"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
take my head & kick it in break some bread for all my sins
As their pleasantries come to an end and the topic of conversation shifts to something more diplomatic, Dahmer draws back more so that he may observe Magnus. Though, admittedly, he does get distracted.
Karaugh saunters by after another moment, that grin still playing at her face. The black beast nearly laughs. He is intrigued by the way their visit to Sylva has unfolded, and who is he to refuse an offer to tour the territory of a potential ally? Blue eyes flick to his buckskin King but he remains silent for a moment to assess the situation.
He would not usually leave Magnus alone, but they had been quite well received here in Sylva, and Dahmer feels a bit more at ease with the idea of separating momentarily. "Please call for me when you are ready to leave for Tephra?" He watches the buckskin , awaiting his answer before turning to Djinni. Dahmer smiles at her warmly and nods his dark head, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Djinni. May we cross paths soon."
He follows in Karaugh's wake, disappearing into the trees.
Magnus watched with amusement as Karaugh and Dahmer interact, the mare curling a proverbial finger at his companion and leading him away. He nodded toward the black stallion and then turned back to Djinni, chuckling under his breath and rolling his shoulders. “Well, they certainly look like they’re going to go have fun.” He didn’t begrudge the stallion for following his more primal instincts, or even think less of him, but he did take note of them; it was a good thing to know about Dahmer for future visits.
Turning his bright gaze back to Djinni, he grinned at her, happy to dive back into the more surface-level diplomacy. “I certainly would not have complained to share Tephra with the sisterhood,” he mused, thinking on it. “I grew up in the jungle. I have always had a deep respect for the Amazons.” Magnus didn’t speak about his mother and how he had technically grown up a prince; it wasn’t really necessary for the conversation and he wasn’t one to boast—especially for things just handed to him. He had done nothing to earn his title of Prince. It was simply a circumstance of his birth. Not anything to brag on.
“Tephra was originally led by an alliance of the Tundra, Chamber, Valley, and Gates.” His lopsided smile grew at the explanation; he knew just how odd that sentence sounded. “However, the other original leaders have since stepped down to lead private lives within the land. Leaving me.” He shrugged again and gave her a somewhat boyish grin. “Although I don’t like to think of myself as ruling anything. I am just there to guide as best I can. I am lucky to have great members and a strong Council.”
He considered telling her more about their current system, but since she had not explicitly asked, he decided against it. He had always preferred to keep his cards close to his chest anyway. “What of Sylva? You said you and Stillwater rule it, but how are you guys established? More of a traditional kingdom?”
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
She watches, amused, as Dahmer and Karaugh disappear, and she gives the black stallion a friendly smile and a nod of acquiescence in response to his farewell. Their interaction had been breif, and she wonders for a moment if Karaugh’s strength in diplomacy lies solely in her sexual appeal. There’s no harm if that is the case, though she does hope (and she’s not sure why) that Stillwater had seen some skill set beyond that. What he does in his cave is his business, but she’d rather not someday place the fate of the kingdom in the hands of someone less than capable of the responsibility.
As Magnus turns back to the matter at hand, Djinni refocuses on the conversation. He’d grown up in the Jungle, it seems, and she is not surprised. It seems the Jungle had created strong men as well as strong women, a suspicion confirmed when Magnus says that he has been left in charge of Tephra. “An interesting combination of former kingdoms,” she says, picking up on his grin at the odd conglomeration. There were mortal enemies in that grouping, but it seems that the Reckoning has forced them to find their common interests. Lucrezia had said much the same thing, Djinni remembers. Perhaps she had been referring to her new homeland when she’d said it.
“Kreios led his kingdom here after the Reckoning, so most of the former residents of the Falls live here.” She replies. “He and Ygritte seem to have organized it more like a very large herd, something that Marlyn and now Stillwater and myself have continued.” Those few horses that had been here at her arrival were rather set in their ways, and Djinni was not inclined to challenge them. Things seem to be going well regardless. “We’ve kept up the tradition of alliances though, and have recently cemented one with Nerine. I’ve not yet met with many of the other land leaders to see where they stand.” She doesn’t ask a question, but instead leaves it open, for Magnus to pick up if he so desires.
current appearance: natural build - slim smokey grullo tobiano green eyes
“The most interesting indeed,” he said, his voice gravely.
