"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 not by bone but yet by blade can break the magic that the devil made
It was a visit long overdue. The guilt had ridden him for a while and finally he was spared a moment to venture out and travel. The world outside the Taiga seemed so much brighter compared to the dark forest, the sun baking through his thick coat. He stopped halfway through to dunk himself in a clear-water pond, cooling himself off with a brief soak. It would've been faster to use his magic, but where was the fun in that? He preferred not to use it.
He could use a little stop-and-smell-the-roses anyway.
With a heave, he pulled himself out and gave a vigorous shake, throwing water in all directions. His fur stood fluffy and thick, dark with moisture but more comfortable under the heat of the sun now. When he stepped into the kingdom, he surveyed around him. It'd been a damn long time since he'd been here. He was a terrible friend. He should've visited more.
He'd been kept busy.
At the sight of Magnus nearby, a smile crossed his dark mouth and he made his way over. The golden stallion had probably just finished with a visit at the border, also kept busy, but his happiness at seeing his friend again didn't allow him to feel to bad about interrupting his day. Friendship was new and welcome to him. He hadn't been allowed them previously.
"Magnus." The children weren't with him today, a last minute decision. They were normally at his side nearly constantly. He hadn't wanted to bring them out of their forest without first knowing how the world was managing out here. "It's been too long. How are you?"
and it's not by fire but what's forged in flame can drown the sorrows of a huntsman's pain
although this world is made of fearsome beasts that bark and bite we were born to put these creatures through one hell of a fight
Ruan wasn’t build for the heat the way that Magnus was.
Magnus wasn’t exactly an Arabian—not built for the endless desert and the scorching earth—but he was born and raised in the jungle and his lungs had long since adapted to the heavy weight of the air. His skin was thin, coat slick, and it was only uncomfortable when he ventured further out in the dead of winter. When the sky became frigid and the air stung his lungs. The very weather that embraced Ruan.
Still, in his jungle-like home, the land lush and the weather warm, Magnus is perfectly balanced.
He wanders the border, his step purposeful but not hurried, the pleasant pace relaxing as he keeps an eye on the outskirts of his home. It’s during this round that he spies his wolfish friend, and his face—open and friendly—warms, gold-flecked eyes sparking as he makes his way over to the Taigan man.
“Ruan!” His whiskey voice booms as he walks up, bumping his shoulder against the stallion. “It’s been far too long but I thought it’d take hellfire to drive you from those woods of yours.” The humor is clear on his face, the easy companionship between friends as he beckons him forth—forever the host.
As they move forward, Tephra expanding before them, wild and exotic and forever beautiful, Magnus falls into a comfortable silence for a few moments. He has always managed to find good people to surround himself with—good souls with good hearts—but it has been a long while since he has managed to find a solid, unwavering friendship. A friendship not rooted in anything else. Simple.
“I have been well,” he finally answers, giving the question the time it deserves. “Busy with Tephra and little else.” He has not had much time for anything but his home: guarding it, caring for it. “It has taken a good while to ensure our stability in the time after the plague, but it seems as though the dust has finally settled.” Settled and Tephra has maintained her hold on kingdomhood—stable and strong.
But he doesn’t dive into politics too much, doesn’t dwell there.
“And you, Ruan? How have you and your family fared?”
it's not by bone but yet by blade can break the magic that the devil made
He grinned when Magnus met him, greeting him with a warmth Ruan hadn't been entirely certain was mutual. Friendship was still a new thing for him, it felt like, but he felt the confirmation of this one settle in so solidly and ease the tightness in his chest. He returned the shoulder-bump with a chuckle, enjoying the genuine comradery between them.
“Hellfire and magic,” he shot back lightly as he joined him in walking, though the truth soured in his gut, the memory of the fairies betraying them and letting in the Dark God to injure and chase out every last innocent person within. Some were never found again and their losses weighed heavily on him, added to the list of his many failures. It was in the past now though and he didn’t bring it up.
”I have been well. Busy with Tephra and little else.” Ruan nodded as Magnus continued. He understood perfectly. For years after his wife’s.. after his marriage ended, every waking breath was spent on guarding the Taiga and its people with the aid of Aten and Jinju. He was certain Magnus had plenty of his own help too with how great a king he seemed to be, but there would always be times when the leader was doing everything alone while his people rest.
”And you, Ruan? How have you and your family fared?”
He shrugged, looking forward and taking in the beautiful place his friend called home. “The dust has settled in Taiga as well. Jinju is still at my side when she can be, otherwise she is caring for the Taigans from within. I don’t feel comfortable with her venturing out where she could get sick.” Even saying the word seemed to call it back up in himself as well, and his chest pulsed a few times with a stifled cough.
