"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
There is a familiarity to Tephra that Dahmer had not expected to feel in any place other than the Subway, but it is not unwelcome. He can roam the contours of their land, whether through the forest or near the volcano, with his blue eyes closed, and has spent the last year and a half doing just that -- mostly, admittedly, with his eyes open. He thinks of his new home fondly, and finds it fitting that Magnus's silhouette appears on the horizon, closer to the focal point of Tephra.
Dahmer amends his path, pivoting to head in the direction of their King. His trot is quick and lively, black tail billowing behind a muscled frame. There is no preamble as the stallion comes to a halt beside Magnus, his friend, "You kept your promise." Dahmer motions to the winter sky, a few white clouds floating in the deep blue, "No snow."
He grins warmly but falls into a comfortable silence next to the buckskin, letting his ears flutter away and listen to the sounds of Tephra. "Jord, Nikoline, and Imke have fit in well, I hope..." he muses after a few minutes. He tries his best to see them all on a regular basis, but between traveling and recruiting more warm bodies to their ranks, the black thoroughbred has not seen them all as much as he'd like.
It is worth it, though, to know that his efforts contribute to one of the most daunting herds in Beqanna.
Magnus angled his head a the sound of approaching hooves, his scarred lips curving into a crooked smile at the welcome sight of Dahmer. The stallion had been one of the most productive members of Tephra, and Magnus was thrilled to watch him blossom here. He had known from the moment they had met in the field that they would be fast friends, solid companions, and he had been right. He could not think of a single time where he had been luckier to invite someone back to his home.
“I always keep my promises,” he laughed, glancing upward at the smoke billowing from the volcano. It was difficult to imagine that they were in the thick of winter—not with the air as warm as it was, the sky such a brilliant blue. Sometimes, Magnus found himself missing the chill in the air and the snow on the ground, but more often than not, he appreciated the heat, the humidity. It just reminded him of the jungle.
Turning back, he kept his gaze steady on Dahmer, musing silently. “They are settling in nicely.” As nicely as most souls who found their way to Tephra. They were not a power hungry land (he did not seek to rule all of Beqanna and bring them to heel, like Nayl), but they were populous. The land that spread out before him brimmed with life. “Which brings me to something I’ve been meaning to say for a while.”
One corner of his mouth lifted into a smile as he looked at the other, rolling his shoulders in anticipation.
“I think it is high time that you joined the Council officially. Don’t you?”
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
Dahmer basks in the warmth of the nearby volcano, taking a moment to appreciate the contours of Tephra before them. The Thoroughbred laughs readily at Magnus's response and follows with a nod, his bright blue eyes turning to look at his friend. Beqanna had been mostly quiet over the last year, and while it had been enjoyable, Dahmer feels confident that he and Magnus had created a large enough family to deter any would-be enemies.
His lips twitch into a small smile at the thought of the mares in their home -- they had kept him on his, er, toes. But he had loved every second of it, of course.
Shifting his body and cocking a hind hip, the stallion settles into himself to relax for the night. He gives a gentle sigh and lets his ears flutter habitually before Magnus catches his attention once more. Dahmer peers at the buckskin out of the corner of his eye, an expression of mock suspicion clouding his handsome face. "Are you sure you want to trust me with that, Magnus?" The black beast gives a warm chuckle and tosses his head excitedly before turning his gaze back to the scenery before them.
"Thank you," the words gruff and genuine, "I hope I will do it justice."
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
His laughter is rich, and he angles his head toward the other stallion with a glint in his eye. “Now that you mention it, maybe I don’t want to trust you with that…” He purses his mouth a little, considering the black stallion in front of him. “After all, I hear you’re earning quite a reputation with the ladies.” More hearsay than anything else, although he had seen firsthand the chemistry between Karaugh and him when they had visited Sylva. It left him arching his brow at the other before shaking his head, laughing again.
“You are a fine stallion and will do a fine job for Tephra,” he said, the vocal equivalent of slapping a man on the shoulders. “I know you will do it justice.” He had known it from the second that Dahmer had stepped across the border that he would eventually rise to fill that position; he had known it from the moment the other stallion had looked him in the eye and told him how he wanted to serve the land. It had only been a matter of watching the man prove it, finding out if his feet truly followed his words.
They had, and Magnus had never felt better about a decision.
For a moment, the pair of them fell into a companionable silence, the quiet comfortable as they took in the rest of the land flourishing around them. When he did break it, Magnus gave a quirk of a smile, one edge of his scarred mouth lifting into a crooked grin. “So, how have things been for you since you have come here, Dahmer?” He shifted his gaze one more to find the black stallion. “Finding good company?”
He was not oblivious to the stallion’s many friends throughout Tephra, and while he did not care about prying into Dahmer’s personal life, he did care a great deal about the mares he surrounded himself with. He had helped to raise Leliana, Lucrezia was one of his closest friends and advisors, and Jord was an old friend whom he worried about. At the very least, he wanted to make sure Dahmer’s intentions were pure.
but you're a king and I'm a lionheart
so, unexpected, but magnus just turned into protective dad. :| sorry about that.
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