“I used to serve in the Chamber under my father for a time so while I was not fond of it after the raid,” a gross understatement, “I at least trusted there was good in it.” His mouth sharpened. “It was a tougher pill to swallow to work alongside the Valley.” There were deep prejudices there—bitter angers he still had not quiet untangled. “But I met and trusted Eight well enough.” He shrugged a scarred shoulder. “Truthfully, I was most invited by Offspring and he seemed like a good man whose interested were aligned with mine. After the Reckoning, it didn’t seem wise to stick to old lines. It was a time to work together.”
He listened as she explained their land, nodding politely and then giving her a grin. “It seems like there is a home here, which is nice. I am glad to know things have settled for you all.” He perks his ears a little at the thought of alliances but dismisses it for now. Tephra had not yet formed any official alliances and while he was seeking unofficial truces with kingdoms, he had not yet formalized anything yet. There did not yet seem a need for them with no war brewing; politics in general seemed to have died down.
It was an unsettling feeling, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to stir the waters yet.
It may be best to let the sleeping dog lie.
Finding her gaze again, the corner of his mouth curled. “Perhaps you could show me around?” A chuckle as he nodded in the direction that the other two had disappeared. “It can be a slightly different tour.” Still, there was a twinkle in his eye of good humor and mirth was apparent in his lopsided, scarred smile.
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
He mentions the Chamber, and Djinni doesn’t hide the curiosity in her expression. She had spent some time in the Chamber, but it was never quite enough to call it home – it was simply where Walter was. The names that Magnus includes in tale are strangers to her – Offspring, Eight – but it seems that since they’re gone away she might never even meet them. It matters little, she decides.
The lull that Beqanna rests in is not as desirable for Djinni; she has always been the one to do the stirring. She had promises to keep and oaths to uphold though, and for now doesn’t press the idea of alliances. Instead she smiles graciously as the buckskin stallion suggests that she show him around. “I’d be glad to show you Sylva,” she replies, stepping forward. She moves past Magnus a little closer than necessary, flirtatious but not especially tempting, and adds that: “Though it probably won’t be as exciting as theirs…unless you’re especially interested in trees.”
Djinni grins, gesturing into the woods ahead of her. Sylva is full of deciduous trees, and while she does miss the sweet scent of pines and the tropical notes of her beloved palms, there is something soothing about this forest. It is old, despite the fact that it doesn’t seem to have existed prior to the reckoning. Or perhaps it had existed someplace else? She has never delved too deeply into the theoretical conflicts of magic; she has never needed to. They continue to walk for a ways until the sound of rushing water reaches their ears. Ahead, winding through the autumnal woods, is a brief stretch of white water, complete with a waterfall the height of an average horse.
“Not especially grandiose,” says the grullo mare as she turns to the stallion with a smile, “But rather fitting considering the history behind so many of the residents here.”
current appearance: natural build - slim smoky grullo tobiano sea green eyes
She is sweet and flirtatious, but he views it as more mischievous than anything, her green eyes glinting out from beneath the thicket of her forelock. He laughs at her words, at the playfulness that runs beneath them and shakes his head. “Who knows? There have been characters with stranger desires before.” He purposefully drops his voice to husk, a seductive roll of velvet as he steps forward next to her. “Who knows just what…” his voice drops off as his eyes, smoldering and molten, find her own, “excites me.”
But the heat cools from his eyes as he laughs, the teasing returning to the handsome lines of his face.
As his laughter grows silent, he continues to follow her throughout the forest, tracking next to her, easily keeping pace. The woods themselves were beautiful—tinged with autumn color, brightness of the leaves fluttering around them, the ground crunching with each step. He could see the allure of calling this piece of land home—the beauty of it, the peace, the solitude. He could see why it would draw those like Djinni.
(Although he had a feeling that she herself did not hunger for peace and quiet.)
When they reached the waterfall, he tipped his head to consider it. It certainly did not match the majesty of the Falls in its splendor, but it was beautiful all the same and it brought a smile to his inky lips. “Your land is truly something to behold,” he shifted to face her fully. “I lived in the Falls for but a moment of time, but its residents were always kind. I am glad to know that there is a place that plays homage to it.”
The other lands were not so lucky. There were no deserts, no mountains, no valleys—nothing that could hold a candle to the peaceful tranquility of the Gates. Everything they had so long loved was gone.
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
She reaches over as she laughs, bumping his shoudler playfully with her muzzle as she passes by. “We’ve got large rocks too – perfect for the connoisseur. ” Adds the grullo mare with a wink.
