"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
Each exhaled breath is a cloud that streams to either side of her body as she walks, further blurring the edges of her vision. Fog already blankets the forest, though it grows progressively thinner as she travels farther and farther north. The cold that has prevented the northern creep of her forest’s fog has instead turned the moisture in the air to hoarfrost. What little vegetation remains (mostly the evergreens - pine and spruce and juniper) sparkles in the weak afternoon sunlight. The air here is more still than she expected; her hilly homeland always has a breeze of some sort, and she’d thought the same would be true of the terrain of Nerine. If she were down on the beach rather than at the heart of the kingdom, she would understand where the gales are trapped, beating against the unforgiving granite.
Lepis had considered flying, but she does not know her northern border well and has taken the chance to reacquaint herself with them. Despite the tension in their last meeting, Lepis has given the security of the north no further thought; Nerine might not be her very favorite, but they do not strike the golden tobiano mare as one to spill unnecessary blood. If there were to be losses as a consequence of what Lepis has planned, at least she trusted that none of them would be a loss of life. She is secure enough to come alone, having told her still drowsy nestmate that she was just going on walk. That was true of course (she has never lied to her husband), but the destination of her walk today is far different than her usual treks through the redwoods.
Shuffling her golden wings, the dun mare now pauses beside a path worn by many hooves. It is the first of its kind she’s come across on her journey north – a patrol route around the border of Nerine, she suspects. She stops beside it after a brief walk east and then west along it, satisfied that it will work as a demarcation of their border and a suitable place to wait. Raising her dun mouth, a clear call issues from her lips. She readjusts her weight, resting one golden hip against a broad tree trunk as a small gust of wind appears for just a moment to nip at the long strands of her navy mane. Lepis shakes them back into place as she settles in to wait.
Heartfire has never been a woman especially given to violence. Were she aware of Lepis’ thoughts on the matter, she would be inclined to agree that she is not one to spill unnecessary blood. The mistake however, lies in the belief that of the losses that might accrue, none of them would likely be life. Heartfire may not be an indiscriminate murderer, but she has little compunction in performing the act if she finds it necessary.
It does beg the question, however, if Wolfbane had shared the tale of how he’d come to defeat his own grandfather and consume his powers. Or had he so easily forgotten the image of his own grandmother standing, furious and blood-soaked, over the mangled corpse of his grandfather?
At this moment in time though, that reality is neither here nor there. Heartfire does not move towards the border with thoughts of murder on her mind. While it certainly would not be above her, she would never do such a thing without very good reason. Wolfbane is, after all, still her grandson. And that alone had afforded Lepis what leniency she has to give, limited as it may be.
She must admit she is rather surprised to find Lepis on her border though, with a call for conference upon her lips. She had thought their last meeting had made clear her disinclination to grant a request for secession or greater power. While she doesn’t doubt Lepis and Castile believe they have her pinned down, she had expected them to give the matter a little greater thought. After all, the scope of her reach is nothing to be dismissed. Unless, of course, they were choosing to blind themselves to it.
In any case, she highly doubts the woman is here to wave a white flag, so the visit is a rather curious one.
Her dark features are still and unreadable as she approaches the golden mare, blue eyes sharp and glittering as they slash across her lovely features. In contrast, Heartfire is rather plain. Almost unassumingly so. “Lepis,” she greets, her voice low and surprisingly pleasant. “Have you re-thought your position then, and come to retract your threat?”
Heartfire had declined to participate in the discussion that Lepis had started and the subsequent offer that the Comtesse had made, but at the mention of a ‘threat’, Lepis blinks. She is genuinely taken aback, despite having been sure she’d considered each potential ending to this conversation on her journey north.
“My threat?” She repeats, and the furrow of her blue striped brow matches the disbelief in her voice. Lepis might not be a spring chicken anymore, but surely she is not already losing her memory? She’d certainly not treated with Heartfire the same way that they had with Aten; there’s been no promise of violence if all did not go smoothly. But then, with a dawning realization in her voice (if not a clearing of her frown) she repeats: “My threat. My threat to make Taiga safer.”
