He had found his way here, against all odds. A short barking call every few feet had helped with that immensely, as he'd skirted the shoreline and crossed the river lands. Blind as ever, he'd managed to avoid disaster by minding the echoes he created. The journey had surely been good practice in this new skill he'd discovered soon after his rather unusual drowning experience.
He was here on business, looking to explore the alliance that had been declared between Loess and his island home. His queen had commanded that he be her ambassador. As such, he was trusted to represent Ischia in her stead. It was with pride that he took up this task.
The grey and pale man had not traveled so far since his nomadic childhood, and a piece of him was worried that once he left the safe bounds of the island, he'd never return. He was glad he had won that particular internal battle, however.
The petals of his ears rotated constantly, taking in the ambient noises, constantly vigilant threats to his being. Thus he had arrived unscathed. Now he stood in the middle of what he judged to be a sort of common ground, if the many varied horse scents were anything to go by. As good of a place as any to wait to be discovered.
When mother ruled Nerine, she continuously skirted the borders of their home with hawk eyes. Castile remembers shadowing her, observing her, mirroring her. It was a responsibility, she once advised him, and he grimaced at the idea of passing his days wandering the same trail keeping his eyes peeled for outsiders. Grasping onto a leadership position had never been on his agenda, but Ivar seemingly found him suitable to help guard Loess and Lepis. Heda, Castile assumes, is capable of defending herself.
But on this day, the tobiano takes to the skies instead of walking across the rocky outcroppings of the land. His wings beat rhythmically as the winter gale helps lift him higher. Lackadaisical circles, spins, dives, and glides keep his interest on the task at hand. An occasional puff of black smoke from his nostrils stirs his curiosity as well. Up here, he is content to revel in his solitude and escape the few responsibilities he has. Unfortunately, it concludes not long after when he notes a stranger wandering to their metaphorical walls.
The descent is gradual and unrushed despite the hungry urgency ringing in his head.
(Trespasser)
Castile suppresses the monster writhing inside him when his hooves all alight and he draws nearer to the stranger. When he breathes in, it’s with an uncertainty of tropical flowers and the ocean. A brow quirks and his nostrils flutter. ”Hello,” he begins after taking note of the foreigner’s blindness, ”I’m Castile.” For years, he was content keeping to himself and meeting only a few others, but this new role has requirements of him. ”Is there anything I can help you with? And if you don’t mind telling me where you’re from; the scent isn’t very familiar.” There are few places he hasn’t visited. Each of the names plays like a reel through his mind with their associated smells, but still, nothing rings in his mind as another breath is gulped down.
There is a beating of wings against air, followed by the beating of hooves on the earth. So his contact is winged? Interesting. The scent was the next thing to reach him. Horse, masculine, with an undercurrent of something he'd never encountered before. Almost like the skittery lizards that basked on the island's beaches, but more harsh, more acid.
It was a little worrying, if he was being honest. Nyxa was a shifter , and he could handle that. But the unpredictability of that trait in a stranger made for cautious interactions. As he was here on an act of diplomacy, caution was needed anyway, so what did it really matter? The stranger addressed him, introducing himself as Castile. The grey man filed the information away for later. He smiled in Castile's general direction, offhandedly revealing the sharp points of his teeth.
"Greetings Castile. I am Hod of Ischia, ambassador of her Keeper, Queen Krone. We hold an alliance with the people of Loess, and I am here on a mission of goodwill. I bear gifts for your queen" He smiled again, gesturing to the bundle of taro leaves at his feet. He'd worked hard on these trinkets, hopefully they'd be enjoyed.
@[Castile]
(Bared teeth. A threat.)
Hidden from Hod’s vision is the way Castile’s eyes narrow briefly and his ears fall slightly backward.
(Trespasser. A threat.)
But it isn’t a malicious show of teeth, but a jagged smile. With desperation, Castile subdues the creature writhing in anger within him. His body leans from one side to the other, his hooves settling in new crevices. Slowly, his eyes brighten again beneath the winter sunlight and further take in the sight of the porcelain male. ”Hod,” he repeats contemplatively in acceptance before shifting his focus to the business at hand.
