Stranger in a strange land..(Akkadian, Any)

[magnus]

— find what you love and let it kill you —

For a moment, it was peaceful, quiet. He took a deep breath as the mare rested her head along his back, content to let silence reign between them for several moments. It was perhaps the first time since he had found his way down the mountain that he had allowed himself to relax. He was so focused on finding others, on helping whoever he could, that he had not given himself the opportunity to just stop. Now, standing here with the warmth of her resting against him, he could not help but notice the aches in his muscles and the exhaustion that crept like shadows along the edges of his vision.

Eventually, he would need to sleep.
Eventually.  (But not now.)

“Then we shall wait here,” he responded lightly, whiskey voice even and kind. “And you are certainly not a bother. It is a beautiful reprieve to send some time here with you.” It would be inaccurate to say that he didn’t have anywhere else to be, but the truth was he didn’t have somewhere more important to be. If his whole purpose was going to be helping others, then this was the best place for him.

But, of course, that peace was shattered the second Akkadian’s voice splintered the air. Magnus lifted his head slowly, gold-flecked eyes smoldering beneath the thicket of his forelock as the other stallion charged at them. He did not respond well to threats and thus did not listen to the command, rather staying still as the mare remained against him for several seconds. “Be careful how you speak to me, Akkadian,” he responded quietly, nodding toward the mare as she unwound from his side and moved over to her brother.

He had liked the stallion when they had first met in the meadow, had hoped to get to know him better, but he was also a proud stallion. Raised a Prince of two Kingdoms, served as King of another. He did not often call upon the years of kingdom training, but in this moment, he wore it like a crown, the soldier in him lifting his regal head, muscles tense. “I was simply helping.” The air between them was electric and he shifted slightly, gaze never faltering. He wasn’t one to start a fight, but he wasn’t against finishing one.

magnus