08-24-2018, 09:56 PM
The advantage of both being male and taking an extraordinary long time to really settle down: he has a lot of children. He feels no shame in that, though the recent resentment of one of his daughters had made him take some time for introspection on the topic. And he has lost children before now – some he has simply outlived, some he has never met, and he has even lost some before to violence. This time was different; a heavier sorrow, a lingering fury. Perhaps it is because Khaeli was so little – not a grown woman gone to fight in a war, but a little girl barely fledged. Perhaps it is because they were not just casualties of a war that claimed many lives, but specifically targeted because someone knew it was a good way to hurt him. Perhaps it is because of the magic that was gifted to him shortly afterward – his control has been intermittent and uncertain, and his temperament has reflected that.
Whatever the reason, the grief this time is harder to deal with. And his mate is just as lost – they have both fought through their periods of mourning to raise two more daughters, Taeryn who had been just born when Khaeli and Alonwy had disappeared and little Raeva, now just fledging herself. Each have been the life raft for the other in the deepest currents of depression, as well as serving as shoulder to cry on and wall to rage against for their other children who have felt the loss most keenly. Despite the fact that they seem, on the outside, to be managing well, there are moments when they cannot bear to be comforted any longer.
It’s in one of those darkest moments that he’s stolen away, that’s when Scorch finds him. Not that she’s better at finding him that his heart, Galilee who brings out the best and most reasonable side of him, but more than Galilee knew this was not a time in which he wanted to be found. Most likely, she was off keeping a careful eye on mom-I’m-almost-two-now Taeryn and look-at-what-I-can-do Raeva. He wasn’t expecting her, but her presence is not unwelcome. He can sense, rather than having to turn and see, the way her eyes linger on the vines and tree surrounding them, so reminiscent of her Jungle. Unlike many, her mere presence doesn’t grate on his oversensitive nerves; instead of two discordant notes, her presence is a soothing chord; he doesn’t have to slam down shields to protect himself.
Scorch’s touch warms his skin where they have contact, and he leans into the comfort an old friend can offer. No matter what he has with Galilee, and their bond is still strong, he and Scorch share a multitude of old memories and experiences that have left them irrevocably changed. Emotional bonds are complicated – she has the love of her life, and Brennen has a mare he loves as much as any other mate he’s taken – and theirs is too old not to have it’s knots. When she speaks, it brings images of all of his children to the forefront, but he lets the older losses fade away and keeps the freshest pain just behind his closed eyelids. “Alonwy was graceful, and poised. She never wanted to be anything powerful in life, but she would have made a great mom herself some day. She was so gentle with the little ones, even when all of her brothers had totally lost their patience.” She may not have been the ‘most fun’ sibling, but she was the one the littles had always run to with scraped knees and bad dreams. “Khaeli was still just a baby, but she was so bright. Everything was exciting to her, an adventure to be conquered, an enemy to be vanquished. She would have made a great Amazon.”
He opens his eyes, then, and runs his nose down her neck with a sigh as the images of them fade from their impression on his eyes. Someday, they will be memories he thinks of fondly, sad but bearable. Someday he won’t feel like he needs to go to war and destroy things to avenge them. Someday. But he can feel the magic stirring inside him in a way that he knows spells questionable results and so he reaches for a distraction - “Tell me about yours.” he says, burying his face in her next where her mane might once have been.
Whatever the reason, the grief this time is harder to deal with. And his mate is just as lost – they have both fought through their periods of mourning to raise two more daughters, Taeryn who had been just born when Khaeli and Alonwy had disappeared and little Raeva, now just fledging herself. Each have been the life raft for the other in the deepest currents of depression, as well as serving as shoulder to cry on and wall to rage against for their other children who have felt the loss most keenly. Despite the fact that they seem, on the outside, to be managing well, there are moments when they cannot bear to be comforted any longer.
It’s in one of those darkest moments that he’s stolen away, that’s when Scorch finds him. Not that she’s better at finding him that his heart, Galilee who brings out the best and most reasonable side of him, but more than Galilee knew this was not a time in which he wanted to be found. Most likely, she was off keeping a careful eye on mom-I’m-almost-two-now Taeryn and look-at-what-I-can-do Raeva. He wasn’t expecting her, but her presence is not unwelcome. He can sense, rather than having to turn and see, the way her eyes linger on the vines and tree surrounding them, so reminiscent of her Jungle. Unlike many, her mere presence doesn’t grate on his oversensitive nerves; instead of two discordant notes, her presence is a soothing chord; he doesn’t have to slam down shields to protect himself.
Scorch’s touch warms his skin where they have contact, and he leans into the comfort an old friend can offer. No matter what he has with Galilee, and their bond is still strong, he and Scorch share a multitude of old memories and experiences that have left them irrevocably changed. Emotional bonds are complicated – she has the love of her life, and Brennen has a mare he loves as much as any other mate he’s taken – and theirs is too old not to have it’s knots. When she speaks, it brings images of all of his children to the forefront, but he lets the older losses fade away and keeps the freshest pain just behind his closed eyelids. “Alonwy was graceful, and poised. She never wanted to be anything powerful in life, but she would have made a great mom herself some day. She was so gentle with the little ones, even when all of her brothers had totally lost their patience.” She may not have been the ‘most fun’ sibling, but she was the one the littles had always run to with scraped knees and bad dreams. “Khaeli was still just a baby, but she was so bright. Everything was exciting to her, an adventure to be conquered, an enemy to be vanquished. She would have made a great Amazon.”
He opens his eyes, then, and runs his nose down her neck with a sigh as the images of them fade from their impression on his eyes. Someday, they will be memories he thinks of fondly, sad but bearable. Someday he won’t feel like he needs to go to war and destroy things to avenge them. Someday. But he can feel the magic stirring inside him in a way that he knows spells questionable results and so he reaches for a distraction - “Tell me about yours.” he says, burying his face in her next where her mane might once have been.