is not his grandmum, and hoping that his storm of a king – see what I did there – arrives soon enough to clean up the mess Nihlus is about to make.
That is, unless there is no mess – a handsome smile glides across his lips just as a woman slips through the underbrush, and his sour aura dispereses into thin air.
How convenient.
Nihlus
rain manipulating, rabbit shifting son of Sinder & Noori
Children will always be children, and therefore will never be taken seriously. The heavens could open above them and Lagertha would probably just roll her eyes in annoyance. It frequently rains here. It is hot, and humid, and one more torrential downpour won’t matter in the long run.
The thing about royalty is that it rarely lasts. All dynasties eventually fall. The only legacy that lasts are the children one leaves behind. Everything else is ash and dust. Memories fade. Quite frankly, she’s surprised to find the Tundra men on her doorstep, considering how long ago their conversation was. Really, their journey is moot if they don’t have one of Hurricane’s daughters with them. Unless this is about something other than children. Which it could be… Lagertha is not a mind reader, after all.
She recognizes the stallion by the white on his legs as the colt she once pretended to steal, in order to grab a King’s attention. A wry grin spreads across her face, as she chuckles briefly. “Nihlus. You’ve grown.” Lagertha has changed as well; her horns are gone, replaced by an expansion of tattoos, and little else. Her gifts are hidden. She glances beyond Nihlus and spots Hurricane, whom she greets with a simple nod. “I imagine this is more than just a social call?” She leaves it at that, allowing the menfolk to explain their presence as she settles in to listen.
Their tattoos have finally come back, and it’s strange, by Rhy finds the presence of the tattoo calming. Like things might actually be okay. Go back to normal. Or as normal as a lioness shifting, half dead, manipulator of electric could ever be. She’s a far cry from normal, even in Beqanna where traits are rampant. She’s got a swath of them though. Empathy too, if you throw in that temporary, kingdom granted trait that she mostly just blocks out. It’s not that hard to judge someone if you know what to look for. She doesn’t really need the empathy, though on occasion, she does find it handy.
Mostly she uses it to skim the border for unfamiliar presences, when she’s not close enough to catch them by scent or sound. Today is one of those days, and she notices the feeling of a storm before it’s gone, replaced with something far calmer (though perhaps not happy?). Given her lack of using this particular skill, she’s not all that good at actually understanding it completely. It’s something more of a gut feeling to her, then a real wash of emotions.
But either way, it’s enough to draw her to the border. On her side, the electric storm has grown, and the tattoo flashes halfway down her barrel. She nods to the group, coming to stand beside her friend and queen. Mostly she’s never seen Lagertha is anything more than a friend. Yes, she is her queen, but that’s never changed their relationship or encouraged Rhy to keep her mouth shut. No, the only influence it ever had was that Rhy had always offered her support to Lagertha. Rhy didn’t care for a crown in the way Lag had, and so it had been easy to cast her support instead of fighting for the throne.
“Welcome to the Jungle,” she adds with a wry smile and a sideway glance at her Khaleeshi. The Warrior Queen never been good with pleasantries. But it gave Rhy something to do, at least.
He is unsurprised when Nihlus grudgingly agrees to his suggestion. But then, the boy had had it coming (man now, he supposes, but at his age, almost everyone else is still a boy, especially one who he watched grow up only recently). Hurricane had never been one to get terribly upset over criticisms (not given his own predilections, anyway), but if you’re going to naysay, you could damn well help find a better solution. Hence his request.
He follows Nihlus at a slower pace, lingering amongst the clouds, stretching his wings wide as he catches thermals to carry him towards the distant Jungle. It is rare that he actually has a chance to appreciate the beauty and freedom of his chosen mode of travel. His moments of leisure are few and far between. Besides, the Tundra’s skies are not conducive to leisure. Not with the blustering wind and icy bite of the often snow-laden skies. But as they travel south, the winds gentle and the air warms, providing a surprisingly pleasant respite from his normal experiences.
All too soon however, the air thickens with humidity and heat. For one used to much more frigid temperatures, it is almost oppressive. But he continues onward, disregarding any discomfort. He has a meeting to see to.
Dropping rapidly, he sees that Nihlus has already been joined by both Lagertha and Rhy. Excellent. No need for unnecessary explanations. Landing near the trio, he settles his wings against his sides before stepping forward into the group. He dips his in a slight nod towards the two women.
”Lagertha. Rhy.”
He pauses for a moment, assessing the two, trying the gauge their demeanors. Then, as always, he gets straight to the point.