And they do have plenty of rocks. The large boulders that litter the hilly land are explicably numerous. If they were all the same type she might be able to overlook them, but their varied types – limestone, granite, basalt – are a constant puzzle. There’s one only a few hundred yards ahead and she gestures to it with a smile as if to see: See? Look! The oval rock is shoulder height to small Djinni, but it is four times as long and the bits of sunlight the reach through the canopy glitter on the flecks of quartz.
He compliments the land of Sylva and she inclines her head in gratitude. The forest has grown on her over the past few years as well. There was nothing quite like it anywhere that she’s been before, and even more pleasant is the residents. They are quiet people, quieter even than those of the Desert she remembers. Her responsibilities are few and far between, and the respite has been giving her time to think – to plan.
He mentions living in the Falls, and Djinni replies that: “It seems you’ve lived a great many places.” There is curiosity in her bright eyes, and she asks: “Which has been your favorite?”
current appearance: natural build - slim smoky grullo tobiano brown eyes
He is watching where the water meets the pond, the splashing just barely grazing the hard angles of his face, when she asks the question. He turns his head back to find her, his gold-flecked eyes contemplative as he considers the light green of her eyes, the grullo coloring of her body. “I have lived in a great many places in my lives,” he answers with an elusive smile, the final act crooked and scarred but charming.
He shifted and then settled. “It is obviously quite a long story, but I can give you the abbreviated version.” His short tail flicks behind to sting his haunches. “Like I said, I was born in the Jungle with my mother. I left to live in the Chamber under my father for a while and eventually moved to the Gates. After that, there was the Dale, then the Falls and then back to the Gates.” He gave an easy grin—he knew just how odd his story was. “I returned there time and time again until the Reckoning and Tephra came to me.”
His story stripped out the meat, the titles he had held, the wars he had fought in, the deaths and lives he had experienced, but it was enough. “It’s hard to say which one was a favorite, because they all served what I needed during that season in my life.” He found her eyes again, hoping she would understand.
“That being said, the Jungle is the home of my heart and the Gates became the home of my choosing. I miss them both desperately.” Another pause as he fought back the demons, the way that the clung to the side of him, ripping at his chest. “What about you? Where did you call home before all of this?”
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
Immortality is not uncommon in Beqanna, but the way that Magnus refers to his lives suggests that there is something more than that to his story. She returns his smile, suspecting that prying behind that elusive grin is unlikely to yield results. She does not mind – they all have their secrets – but her smile does seem a bit more genuine as the buckskin stallion gives her the condensed very of what she expects is a rather long tale.
Djinni listens, genuinely interested, and she smiles as he speaks of moving back and forth from one kingdom to another. He speaks of returning to the Gates in the same way she feels she must speak of returning to Beqanna – except that she does not ever speak of it. As someone who has only recently called a land home, she does not entirely understand. Still, her smile is warm and she does manage to elicit a small bit of empathy (not his fault, hers – and not even a fault) for his circumstances. She is quiet when he is. Something in his expression tells her that he might need it.
Then he turns the question back to her. “I was born in the Deserts.” she tells him with a smile, “But after that I never settled. I spent some time in the Chamber, but never enough to call it home.” Djinni pauses, thinking of her conversation with Lucrezia. “I was fortunate, I think. I do not have anywhere to really miss. This New Beqanna is much the same as the Old one, at least for me.”
For all of his wandering, and for all of his changing of homes, Magnus had never been a vagabond, not truly. He was born and raised to be rooted to a kingdom—to pick up the shield and the sword and to serve it with his life is necessary. He was genetically deposed to be loyal to a kingdom and to pledge himself to the people within it. So while he could appreciate her story, as he was certain she could appreciate his own, he couldn’t truly understand it—not in his bones, not in the way that she deserved.
It was just a foreign concept to never tie yourself to a land, to not love a land.
“I suppose that makes you lucky, in a sense.” Because he certainly felt unlucky on some days when he woke up and his heart ached in his chest with memories of the Gates and her lovely Spring days, the light filtering through the Mother Tree and the wildfires painting majestic murals on her hills. He ached when he thought of the Jungle and her wild, untamable beauty—the way she never calmed beneath the palm of any Queen, instead forging ahead on her own. And yet—and yet, he also felt sorry for her, in a way.
“But also rather unlucky. To have and to love a home is a grand thing.” He twisted his head to the side a little, looking at her seriously. “I hope that you are one day able to experience something like it.” His gaze moved upward, to the new and yet ancient trees that shield them. “Perhaps you will love it here like that.”
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
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