[open] [All of Tephra] I burned your world away, devoured by my conviction;

[Levi]

He had lain beside and Rapture and had felt the rumbling of the earth below his outstretched form. This was something more than the volcano's characteristic purr, this was something bigger. This was something dangerous. 

He had brought Rapture to her feet with gentle urgings of his voice and muzzle. It was rare that he interrupted the sick mare's rest, and it pains him to do so, but he would not leave her alone. Not now. They had to be ready to move.

The call he had been expecting comes from the voice of a stranger, yet he heads it swiftly. Or, as swiftly as he can while making sure Rapture is not fatigued. 

Wings of flame write and twist above him as they move across the land, springing from his withers and widening, held high above his already towering frame, and that of his little blue lark.  She is protected, and the intensity of his mismatched gaze dares anyone to test this as the halt beside the group.

A mare names herself, Aysel, and his ears pin - sinking into the tumbling mass of his mane as he processes the terrible new she brings them but appreciating it all the same. His attention turns to the metallic stallion, who does not give a name, and his reserved, appraising mask does not soften. His heavy skull turns again, tracing the sound of another voice. But finally, it is a voice he knows. 

Magus' words resonate within his core; his father's peer and an ancient warrior, the golden stallion was not one he took lightly. The boy, who Levi also has met, seems to feel the same way, offering a display of submission and faith. 

"Magnus," the once-heir of Tephra begins after a moment of quiet observation, his husky bass is gritty the effects of a lifetime spent breathing in ash and sulfur "I trust you to lead Tephra through this."

His message is brief, and when it is over he breaks the intense connection of his mismatched gaze to look to Rapture. The metallic stallion's idea of family and sanctuary were noble, but Levi had always been more comfortable a soldier. It was when his life had held the most meaning, and it's something he wants again.

Soldiers needed kings and queens who know about war - it's how Tephra would survive.

Levi

so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.