"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’d followed her to Tephra of course. One smirk of those lips and he’d follow her anywhere. After only one meeting, the blue and orange girl has firmly planted herself in the middle if his heart. Not that he’d ever actually tell her of course.
And, despite the initial awkwardness and uncertainty of settling into a new home, he’s glad that he had followed her. He’d loved Riva of course, and loved the little family that they’d had together. But he’s three now - pretty much a stallion grown - and it’s high time for him to strike out on his own. And Tephra is a wonderful place to start.
The territory’s fiery centre is rather unusual, but the land surrounding the volcano is lush, warm and fertile. He never lacks for food or shelter, and he spends days exploring the outer reaches of the land or sparring with Raeg’n when she has the time. His fighting skills have improved somewhat, though he’s not even remotely close to Raeg’n’s level. She still manages to make him look a fool on a weekly basis, but he doesn’t mind. It’s spending time with her, after all.
On this particular morning he’s investigating Tephra’s northernmost coast, the one that hides the little spit of land that heads out to Ischia. Part of him is curious about the far off island, but he’s nervous about making the visit on his own. He’s officially part of Tephra now, and with his social skills … well, he doesn’t exactly want to create a diplomatic incident.
So instead he soars with the gulls, dipping and wheeling amongst the raucous seabirds. They’re not particularly impressed with his presence, but he doesn’t care. It’s just so nice to soar overhead, to feel the wind rushing through his mane and feathers. It feels so wonderful, so free.
She could spar for days and never show signs of it. Each hit was absorbed, each break in her skin and perfect structure instantly healed. There was a price for it just like any magic, a dangerous vulnerability she kept as secret as she could. She relied heavily on Lauchlan to negate it, in his way. Keep her safe while she was down. But her stamina was slowly improving. She just had to keep at it.
So she pushed herself relentlessly. The blue champion would spar with anyone, fight with anyone. She entered each moment with a thirst for the toughest battle. Push her, break her. Make her heal.
She was invincible.
Burning amber eyes snagged on a streak of black in the sky, dipping and reeling with unimaginable grace --especially for Lauchlan. A determined grin tilted her lips and she launched herself forward. Sunlight shimmered of her celestial coat like a sheen of magic, hair dancing wildly in a fiery beacon; a constant dare to anyone bold enough to take her on.
She shot across the land, racing his shadow, moving at a speed that made everything look slow. Her breath barely labored; even that healed immediately with little sparks of a flash within her each second. She danced in his shadow, challenged herself to stay in it, leaping to the side the instant it shifted. Sometimes she wished she had wings too, to join him in the skies. But that was his element, and hers was here on earth where her angel-mother put her.
Eventually she slowed, stepping to a small stream for a drink she didn't feel she needed, but knew if she didn't then he'd just ask it of her. He looked after her that way. She waited for him to land and join her. A year older, it seemed he would always be bigger than her. She was still slender, and he was gradually filling out with natural muscle definition, though she didn't think he realized it.
As soon as he was close enough, she suddenly threw her hooves in the water, sending sprays at him with raucous laughter. He was the only one she could let her guard down with, and become a child again. These moments were a well-earned respite from her life's purpose, her heavy burden to bear on young shoulders.
Part of him never wants to land. Flight is so freeing - he can go anywhere, do anything. In the air he has none of the limitations that he has on land. He can be graceful, athletic … he doesn’t even have to speak to anyone up here. There is no awkwardness to hold him back.
He soars up and up, revelling in the sound of the wind rushing in his ears, and the wonderful feeling of his powerful wings pressing against the drafts. Up here he is limitless. Even powerful.
He dips lower, and his brown eyes alight on a blue and orange shape racing across the green below him. His breath catches in surprise, and for a brief moment he drops a few feet in the air, wings frozen at the sight. But he recovers in a heartbeat and continues in a more controlled descent.
Raeg’n.
Even now she doesn’t know the effect she has on him. That image of her, down below, racing over the field at top speed, orange mane and tail flowing out behind her …
God she’s just so beautiful. He doesn’t understand how she doesn’t see it.
He sinks deeper and deeper, soaring down to the small stream where she’s stopped to take a drink (he’s pleased that she’s finally learning to look after herself). He opens his mouth, about to shout a greeting when splash! He gets a face full of water.
He shakes his head, clearing the water from his eyes, and a determined grin steals over his dark face. He intentionally lands heavily in the stream at her side, sending up a light spray of water in her direction. He follows it up by dipping the tips of his wings in the water then shaking them dry, sending little droplets of water flying everywhere. He turns to her and grins, hoping to catch the expression on her face.
His mouth opened, about to speak, and he got a face full of water. He shook it off to reveal a wicked little gleam in his eye, and he landed at her side with a wave of water. She laughed in surprise, and then ducked as his wings fluttered more water all over them. Their play lifted her heart like nothing else could; only Lauchlan could ever bring her walls down. Make her forget for a time who she was.
She threw her shoulder into him, trying to knock him into the water. It immediately backfired and she lost her footing, crashing into the water with a squeal. Her coat soaked to a moonless-night blue, her hair tiger-orange. She lay on her hip, and thumped a foreleg into the water to splash him some more.
Only Lauchlan could ever transform her this way.
He was a steady constant in her life, the only one she could ever truly rely on to be there. The only one who knew her secrets; every last one of them. He didn't think she was crazy for claiming to be the daughter of an angel, or for believing her life's purpose was to protect others. Using her selfish magic as selflessly as she could, in their aid.
Not for the first time, she told him softly, I'm glad you came, Lauchlan. Because she didn't know what she'd do without him. Life had been so hard, so lonely, as a child trying to make it on her own. She'd been roughed up by a brute before her magic activated, but she had been rewarded with Lauchlan's friendship later. He was the balance to every bad thing that had happened to her, that ever would happen to her.
Have you met many others yet? Do you still like it here?
She always worried he wouldn't be happy here with her. When they first showed up, they'd found their own little corner of this Tephra and stayed together. It made sense to them; neither of them knew anyone else here but the other. She took comfort in knowing he'd always be near by, and that she'd be there for him too. If he ever needed. He was all she had in this world.