She does not elaborate further, but the frown on her face lightens to something that is quite like the blank mask that Heartfire had worn on her visit to Nerine.
“I did come to discuss that, but I don’t think there’s anything to retract. I shared my plans and made you an offer. But if you felt that was a threat…” She trails off with a shrug of her winged shoulders, and this time there is amusement in her eyes when she adds: “You might not like this conversation either.”
Bane had asked her if she was happy, and while she’d given him an answer, the question has plagued her since. She had always been certain before. She would take Taiga, and then the North, and then Beqanna. Her world would be united and her family would be safe. Others’ families would be safe. That her methods are unorthodox is something she accepts, but she’d been sure if was the best way, the fastest way, the quickest way.
“I came to ask why you refused to discuss it. To find out why you think Nerine is more capable than Loess and her allies to defend Taiga, and why you think this quiet cliffside deserves to be the kingdom rather than our growing redwood forest.” Perhaps there is something she is missing, Lepis reasons. Aten had acquiesced to the logic of their demands. Heartfire should have been no different.
It would be quite amusing were the situation not so serious. Doubly so were she not positive that Lepis believed absolutely in what she was doing - in the righteousness of her actions and surety of success. She had come to realize there is an almost fanaticism that blinds her, driving her forward without allowing her pause to consider all facets.
And that would be her undoing.
Her determination to believe Heartfire powerless had blinded her to the very things occurring beneath her nose. She had only to stop and look to realize that perhaps she should step back. But Heartfire strongly doubts the thought would even occur to her. And that, ultimately, is what had inspired her refusal to discuss the matter with her. She has no interest in talking herself in circles. And while she wouldn’t be entirely shocked if Lepis came to see the light, she knows the likelihood of such a thing occurring very slim.
Still, it would be regrettable if the woman forced her to action. For all that Wolfbane’s betrayal of confidence stings, she does still have a care for him. And, though Heartfire couldn’t quite understand it, he cares a great deal for Lepis.
She doubts the winged woman had even realized it’s the only thing that has stayed her hand thus far. The only thing that had prevented their invasion being met with violence. Was Lepis even aware Lethy had come to her the moment they’d charged in, threats on their lips as they bullied Aten into stepping down?
It seems however, that Lepis had mistaken her mercy for weakness. She doesn’t bother to correct the assumption just yet. It still behooves her to have Lepis believing as she did. Much easier then, for her to miss everything that had already begun snowballing towards her.
“If discussion was your intent,” Heartfire replies finally after a stiff silence, “then you entirely missed the mark.”
Heartfire had offered her the chance to spin the story to her liking. She had chosen not to take it. And Heartfire has always rather had a knack for getting the heart of a matter. Perhaps Lepis had not made the threat verbally, but it was there nevertheless. Only a fool would be blind to it. Lepis might view Aten’s acquiescence as his surrendering to the so-called logic of her demands, but Heartfire knew better. He may have stepped down from the throne, but he had never surrendered.
“Frankly, I am not the one who refused to discuss it,” Heartfire continued after another moment, her eyes bright and flinty as her gaze bores into Lepis. “You did that when you refused to speak with me prior to threatening violence against the North.” Her voice is unyielding as she speaks, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Taiga is of the North, and thus, her move had been just as much against Nerine as it had been the forest. After all, Nerine may as well have been a coin-toss away when that decision was made. “Had you truly wished peace, you would have chosen a different path. The fact that you are even standing here at all with that flimsy crown upon your head is because of your connection to Wolfbane.”
The last is uttered with such icy certainty that there could be no mistaking the promise in her words.
Lepis has always loved diplomacy. The tales her mother and uncle spun her of treaties and alliances, blood-bonds and marriage-ties - they fascinated the dun pegasus since she was a small child. But in her delight, she had been overeager to try her own hand at it, and the plethora of scars that hide beneath her navy curls are ever-present proof of that.
Lepis had learned in the autumn woods that spoken words and promises made aloud were nothing more than the surface layer of diplomacy. There is far more lurking in the depths, and it is that which Lepis has reached for, that which she grasps so tightly.