Ambassadors, diplomacies, alliances.
The words were fleeting memories to him once. Mother would mention them in idle thought, but she had more of a sight for an empire than friends. He remembers how tightly she kept him at her side, how she always had an eye on him when he wanted to roam. Enemies were lined up with agitated relationships with mother. For some odd reason, it thrilled her. Nayl enjoyed the tension, but feared that someone would grab her children as leverage. Castile was a victim of her fear and watched as her reign unfolded with a brutish mindset.
So, he tries to approach his position with a level-headed perspective.
”Thank you,” he says when he looks down to see the pile of leaves clustered at Hod’s feet. A small grin sweeps across Castile’s lips, but recedes when reminded that the Ischia male cannot see him. ”Had I known you were coming I could’ve mustered something up. My apologies,” he doesn’t ask if it’s customary to bear gifts but the thought crosses his mind. ”Lepis seems to be occupied at the moment. If she’s unable to make it here right now, I will gladly bring the leaves to her.” Be kind, he repeats to himself thoughtfully, trying to handle this diplomatic visit as best he can.
A pause settles between them, however, and Castile rolls his broad shoulders in a shrug. ”You’ve traveled far. Would you like to stay to recover or perhaps just rest and drink some water?” Mother never allowed outsiders into Nerine, not unless she was familiar with them, but Castile swerves into a different path than her.
I am lying on my back, watching as the thick winter clouds blow across the sky. They make the most fantastic shapes. One looks like a fish, and that one there looks like a flying horse.
I blink, and it takes me a moment to realize that its not a cloud after all, but an actual flying horse.
Not Mother, I know, but rather Uncle Castile, probably soaring on the thermals that Mother has told me exist above the hills, in part due to the boiling springs.
For a while I watch him circling with the same mindless fascination with which I had been watching the clouds. He banks quickly though, disappearing behind the high hills, and I wonder if he has found something interesting. Checking to be sure Mother is not watching, I roll to my feet and head in the direction on the hills behind which the black and white pegasus had vanished.
It takes me quite a bit longer on foot, but I arrive just in time to hear someone say that they have brought me gifts. Gifts! I break through the underbrush (looking a bit windblown and out of breath) but the idea of gifts is quite exciting. Have I ever gotten a gift before?
"Hello!" I say to the strange, smiling widely before glancing up at Uncle Castile. He is getting shorter, I decide, or I am getting taller. I hope it is the latter. "I'm Lepis," I add for the stranger, who smells of warm water and flowers even in this chilly season.
There's a tension in the air as he waits for Castile's reaction. The winged man may well decide to turn him out without trial. The moment passes though, and the grey smiles at his sudden change in demeanor. He does not get the chance to respond to the other man's hospitable questions. A rustling scurry was quickly followed up with a girlish voice greeting them. The newcomer identifies herself as the very royal he was here to visit.
He smiles gently, this time making an effort to not expose too many teeth. "Hello Lepis. I'm Hod of Ischia. I was just telling Castile about the gifts I brought for you, on behalf of my queen." He dipped his head to the bundle of leaves at his feet, feeling his thick mane tumble about his shoulders as he did so. Leaf by leaf he opened it. Revealed inside were several items.
The first was a small collection of delicate shells and sea glass, glinting in the daylight light strange beetles. The second part of the gift was a bundle of dried fruits. Strips of mango and papaya, halved figs. They had been painstakingly guarded from hungry sea birds and monkeys as they dehydrated in the hot sun, crystallized with their natural sugars. Ischia was the only kingdom in Beqanna with a long enough growing season to support these delicacies.
"These are some of my favorite things to eat. The mangos especially, are even better dried like this. I think you'll enjoy them. And if I might suggest it, I think your guard here might appreciate them as well." He stepped back from his offering, hoping the young queen would like what he'd brought. It was nothing big or fancy, but they were items fairly unique to his home. And the pretty things were a nod to her youth. Ruling a kingdom was a heavy burden for a young girl, she should have lovely, fun things as well.
