"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
He doesn’t like this – his daughters and sons growing older and leaving the nest for lives of their own. But at least Larke listens when he offers advice and she doesn’t mind that he still kisses her forehead like he did the day she was born. She’s infinitely more patient than her twin and more cautious than all her sisters without bordering on paranoid. The temper that runs rampant in their blood is even quieted in her veins. It pains him to walk her to Ischia, to a new home, but he could never imagine sending her off to a new home without chaperoning her.
Vulgaris walks carefully over the sand as the waters recede for the low ride. The water is ice cold against his ankles and he snorts softly, pauses when he first enters the gleaming ocean waves. Ischia is one of the closest regions to Tephra and not so different that it would be alien to her, otherwise he might have chosen somewhere easier to access. Chronos follows them at a distance after not being invited along and the gray king can see him sulking behind them. The serpent boy pretends this is not pouting and that he is not lost without his sister. It summons a gentle laugh that Vulgaris is quick to bite back.
“Does Chronos plan to stay here with you?” he asks, wading through the gentle waves as he glances at her curiously. His firstborn son with Leliana does not open up so readily to anyone, he knows, but perhaps he’s spoken of his plans with Larke. They seem to share everything with one another despite being polar opposites. It warms his heart to know their bond is strong enough to tear down her brother’s stubborn ways and expose the gentle core of him, but he supposes his daughter is just like her mother in that way. Leli could charm the venom from any snake and have a tiger napping in her lap like a kitten if she really wanted.
“If you ever miss home, we’re just a short walk from here,” he says, and his tone is hopeful. Mostly he tries to remind himself that she’s really not so far away; it only feels like it.
In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me
She is not certain why she follows her father here except he has asked and she has never been one to turn down such things. She is a quiet girl, content to walk amongst her mother’s flowers and learn the beauty of her gifts, but she has never wanted for more. She has never desired any kind of power of attention outside of the gentle love of her family. Never wanted for more.
Still, she loves her father and she respects him.
So when he asks, she follows.
They walk side by side although more than once she cranes her elegant neck back to look toward her brother who follows at a distance. Something in her heart twists at the sight of him but she doesn’t elaborate or dwell on it. He will always sit in the primary seat there, and she will always be the first to give him the full width of her attention. The full breadth of it.
Even Midnight and Malone, who she care for in such different ways, do not compete.
She startles a little when her father’s voice breaks through her thoughts and her smile grows just a touch sheepish as she dips her head, the waves of inky black mane hiding her expression. When she glances up at him, she rolls her shoulders.
“I am not sure, to be honest.” She doesn’t raise her voice and although she hopes that her brother doesn’t hear them talking, she also doesn’t hide it from him. “I want him too but I haven’t had time to ask him. He is so busy these days.” With adventures, she is sure, although she doesn’t feel any twinge of jealousy. She could not begrudge him even if she tried.
—LARKE—
there is not in the wild world a valley so sweet as the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet
He had dreamed of keeping all his children safe within the borders of Tephra and he came so close to realizing that goal. It’s almost funny that he is dismantling that dream now and sending Larke to Ischia, when the only child he’s missing is Adna. Having all but one child at home with them for a year has filled him with joy, though, and he’s realized how much Sabbath has grown by being on her own. He sees how brave and bold Chronos is with each new adventure he takes off on and he realizes the others need the same. They can’t remain within their comfort zone, safe beneath their parents’ watchful gaze forever or they’ll never bloom.
Vulgaris steps up onto the shore and pauses long enough for Chronos to join them, though he keeps a few feet of distance still. The boy stares off at the island and a gull crying out overhead but he does not say anything when Larke speaks. Vul laughs softly when he sees his ear swivel to catch his sister’s words, though, and he doesn’t turn back toward Tephra. Perhaps he will come to roost here when his journeys leave him weary.
“I haven’t told your mother about any of this. I don’t want her crying over any goodbyes when you’re just next door,” he says with another gentle chuckle. The expression is a little uncomfortable, though, and it’s evident he isn’t fond of this either. “Since I met your mother, I have tried to build a life where I could give you and your brothers and sisters anything you could ever want. I haven’t always done my best, but I think we’re getting there now.”
He steps a little closer to Larke and brushes the forelock from her face in a gentle kiss. All of his daughters are beautiful and yet they’ve all grown up so shy, he thinks. The boys don’t seem to care one way or the other in regards to their own looks.
