"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
That morning she had woke with an itch. A need. As the twins finished their breakfast she had stared out across the water, feeling the strength of her desire as it pulled at her from across the channel. Impatiently she had waited, feeling as though they moved particularly slow that morning she’d quickly passed them off to their father the moment he’d showed up. Of course, she hadn’t explained to Klaudius her intentions for her day, she’d simply left.
Too much time had passed since she had last stood upon the shores of her beloved island home. Ischia. Her heart swelled to feel the familiar touch of the sand as it clung to her sea dampened coat. The tangy sweet scent of the tropical flora flooded her senses, clearing her mind of all memory of the sulfurous smog of Tephra. Despite her disdain for her temporary home she knew she could not remain on Ischia for too long. Her girls were waiting for her upon the rocky shore just beyond the horizon under the careful watch of their father. His flaws aside, Klaudius was a devoted and affectionate father. Naturally, he wouldn’t approve of her quick trek there, his rivalry had since intensified. The lavender stud took great pride in her position there with him.
Striding confidently forward she knew her father would have no difficulty in finding her there. No doubt he had wondered where she had gone off to and she owed him an explanation or, at least, some version of it. She could not imagine Brennen receiving news of his daughter’s secret affair and subsequent children well.
It weighed heavily upon her, the truth. She loved her father and missed her mother desperately. It was a hope of her that, one day, she would return to Ischia, her daughter’s in tow. Kove would love the vibrancy of the island, the parrots would provide an endless amount of entertainment for her. Not to mention they both would thrive with having family so close. That was what she missed more than anything else.
The world is tense, primed and ready to change, and Brennen is primed along with it. He thrives on quiet family life, and his Brotherhood and his Island were exactly that which he wanted. But he is built for war, and trained for war, and he will not stand by and let someone damage his Kingdom, or his allies, or his family; he will defend them with violence and resume his quiet life later. It doesn’t help that his family itself seems to be scattering, breaking apart at the seams; Jesper in Sylva, one of the twins gone to Sylva, Astarael gone, Khaeli and Alonwy missing, and more recently Mosrael missing as well.
He might not speak to his children every day, but anyone who thinks he doesn’t notice who is around and who isn’t is stupid.
So he is very glad to see her on the shore, Mosrael that is, and strides forward himself with a welcome call of greeting. She looks hale and healthy (in direct contrast to the way that Jesper had returned to them) and that eases many of his worries. She is an adult, after all, who is well able to choose to relocate if she really wants to. Mostly, Brennen had been worried because his daughter hadn’t shown any indication she was unhappy here; in contrast she had seemed to be determined to prove her place as a Kraken of Ischia, so he had been puzzled by her disappearance. Now, as he closes the distance between them, he supposes she must have found something else that caught her fancy. He hopes that it will be fleeting, because he rather liked having her around here instead.
Brennen is prepared to be fully supportive of her choices, her new adventure, but there are several familiar scents on his daughter’s coat when he reaches her and moves to embrace her. The first is that of Tephra, which is not in itself offensive. He himself has recently visited Tephra, and counts Warrick and his people as valuable allies. What causes him to draw back, worry and anger in the back of his eyes, is the scent of Klaudius on Mosrael. Klaudius, who has recently tried to steal from them and found himself banished from Ischia’s shores. “Did he hurt you?” he asks, eyes flashing, and there is no doubt about whom he is speaking. Others would snarl and growl the words, or yell, but Brennen’s voice is his normal drawl, only deadly quiet.
If Klaudius had done anything to Mosrael against her wishes, even the protection of a King who is an ally would not protect him.
Ischia thrummed with a primal energy. Charged and poised against an unseen shadow of darkness lurking just beyond the effects of light. Her heart pounded in her chest, eager and ready to join the fray. Everything was the same and, yet, everything felt different. The sands beneath her hooves offered its warm embrace, reaching deep into the depths of her troubled soul. Her place there among the Krakens had forever been a lingering question. She was unsure if she would ever fully belong to them, not with the subject of her gender being a reoccurring issue. At times it felt as though she aligned more with he warriors of Nerine than those of her own birthplace. It was that thought alone that troubled her and crept back up upon her as she stood upon the it’s shores once more.
Now, she was a mother. Her relationship with her childrens’ father was, yet another, nagging question that had slowly consumed the quiet moments of her existence, easily replacing the ones of her past. She could not deny her feelings for the lavender hued stallion, no matter how hard she tried to battle against them they always prevailed. Exhaling her eyes hardened at the memories that refused to release their hold upon her. Klaudius had weakened her, but she could not bring herself to part with him.
A familiar call is carried upon the salty breeze as it breaks through the concentration of her ponderings. Slipping back to reality, her faraway gaze snaps onto the excited approach of her father. Her heart leaps for joy, her mind discarding all her previous inhibitions, the ones that had kept her away for far too long. Eagerly she welcomed his embrace, leaning into it’s familiarity as she breathed in his warm scent. He tenses, however, just as her eyes begin to close and her brow furrows in its place as he draws suddenly away.
The normal warmth of his gaze is hard and searching when she meets his questioning gaze. The lump in her throat reforms itself, this time thicker. One million questions burn behind the black of his irises and a myriad of answers swirled in a giant mass of confusion within her mind. When he speaks it’s the quiet calm of his speech that obliterates her barriers.
She could not protect Klaudius anymore.
“No, father,” she offers, her voice smooth despite the rumbling of turmoil she felt. “It was consensual. We met the day you assumed the throne. I have been residing in Tephra with him.”
It was almost too easy to remember their moment upon the beach and how it had been Brennen’s own call that had pulled them apart. What she had said and what begged to be freed were two completely different beasts. Her questions about her role in Klaudius’ life still remained and the depths of his affections for her still confused her more and more the longer she chose to remain at his side. How could she possibly explain things she herself failed to understand?
And then there was the twins.
One truth she could not bear to part with. One aspect of the story she knew would pain him above all else. And, not because they existed, but because they did and she, his own daughter, refused to allow them to meet.