@[Castile] @[Lepis]
Admittedly, Castile admires the ignorant bliss that Lepis approaches the world. She was borne to a loving family – despite her father abandoning her early on – and was thrusted onto a royal throne. Darkness hasn’t yet curtained over her eyes and showed her what lies beyond Loess. With every visitor, she smiles. With every meeting she has, she is jubilant and kind.
Unfortunately, Castile cannot mirror her.
Hod’s demeanor flickers as easily as Castile’s, reacting to hesitance and every jagged smile. They are bulls thrown into a pen together, their instincts tampered by the presence of the child Queen.
An unfamiliar tenderness reflects in the way Castile idly lips his niece’s forelock before she pounces excitedly at the idea of gifts. A scrutinizing stare levels on the pile of leaves settled at Hod’s feet again. Originally, he thought it was just that: plants plucked from the bosom of Ischia. Alas, there are trinkets and treasures far beyond Castile’s expectations. They are laid out in front of them followed by an enthusiastic description from their guest. A glance finds Lepis then lifts to Hod then drops back to the small treasures. ”How kind of you,” he says with a lopsided grin and a nod.
(Hunt)
The twisting of his stomach wants something more than the mangoes, but Castile steps forward and nibbles on a piece before withdrawing back again. ”Thank you,” there is an increasing warmth in his voice before he tunnels his vision back down on the young Queen, ”You will enjoy it, Lepis.” It’s likely an unnecessary reassurance to her, but the words slip unbidden from his mouth in a most paternal manner. They aren’t related, not exactly, but at least he can one day tell his friend that Lepis has been carefully guarded beneath his wing. He cannot – will not – let Ivar down.
”Tell me more about Ischia. I have never been there.”
(Explore new hunting grounds)
I have not met very many others in my life, and the novelty of a stranger is as much a gift as is the treasures he now presents. Hod - I repeat his name in my head as the grey horse turns his attention to the leafy bundle at his feet. Uncle Castile's shoulder is close enough to lean into and I do so, shaking my head gently at the tickling in my mane.
He is the first to lean toward the fruits that Hod reveals, trying it before reassuring me that I'll like it too. I've never even heard of mangoes before, and it seems there are other types of foreign delicacies as well. I step toward the pile, but my attention is caught instead by the glittering shells. They smell of saltwater, and I delicately pluck a single white scallop from the bunch, putting it between my front hooves and smiling down at it happily for a moment. It doesn't occur to me that this might seem like odd behavior to the stranger; I'm only looking at the shell after all.
The black and white stallion at my side shifts, and I glance up to meet his mismatched eyes with a smile.
"I love it." I say aloud, repeating it as I look back at Hod again.
"I've never seen anything like it." The admission is true. Despite being nearly two years old, I've yet to leave the safety of Loess. Mother has been increasingly difficult to find, and Lepis often finds herself spending days searching for the buckskin mare. There's no need to explore other lands when all her time is taken up here in the hilly realm.
"Oh yes please! Tell us more of Ischia. Is it true that the seashore glows? And that the water is full of bloodthirsty sharks?!" I'm not entire sure about that last one. The seamonster had seemed amused by my reaction to that story, but his laughter hadn't reached his blue-grey eyes. But who better to let me know than a true resident of Ischia!
As usual, I realize only belatedly that this is probably the sort of situation where I should be acting more like an adult. More like a queen, and less like a child. Such occasions are becoming ever more common now, so I shake my white-tipped mane across my shoulder with a toss of my head, realizing as I do that it is almost as long as Kuma's now, and no longer the wispy brush of childhood. There's still a bright smile on my face and genuine curiosity in my own blue grey eyes, but I've pulled myself up straight, standing beside Castile and realizing that I'm barely a hand shorter than he is now.
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