“I want you and Chronos to live here in Ischia, where I can still keep you safe but you have room to grow into your own person,” he explains as he glances at her brother, who turns abruptly from them as though he was not listening or watching them. Still, he edges closer so his hip lightly touches hers. They have always called Tephra home and he knows he would not stay here without Larke by his side.
“But what do you think? Is this where you want live?”
In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me
Her childhood is a mixture of confusion and blurry memories. She remembers what it is like to watch her mother suddenly filled to the brim with the magma of her magic. She remembers the fear in her father’s eyes, the knowledge that her mother was leaving, and the reconciling in the months to come. She was not born in Tephra but it has become the home of her heart. It is where her family came together again. Where she met with Midnight. Where she grew into a young adult.
There is a sharp pang in her breast when she looks across the water and realizes this.
There is a sharp pain when she realizes youth is ending.
She still feels so painfully young. She feels it like a vice around her throat, feels it like a stone in her chest. Her naivety is a growing, blossoming thing and she cannot deny the pieces of her that would clutch to what is familiar. That would keep her tucked away in Tephra forever.
She smiles when she feels the hip of her brother brush up against her and she reaches over to gently press her mouth there to the bristle of his hair. It is comforting to know that no matter what, her twin is still there. He is steadfast, even when the wildness of his heart carries him far.
After a moment of silence, contemplative and tense, she finally glances up. Her face is open and vulnerable, framed by wisteria and curling locks, with none of her sisters’ suspicion or hardness. She has none of their bitterness or anger. None of their rage.
“If that’s what you think is best, of course.”
She is a serious girl and duty is important.
Family is important.
More important than a childish need to stay young.
And when she looks around at the beautiful beaches unfolding around her, she cannot help but feel that perhaps this, too, could come to feel like home.
—LARKE—
there is not in the wild world a valley so sweet as the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet
He watches her face and he knows that she is always thinking before she speaks. She has always been so careful to map out her words and speak them in the way she intends, and he wonders who the hell she got it from. Vulgaris has shot from the hip the moment Dillan brought him into this world and he has never known how to pause before running his mouth. Leliana feels things so deeply that her heart comes spilling over her tongue and that’s why he loves her so much. But Larke, Larke is always picking ideas apart and he couldn’t be more proud of her.
With her brother at her side, they could take on the world together and never face a worthy adversary. But he knows she would never want to harm even the tiniest life and that is why he thinks she is best for the plan he has in mind. Her heart sees the truest path and she follows it obediently. He follows her gaze back to the beaches after she stares longingly in the direction they came.
“I can’t serve Tephra as its king forever, Larke. I have to find someone who will love the kingdom and its territories the way I love each of you. We must be a united region,” he explains without looking down at her. “I want you to rule Ischia and be its Lady. Maybe someday you will wear the western crown.”
Chronos turns to look at Vulgaris is he speaks, ears perked and head tilted as he listens carefully. He opens his mouth to speak but, as always, words fail him and he simply edges closer to his sister to their shoulders also touch now. There is no doubt in the gray king’s mind that they will watch over one another here but still he worries for them. Castile is building his empire and he still isn’t sure just where they fit into it.
In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me
Whatever she thought was happening or wherever she thought the conversation was going, she finds herself completely surprised by what her father says—asks—next. The surprise registers on her gentle features, her sage green eyes widening just slightly beneath the thicket of her forelock. Her? Lead? She had never once considered it something she was well-suited for. Never once considered that she would ever be fit for the type of leadership both of her parents at varying times have managed to find themselves in.
It feels ill-fitting. Uncomfortable.
For perhaps the first time in her life, she finds herself wishing to fidget.
Still, she remains still, calm even in the face of this. Her head tilts to the side and she bites her bottom lip, leaning against her brother and taking several steadying breaths.
But the truth is that there is never a question or a debate for the girl.
Her father has asked and she has never had anything within her capable of saying no. She has never had anything in her that would make her willing to turn him away.
So despite her misgivings and her fears (what would the people of Ischia do in the face of a leader thrust upon them?), she just nods. She reaches up and presses a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Okay,” she breathes. Still unable to wrap her mind around it but knowing that this was the path that was now laid in front of her. She would have to walk it to the best of her abilities.
“If that’s what you think is best then, of course.”
She has no thirst for the western crown and her heart doesn’t thump at the prospect, but she knows these kingdoms are dear to her parents so they will be dear to her.
Tentatively, she steps forward, her shoulder still pressed to her brother’s side.
“Home, then.”
—LARKE—
there is not in the wild world a valley so sweet as the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet
