"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
Ever since moving to Tephra, their lives have gained a peace Eira hadn’t thought possible. Their days have been quiet, the kingdom has been quiet … in fact, all of Beqanna has been quiet. It’s been a little unnerving (she keeps expecting something to go wrong), but it’s also been rather nice. There’s been so much upheaval as of late that it’s nice for life to be so uneventful.
Part of this, she knows (or at least the quietness in their own family), is due to Lumi’s ever increasing trips outside of the territory. Their oldest daughter is an adult in her own right now (strange to think about), and spends most of her days travelling around outside of Tephra. Part of Eira wishes she could forbid the girl from leaving so much (she’d rather keep all of her dear children close), but Lumi’s age and Taiga’s continued bratty behaviour make it impossible. The two girls are just oil and water, and no matter how hard Eira tries, she can’t seem to help them get along. But at least with Lumi so often out of the territory the amount of fighting has decreased dramatically.
She wishes Lumi was here at the moment though. Contractions have taken hold, and Eira has bunkered down in a more secluded copse to give birth to her and Weir’s fifth child! She is excited to add to their little family, but she’d been hoping to use the opportunity to teach Lumi a little bit about, well, the mechanics of childbirth.
But the girl is off somewhere once again, and she is left with Taiga for her only company. Taiga and her incessant questions.
But eventually it is done, and a small damp bundle lies in the dirt at her side. Eira rises quickly, sparing only a quick glance for her suddenly quiet older daughter (she is amused to see the girl has actually been stunned into silence), before turning down to the little roan bundle. It’s a girl! Another little girl to add to their family! Eira grins, and immediately begins cleaning away the mess of birth. As she works, an overwhelming feeling of happiness bubbles up inside her. Everything, at least in this moment, is perfect. “Hope. I will call you Hope.”
Magnus was still getting used to the offshoots of families and relations of those who lived within Tephra. It was not a formal kingdom, and he had not done any sort of official roll call, so there were many who lived within its borders that he had not met—many who had kept to themselves and avoided the more tedious meetings (although the last had been more exciting than many had anticipated). He did not mind these families; he was just glad to know that they felt safe within Tephra’s borders to call it home.
Still, it made his job more difficult, trying to keep track of a nebulous group he did not fully understand.
He had seen the bay mare and her child from afar, but her movements, and the roundness of her belly, had spoken of a need for privacy and so he had not intruded. She had been familiar enough with the land, and smelled of nowhere but the sulfurous land, that no alarm bells had rung in his head. Only an instinctual need to protect her during what was perhaps the most vulnerable and challenging time of her life.
He kept his distance and gaze from the small group, instead standing watch over them, his inky tail flicking behind him as his gold-flecked gaze washed over the land. He did not expect any trouble would befall them (Tephra was largely devoid of predators and, as of yet, no darker rumblings had started around Beqanna), but it still soothed his nerves to stand guard. If something were to happen, he would be there.
When enough time had passed—the last thing he wanted to do was intrude upon the gathering—he glanced over. At the sight of the mare with the newborn, and the older child by his side, he could not help but small and, after taking a minute to ascertain that all was well, he made his way over. He swung wide around the group to give them time to spot him and then stopped several feet away, hoping to give them enough space. “Hello, there.” He dipped his head in greeting. “I see that congratulations are in order.”
The soft sound of approaching hooves reaches her ears, and her head lifts with a smile, expecting to see Weir. But the approaching stallion is not her love, and her smile falters for a moment before reforming. Even if it’s not Weir, it will be nice to finally meet another inhabitant of their new home.
The stallion swings wide, keeping a respectful distance, then stops and offers a nod in greeting. She returns the nod, still smiling. “Thank you.” She nudges at little Hope down at her feet. “This is Hope.” Her smile widens as she touches the soft baby fur. She and Weir have been so, so lucky. She turns her head to Taiga, pointing out the girl. “This is Taiga. And I am Eira.”
Taiga unfortunately takes this as permission. The young mare rushes forward, wings flapping in excitement. “Helloooooooo!” She prances up to the stallion, sniffing him in interest. “You smell like Tephra. Do you live here? What’s your name?”
“Taiga! Don’t crowd him!” Eira’s jaw sets as the chestnut mare shoots her a look, sighs, and returns to her mother’s side. Despite being two years old, Taiga can still be ridiculously immature at times, much to Eira’s frustration. She’d hoped that the girl would grow out of it … so far, no luck. But at least she’d been somewhat polite. “I’m sorry for my daughter’s … enthusiasm.”
While he had not been a model father, he had loved the moments of quiet with his children when they were young, when their limbs where long and coltish. Somewhere, Canaan wandered with Ellyse around the land. Somewhere, Hawke was getting her bearings. One of his greatest hopes for Tephra was that it would be a place where families would be safe; where mothers would feel protected with their young. So perhaps the sight of Eira with her flock struck a special chord in his heart as he looked upon them.
At Taiga’s enthusiasm, he laughed and gave a kind look to Eira, one parent to another. Something in the young mare’s zeal, he saw Amorette and his memory flashed back to the filly rushing up to gaze upon his then-wings, her eyes wide with wonder. His gaze softened as he dipped his head down to her level. “Hi there.” He took an exaggerated sniff. “You smell like it too!” His smile grew lopsided.
“I do indeed live here. My name is Magnus. What’s yours?”
He lifted his head to look toward her mother, hoping to put her at ease. He knew some stallions grew uneasy around children, especially those that were not their own, but that had never been Magnus. He did not want Eira to feel as if she had to keep her children on a short leash on his behalf. “No apologies needed. I have found enthusiasm usually means a hunger for knowledge and a zeal for life. You are lucky to have children so open to the world.” The alternative, of course, was to have a child who was closed off, secluded, brooding—one guarded or hurt. It was refreshing to see that some children still lived fearlessly.
