"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
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
He waits until the arsonists leave (his sister included, though he tries to shove that from his mind), he checks on those who have made Hyaline their home, and then he runs for Nerine. The dragon king is swift, fueled by the stamina of his desert heritage and the adrenaline that is pumping through his veins. Amet is sick to his stomach, the acid roiling and violent at the thought of tonight's events.
He whinnies loudly, the panic evident in his voice as he crests the mountain ridge at Hyaline's northern border and gallops down the well-worn path into Nerine and towards its cliff. His dragon-scaled body gleams in the moonlight and he hopes that his metallic frame will draw Nayl's attention in the event that she is out of earshot.
Amet picks his way frantically down the cliff-side path and to the sandy beach, his steps unsure and hurried. The footing changes swiftly and the Akhal-Teke loses his balance, falling to his knees in the warm sand. "Oof!" escapes the young stallion's lips as his golden frame is thrown to the ground, "Nayl!"
Amet finds his hooves again, knees stinging slightly, but that pain is the last thing on the dragon king's mind. "We need your help!" he calls into the darkness, amber eyes wide with fear. How is he supposed to explain the invasion to the Queen of Nerine? How is he supposed to include Iset's name in the list of perpetrators without Nayl removing Nerine's support, or Castile, from his home? He creates circles in the sand as he waits, reassuring himself that Sakir is keeping an eye on the safety of those in Hyaline while Castile had gone south, to acquire Djinni's help in Sylva.
Amet
@[Nayl] merp, sent you a pm about the castile part<3
Nayl hears the thunder of his hooves, first across the fields, then near the cliff. She doesn’t know who it is – not yet – but she doesn’t yet move from her place in Lior’s cavern. Her body bathes in his fading scent, Isobel nestled on the ground sleeping under mother’s watchful eye. It’s sorely regretful to step out from the cover of the shadows, but the urgency in Amet’s voice draws her forward with piqued interest. She had heard him stumble and fall in his rush to find her, but it’s only when he calls her name that she answers.
”Amet,” she says the boy’s name gently despite his shouting desperation. With slow steps, she reaches the very edge of the cave mouth before pausing to glance over her shoulder. Isobel’s head lifts and she looks up at her mother curiously, her eyes gleaming with fire. ”You stay,” Nayl whispers before staring back ahead and closing the distance between her and the boy. ”My daughter, Isobel,” and she smiles even as her gaze sweeps across his scaled body. Reptilian. Dragon.
Like Castile.
Briefly, she considers her son’s safety as she reads the pain and worry in Amet’s eyes. “Tell me on the way,” and without hesitation, she begins to usher the boy down the shoreline, listening closely to his news.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
Amet.
He almost misses it, the way the blood rushes in his ears, but then there she is. Nayl draws from the cavern and the dragon boy expels a quick sigh of relief, nodding at her introduction of the new Nerinian princess. Her brother, Castile, shoves his way back into Amet's mind and the Akhal-Teke frowns deeply.
"I'm sorry to come so late," the words rushed and unimportant now, but nevertheless, he had been taught manners in the Dunes. Amet searches the tobiano Queen's eyes, his own amber ones laced with worry. She immediately recognizes the expression on the young stallion's face and he is grateful, but anxiety still weighs heavy in his chest. He has failed to defend Hyaline tonight and, as a ripe little cherry on top, Iset had been involved.
The dragon king moves swiftly back towards Hyaline, the Queen at his bronze shoulder as he spills his jumbled words. "We've been attacked. They burned the trees and made the earth move, and used magic to kill the rest of the foliage. They..." he exhales and inhales again deeply, replenishing his lungs to suppress the feeling of hyperventilation, "they hurt Tang."
He falls silent for the briefest of moments, their hooves falling heavy as sand turned to rock, and then finally to dense forest floor. "Molotov, my friend, she's a telepath. She told me their names." He thinks of the way his flame-kissed companion had seeped into their thoughts, recoiling only once their identities had been discovered. She had deposited those identities nearly into Amet's own head, and he is in her debt for her immediate desire to help.
"Maugrim. Deathwish. Kolera. Levi." His limbs have gone cold and numb as the real confession is upon him, "And... Castile, he... he isn't hurt. He flew over the group and he saw... he saw that Iset was with them." He does not know his sister's involvement, but hiding the information from Nayl will do him no good.
"After they left," he continues, "I asked Castile to find Djinni, and I came for you."
