"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
It’s been months since he last saw Raeg’n, months since he last spoke to his nearest and dearest (and really, only, friend). He’s searched every inch of Tephra and found no trace of her, and he’s really beginning to worry that something’s happened to her.
It’s so unlike her to just disappear like this. He’s known her to wander from time to time (always in search of better opponents, as she’s implied to him), but in all the years that he’s known Raeg’n, she’s never been gone for this long. And at the very least he knows that she wouldn’t just up and leave for this long without saying something to him.
Not unless …
No. No he knows better. After he’d finally revealed the truth to Reag’n, had told her about his curse, she’d been simply amazing. She’d pulled him close, had comforted him, had made him feel important in spite of his … differences. If she’d really had a problem with it, she would’ve told him then. Reag’n isn’t the sort to hide things after all, she’s the type to tell you what she thinks straight to your face …
Right?
He shoves that particular anxiety farther back in his mind as he begins one last sweep of Tephra. Maybe he’s just missed her somehow, maybe she’s holed up somewhere with Magnus completing some challenging training. Maybe …
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
His concern for Raeg’n was steadily growing. At first, it had been something that scratched at the back of his mind when she didn’t hunt him down for a few days for their regular training. He had assumed that he had misspoken during their last encounter, and the guilt ate away at him. He had no way of telling her what was truly racing through his veins when they fought, the true nature of what was inside him. How could he tell her how he hungered for bloodshed? How difficult it was for him to just turn that off?
Their last bout had brought him too close to that edge, had fed his inner hunger too much for his comfort.
Still, he knew her well enough to know that him snapping wasn’t enough to stop her for long. Certainly wasn’t enough to stave her off forever. The girl was relentless in her need to train, to better herself. So, soon, the worry grew. He found himself hunting for her during his regular rounds of Tephra, looking for her when he wandered to the field, or to any of the common meeting grounds. But she was nowhere to be seen, and he realized that he had no way of knowing where to even start looking for her. He didn’t know who her parents were, who her friends were. He had no understanding of her life before they met.
So when he heard her name called out, he pivoted, turning over his hocks and cantering toward the young stallion, his golden face sharp with concern. “Did you say Raeg’n?” he questioned, holding back his own fear just barely. “I have been looking for and haven’t been able to find her.” His brows drew together as he glanced toward the horizon, as if she would materialize there, before he looked back to the boy. He had seen him around but had never had the chance to introduce himself, and, suddenly, he realized that this was perhaps not the kindness of introductions. Forcefully, he quieted himself, his voice lower when he spoke again. “I’m sorry for the abruptness. I’m just worried about her.” A pause. “My name is Magnus.”
No response, surprise, surprise. The panic begins to deepen and his mind starts spinning through the possibilities. Maybe she finally met an opponent she couldn’t beat, maybe she tried to take on a predator somewhere in the wilderness, maybe she got kidnapped, maybe …
Lauchlan snorts, shaking his head. He’s getting too bogged down in the questions, in the ‘what ifs.’ If Raeg’n actually is in trouble, he’ll be no good to her if her just sits here panicking.
But what next? What’s the next step in a situation like this? How exactly does one track down a missing person, when there’s no trail to speak of, no place to begin?
His mind is starting to head back into panic mode when a male voice breaks through the closing walls. “Did you say Raeg’n?” Lauchlan’s head swings around to see an impressive looking buckskin stallion thundering down on him, and he can’t help but take a cautious step back. Unlike Raeg’n he’s made a point of avoiding all the other members of Tephra, and he has no idea how this stallion might react to a perceived ‘intruder’ (though if the stallion bothers to give him a good sniff he should be able to tell how much time Lauchlan has spent here).
His caution turns to curiosity however, as the stallion reveals that, he too, has been looking for Raeg’n. He’s not alone in noticing that she’s been missing! “I haven’t been able to find her anywhere! And I’ve certainly been looking …” How many times has he scanned Tephra now?!
Finally, his curiosity deepens to understanding as the stallion reveals his name. “Magnus! Oh! I know you! Uh … I mean Raeg’n’s talked about you a lot. She told me you’ve been training her.” He scuffs his hooves awkwardly against the dirt. While Raeg’n has talked about the Tephra warrior a ton, he rather doubts she’s said much to him about Lauchlan in return. Why would she, after all? “I’m Lauchlan. I’m her … I’m her friend.”
howling ghosts, they reappear in mountains that are stacked with fear
Magnus’ face is molten as he looks at the black stallion, concern and fear washing over his features, trying to study the other stallion and discern whether or not he knew anything of value. Part of him wants to shake the other, get him to spill everything he knows so that he can immediately begin to tear it apart, figure out whatever small details to piece together the mystery of her sudden disappearance.
Still, he knows enough to recognize that he has frightened the young boy and scaring him was hardly the way to get information the quickest. So instead of drilling him, hammering him with pointed question after question, he calms, his golden eyes fierce but the stallion silent. “Me either,” he says quietly, looking away to the horizon briefly, as if she would magically appear, despite the fact that he had searched before.
He brings his gaze back as the boy speaks again, and it is enough to draw forth a ghost of a smile, the edges of it quirking the edges of his scarred lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lauchlan, although I wish it had been under better circumstances.” His frown returns, creasing the corner of his mouth and then drawing his eyebrows together; his expression becoming fierce with concern, rooted in his worry.
“It is unlike her to go so long between trainings,” he admits, rolling his shoulders as a restlessness settles over him. He needs to do something, but he has no idea where to start, no idea where he should go. It left him feeling empty and useless, a barely contained frustration looping through him with no outlet. “I have no idea where to start looking for her though.” He turns his face toward him. “Do you have any ideas?”
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