06-27-2017, 01:13 PM
The appearance of his father grounds him.
Something was different, his never-changing father has changed. Had he ever really looked at his father when he was a child? That had been and oversight, and he does so now. Of course, Offspring had gone through many changes, like anyone with such an ancient soul. But these things were before Levi, to him the ebony king had stood a statue of the eternal stoic. In Levi’s eyes, he had always been a king (crowned or uncrowned), he had always been burning, he had always been untouchable.
His mismatched eyes are evaluating the larger stallion, his pale face rigid as his thoughts tick methodically in his mind. His body is uncannily unmoving, his head high on his thick neck, accentuated by his roached mane. Offspring seems, older. The grasses around the king smolder as he approaches, his crimson eyes equally intense as the heat rolling off his body in waves. But Levi does not wilt under the strength of his father’s gaze, he meets it and reflects it back. Interested, wary.
His father reaches out to him in greeting and he hesitates only for a moment before returning the gesture. His touch is the minimum of acceptable. His father may not be so pleased with his arrival after he heard what he must say.
“My son… you’ve come home.” The words hang in the sweltering air between them, but Levi barley notices the temperature of his birthplace, heat comes naturally to him. He hesitates briefly as he forms the sentence he must speak next. Flames came more naturally than words to him.
The journey for Hyaline had taken him two days. He had not rushed, he had used the time to contemplate his current situation – it had many facets. He decided his father would know soon, half the world would know, or already knew, soon and he did not want his father on unequal footing. The night may have been rash, but he did not regret it, at least not yet. With so many involved, there was no way he would remain anonymous. Maybe that had been his largest miss-step.
“Harboring me may put Tephra in a precarious situation.” A statement, the truth. He was not egotistical enough to believe he could manipulate his father. “Hyaline burned two nights ago,” and a few other things he doesn’t bother to mention, the lake boiled, the fish died, people were hurt, the earth shifted and rumbled, all are unnecessary details. If his father needed more details, he would ask. Hyaline Burned gets the point across. “but, I’m willing to earn my keep.” His voice is low and steady, despite his uncertainty. “And I’m not asking for protection.” He adds quickly. Levi was not hiding, he was doing the opposite. But he never was one for flowing words and his speech is a little more fragmented than normal, the only hint that he is not as confident as he appears.
His cards were on the table, and he had no idea what to expect from the ebony stallion now. Offspring may be his father, but he was also a king. Hellfire or ice Levi’s shoulders were broad enough to carry whatever he had coming.
Levi
so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.