She is relieved when the stallion shows nothing but patience at Taiga’s enthusiasm. It is, she supposes, at least one of Taiga’s less frustrating traits - that is, it is far more endearing than her rebelliousness, her frequent belligerence, and tendency to insult her siblings.
The girl in turn responds positively to Magnus’ indulgence, grinning widely and bouncing a little on the spot. “Well duh! I live here too. I’m Taiga.”
Eira grimaces at the slightly condescending tone that enters her daughter’s voice. It’s not … outright, disrespectful. But it’s toeing the line enough that it makes Eira wonder where the girl is headed next. Magnus comments on Taiga’s enthusiasm, labelling it as a hunger for knowledge and zeal for life. Eira knows better (at least in Taiga’s case), but she simply smiles and nods, letting it be. Hopefully the girl will keep her tongue in check for once.
And, thank god, for the moment she does, and Eira watches, relieved, as the chestnut girl dances back to her mother’s side, flaring her wings. Eira takes the opportunity to engage the stallion in conversation. “I must admit, I haven’t run into too many other horses since coming to Tephra.” To be completely honest she’s left most of the new ‘kingdom’ business to Weir, though it has become very clear lately that he really has no interest in becoming involved (which she can’t blame him for - she has no interest either). “Would you be able to tell me a little bit about this place?”
At the girl’s sass, Magnus laughs and shake his heavy-jawed head. “My apologies. Of course you smell like it.” He glances up at the mother, not quite picking up on her discomfort but somewhat sensing it. She had nothing to worry about though; not with Magnus. Even if Taiga’s line of questioning went down the path to disrespectful, it was unlikely that he would reprimand or lash out at her. It wasn’t his nature.
As she moves back to her mother and Eira begins to question him, he settles into position, cocking his back leg and letting his muscles relax slightly. His tail flicked against his haunches and his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “It’s a large island. It’s not surprising to hear that you’ve not seen anyone.”
Tephra was growing and remained fairly active, but it wasn’t a hugely bustling kingdom. Most of its own residents kept to themselves for the most part, except the few meetings held sporadically. He enjoyed the quiet independence that grew here, the way it was easy for others to find their own way. If someone wanted companionship, they could hunt for it, but if they didn’t, they were afforded their own privacy.
“I would be happy to tell you whatever you wanted to know,” he answered quietly, giving her a small grin. He figures she doesn’t recognize him as the leader of the land, but he doesn’t offer that tiny bit of information. Magnus doesn’t often view himself as the official leader and certainly not a King. He was just the guardian of the place, not its ruler. “Do you have any questions in particular?”
For a moment, he glanced back toward the little child by her mother’s side and offered her a smile before turning his attention back to Eira and waiting patiently for whatever questions she may have of him.
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’s grateful to his indulgence. But Taiga hasn’t done anything too terrible yet, and Eira suddenly decides it might be better to … nudge, the girl girl in a different direction, before her tongue gets the best of her. As Taiga traipses back to her side, she smiles at the girl and offers her a suggestion. “How about you find your brothers Taiga? I’m sure they’d love to have the chance to play with you.” Taiga narrows her eyes, perhaps suspicious of her mother’s intentions, but after a breath she nods her assent. She flares her wings and takes off into the air. She soars in one big circle above their heads, shouts one last, “goodbyeeeee,” then disappears over the treetops.
Eira’s eyes return to Magnus, who quickly dives into answering her questions. “It certainly is!” She smiles. Tephra’s size and population had been part (though of course not all) of what had originally attracted her and Weir to the kingdom. There are lots of animals in the less populated parts of the territory for Weir to investigate, and there’s lots of space for them to raise their ever growing band of children without overly bothering other members of the kingdom.
But kingdom isn’t quite the proper word for Tephra, is it. Which is part of what she wants to know. “Well, I’ve been particularly curious about Tephra’s political structure.” Her head lowers slightly, embarrassed that she knows so little of the kingdom she calls home. “I’ve heard that it’s not exactly a traditional kingdom, and I’d like to know more.”
EIRA
nothing's only words, that's how hearts get hurt
Since it's been a while since we started this thread, I was wondering if we should maybe start a new one?
Magnus smiles and nods as Eira sends her child off, his gaze quickly returning back to the mare before him. At her question, he nods again, understanding her line of questioning. It was, truthfully, the line that just made the most sense. If you were going to live within a land such as Tephra, even if you did not expect to be an active member of its infrastructure, it would make sense that you would understand it.
“Well, you are correct in thinking that we are not traditional.” He had wanted to stay away from the more traditional structure of the old kingdoms; he certainly did not view himself as a king and he had no desire to reinstate the old school way of thinking here. Not that he detested it. He just didn’t see it necessary for what he had wanted to fashion here. There would be plenty of places who grew such memories.
“I am what I suppose you would call the guardian here. I lead and serve as the first point of contact for other lands when they come calling. I am assisted by a Council that will eventually be made up of three. As of right now, there is only Ellyse who is Head of War. We still are looking for Head of Peace and our third Council member.” He had a feeling they would be filled soon, but alas, they stood empty for now.
“Then we have one singular ‘caste’ that makes up both diplomats and soldiers. It is a place for those who are looking to actively contribute to the kingdom and who find purpose in the work.” He had known how often his own life had been saved by the outlet provided by kingdom work - the drive. He had wanted to give that same opportunity for souls who wanted to work and lose themselves in such a manner. “But most of those who live here are simply residents. They just want a place where they can live peacefully.”
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
Sure! I wanted to reply at least once so he could answer her question, but if you want to start a new thread, that'd be 100% okay with me. <3
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