Diplomacy is a shield for most politicians. They hold it ahead of them, drawing attention and notice to the firm words, the well-meaning promises, the detail and meaning behind carefully phrased sentences, all of it serving as decorative woodwork on the pretty shield.
Lepis prefers to use the shield as a battering ram.
"I didn't need your permission to take the Taiga." She replies to Heartfire's claim that it was she who failed. Lepis does not fail. She does not let herself. Heartfire's interpretation of her fanaticism is not far from the truth; the Comtesse's self-confidence has always danced along the edge of arrogance."And I do not need your permission to keep it."
Lepis knows that she wishes peace. That is why she is here, that is why she has done all she has. She has made no mistakes - save perhaps not requesting Heartfire simply burnt out of Nerine. She has refrained because there could be children here, and the place is not so far from redemption as Sylva. She does think things through - but the conclusions she makes are her own.
"You forgot my question in your lecture, I think." She tells Heartfire with a smile that does not reach her grey-blue eyes. "Why should Taiga remain a territory of Nerine?" There is a breif pause, long enough to blink, long enough to consider what she might add, how she might impress on this roan mare how very serious she is.
"I spoke of this with Aten, and he thinks that you and the Isle would be vulnerable with Taiga pledged to Loess." He had said other things as well, but Lepis had not watched him say it. Her intent is to rattle the icey serenity of the Nerinian Queen, to let her know that Lepis has not been quiet with her plans. "Castile said we should not give you options, but I felt you've ruled long enough to deserve a choice - and you are family after all." Two can use Wolfbane, it seems.
This was not a conversation she had intended to have. There was no way to say the things she believed without entirely offending the golden mare before her. And while she did not have any particular care as to whether or not Lepis was offended, she would rather things fall according to her schedule. Still, she has nearly everything in place already. And, well, Lepis had asked, hadn’t she?
“You claim to wish peace, and yet your every action declares otherwise,” she observes with surprising mildness, though her glittering gaze belies the gentleness of her words. “And here I thought I was the one who was terrible with diplomacy.” The last is uttered with such smooth candor that it could almost take one a moment to recognize the insult housed within it.
Her eyes do not stray from Lepis as she repeats her question, a dog with a bone as she tries to cause Heartfire to stumble. Her lips tilt faintly, a sardonically amused smile that speaks volumes as to her opinion on Lepis’ persistence.
She had tried to be kind by saying nothing. Or at least, as kind as she could be.
“Why Nerine and not Taiga?” she says slowly, the dangerous lilt of her voice offering Lepis her last opportunity to retract the question. Of course, it’s already too late. “Because you are an infant who understands too little of the world and possesses far more confidence and arrogance than is deserved. You claim your recent activity a good indicator of Taiga’s ability, but Taiga has developed no reputation, and has nothing upon which to stand beyond your dubious claim of an ally in Loess. Castile was right when he suggested you should give me no options. You should have listened to him. If you were cleverer, you would have.” There is a chilly satisfaction in the gleam of her eye as she presses closer, voice dropping as though imparting a great secret. “And do you know why? Because Castile grew up around me, and he knows, no matter how quiet Nerine might appear, we are not weak. Surprise was your only advantage, and you gave it up.”
The last is said with such contempt, it’s clear how much intelligence Heartfire believes the woman before her has. Stepping abruptly back, her features still once more, the familiar mask settling into place as she considers Lepis with passionate disregard.
“So let me give you a choice then, like the one you gave me,” she continues, a sense of finality in her words. “Give up Taiga, or I will destroy you.” One could almost believe that ultimatum an empty threat if one did not know Heartfire.
For quite a long moment, Lepis simply frowns, her grey eyes narrowed (though not necessarily at the roan mare ahead of her). It is clear that she is thinking, turning over not only what Heartfire has said to her but other things as well. Bits and pieces; facts and strings of knowledge that have no meaning by themselves, but that she has always been certain that she can place together in a comprehensive woven whole.
Heartfire seems determined to throw knots into her weaving, to insist that the thread Lepis wants here should instead go there. The Nerinian Queen is wrong, Lepis knows, because how can they both be right?