“Sorry,” he apologized with a glance, and continued. “It caught up with me in the field that day. I try to keep apart from the others as much as I can, but it can’t always be avoided. Taiga lacks any healers.” Though he’d try to search for one soon if he can find one, someone that would want to heal the children. Each one he infected would just be more to add to his list of failures and things he’d have to make right. It figured the fairies would not bless the Taiga as other lands had been blessed. They seemed forsaken no matter what they did.
“The family is well, though. As well as we can be. Aten helps in just about everything, and Jinju guards the children when I need to be away. Polaris still does not enjoy when I must leave, and Rian… will get better, I hope. His mother’s absence is hard on him. Lilitha leads now,” he looked over to him to see if he recognized the name. Magnus likely knew the first and only king of Taiga. “She is Romek and Maribel’s adopted daughter. She has a girl of her own now too that she adopted.”
His lips twisted up in a wry smile. Adopting seemed to run in the family, and in the Taigans in general. Even Ainlif had found a child wandering and had taken her in, it seemed.
He didn’t mention his ex-wife. Or his only children by blood.
They were gone.
“And how is your family, Magnus?” Ruan figured the man had had children of his own, new and old, and they’d never really gotten to talk to each other about their families.
and it's not by fire but what's forged in flame can drown the sorrows of a huntsman's pain
although this world is made of fearsome beasts that bark and bite we were born to put these creatures through one hell of a fight
If Ruan and Magnus both knew of each other’s history, they may be surprised to know of the similarities between the two—the guilt and the anger that brews beneath the surface, that heavy weight of duty that rests on their shoulders, the ache for all of their shortcomings. Magnus has watched as nature and fae have ripped apart his homes, and he’s beaten himself black and blue for not being able to save those he loved.
Of course, they do not share such thoughts, and he has no way of knowing everything that simmers within Ruan—all of the resentment and the betrayal that has morphed over the years to settle into his chest.
All he sees is the wolfish stallion with the clear, hard gaze and the rare humor that tilts his smile up.
“I am glad to hear that you have all been safe,” he offers before shaking his head and dismissing the apology. “You are fine. I have been exposed to so many facets of the plague that I’m surprised that I don’t have symptoms of it yet.” He has no way of knowing that it simmers in his veins, but he doesn’t fear it in any way that it may show. “Tephra is a safe place in that it won’t spread further.” A safety bought with the blood and the sacrifice of Warrick—a safety that Magnus was not keen on forgetting any time soon.
“But we also do not have any healers. Not yet.”
He shrugs, feeling the familiar pang of self-hatred. He needed healers to call Tephra home so that he could keep the rest of his kingdom safe. They had been graced with the help of Cress and then Brennen, but they still didn’t have any residents within their borders who could help when it was needed.
“Your family is sprawling then,” he says with a grin. “Good. That’s good.” His gaze wanders out across Tephra and a slight frown touches his brows before it washes away. “My family is…expanding.” He finally settles on a word. “I have more children than I ever thought that I would but they are independent and roaming and it’s difficult to keep tabs on all of them.” He feels it a pinch of regret and then a slow burn of it as he looks to ruan. “I have never been a terribly perfect father. I wish I was better at keeping them all together so that I could keep an eye on them, but they all have a mind of their own.”
it's not by bone but yet by blade can break the magic that the devil made
He flashed a grateful smile at his friend when Magnus dismissed his apology. Not that he could help being sick, but it was frustrating when it interrupted conversation. And this was important conversation to him. A long awaited one. Things in Taiga had kept his hands so full he hadn't even had the time to see Magnus. Or anyone but the Taigans.
And the one time he finally took a moment to himself, their entire world fell apart.
He walked and listened. Tephra didn't have healers either then. They seemed to be a rare breed. Ruan only knew of Bright that may be able to heal or ease symptoms, but she was nowhere to be found. Doing her own things, no doubt. Important enough not to return for her boy yet, so they must have been dire.
"Your family is sprawling then," Magnus joked and he huffed a soft laugh. "Good. That's good."
He continued to tell Ruan that his own family was growing, that he had more children than he ever thought he would. That they were independent and roaming. Ruan frowned and looked to him when he said he had never been a perfect father and that he wished he was better at keeping his children together so he could look out for them.
"You are too hard on yourself. They make their own choices and that is no reflection or measurement of yourself as a father." He knew it so certainly. His own dawn and twilight daughter had left home to forcefully takeover a kingdom, something he would never, ever encourage or even expect of any of his children. She absolutely hadn't learned that from him, so he knew all too well they would make their own choices, for better or worse.
"Have you married? Or are you not a marrying man? We haven't had the opportunity to talk about it." He grimaced in regret. He would've preferred to have had more time to speak with him, and people outside of his home in general. Either answer would be welcome; he held no judgement, only curiosity.
and it's not by fire but what's forged in flame can drown the sorrows of a huntsman's pain
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