"Perhaps we think of peace differently." Lepis finally says, and it seems she will ignore the insult to her diplomatic skills, the threat of destruction, and everything that has been said in between.
"Perhaps you just don't understand this quite the way I do." The dun mare doesn't mean to project, but such unconscious acts are not uncommon. As Heartfire has found out, and as others have suspected, Lepis' skill with diplomacy does not really lie in her silver tongue. She does get what she wants - she almost always has - but it is the intangible gift she's always possessed that put such things within her grasp.
She is careful, with a decade of practice and precision in her ability.
"I will not give up Taiga." She tells Heartfire again, and the words are not the only thing that drift in the space between them. Admiration comes too, chosen for Heartfire because it is not so unbelievable an emotion for her to feel for Lepis: this woman who refuses to back down.
Not too heavy, Lepis knows, not quite enough that it will strike Heartfire as unnatural. There is a fine line, and she means to skirt it carefully.
"I mean to bring peace to Beqanna." She tells the roan mare. "If you cannot understand my methods" - and she might now, with the emotion Lepis had sent earlier, but she cannot know for certain - "Then I ask that you at least accept that I have good intentions." Lepis does, at heart, mean well, and this earnestness is reflected in more than her subtle use of empathic projection.
"If I'd listened to Castile, like you suggest, we'd stand amidst ashes. Nerine is no more than tinder to a dragon - Beqanna is nothing but tinder." This time there is nothing but her words, and the brightness in her eyes that dares the roan mare to contradict her. Heartfire had been there, Lepis knows; she had seen Tephra burn. They live in a flammable world, but only one of them holds sway with the firestarters.
"But I do not want war. I do not think Castile truly wants war, for all that he and his allies are ready for it." This, perhaps, she lies about, for who can truly know the mind of a dragon? What she does know, though, is that she is more than capable of gentling a monster if the need were ever to arise. "Perhaps it is him you should speak to," Lepis suggests, "Perhaps he can convince you why I feel Taiga would be far safer under Loess' protection than that of the North, since you find it so hard to take me at my word."
It hovers, the softest bit of emotion at the edges of their conversation, the lightest touch of the exact emotion that might sway Heartfire to most seriously consider the Comtesse's suggestion.
Heartfire is not a woman easily swayed by words. Were the other mare more heavy handed with her influence, Heartfire might have grown suspicious. Might have wondered, after all that was said, how it were she had so easily changed her mind. But there is a subtle finesse in the fine threads of influence, carefully treading the line of nudging and pushing.
To the roan mare, it’s not so odd that she might grow to admire such an opponent. She often admires her enemies for their abilities. Of course, it had never prevented her from taking the actions she must, but she could admire their skill and cunning even while using it against them. Were she not already predisposed to such things, she might even have found that growing admiration suspicious.
As it is, she thinks little of it when she begins to appreciate Lepis’ tenacious refusal to yield. Truthfully, Heartfire likely would have done the same. And though it might allay her desire to resoundly destroy her opponent in the moment, it does not change her belief that the mare had placed herself on the wrong side of history.
But the suggestion to speak with Castile is a curious one. One that catches at her thoughts and clings like a burr. It’s true she hadn’t gone to any great effort to speak to him after discussions of alliance fell through. And perhaps that should be remedied. At the very least, it would help her confirm her course of action is the right one.
And so, it is in this way, that without rousing suspicion, Lepis is able to defuse the ticking bomb she herself had lit. She couldn’t possibly know of course, how very objectionable Heartfire would find it if she knew just what Lepis had done to secure such acquiescence. Just how furiously angry it might make her.
But that is a worry for another time.
After a tense silence, Heartfire offers a clipped nod, her words short as she acedes to the wisdom of speaking with Castile. “Perhaps I will.” Her gaze remains hard as she peers at Lepis. “Whether he can convince me otherwise remains to be seen.”
She falls silent after that. Even such skilled influence could not make her lips looser or peel further compliance from her. “We’ll discuss this again. For now, I think your welcome has worn thin.”
