"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
It isn’t a dreadful walk to Ischia. They must skirt around the shoreline and weave between Taiga’s forest in order to reach a safe crossing point, but Takei moves at a brisk but not altogether hurried pace. He’d like to reach the border before nightfall; they will be safer on the islands once the shadow-creatures come crawling. The blood-and-bone isn’t worried the two men will be unable to protect themselves (in fact, with the boy’s dragon scales and his own muscle and horns, they are fully capable of doing so) but he has no desire in running into a skirmish today.
As they walk, Takei keeps the conversation to a minimum. He is a man of few words, despite how he might have come across in the Field. Pride blossoms in his heart; this is a recruit for Ischia, the first of his very own. Yet he still remains relatively quiet as they travel, occasionally adding in little comments about Taiga’s history and the landscape they walk through. If Viserion might have any questions, he is still sure to answer them.
Finally they reach the channel dividing Ischia’s islands from the rest of Beqanna. As they have traveled the snow-banks and ice patches have melted away. It is warm on this shoreline, like a humid spring day, but Takei knows once they cross the water it will get even warmer. Thankfully the tide is low when they arrive and the blood-and-bone turns to speak to his recruit.
“When the tide is low, like right now, the water only comes up around your knees. But you have to swim when it’s high.” A rare, fleeting smile brushes the corners of his mouth. “I hope you’re not afraid of a little water.” With that comment, the stallion splashes into the current and wades across to Ischia’s sandy border. His hazel eyes scan the landscape for any signs of Brothers he might know or ones he has yet to meet.
watch the mind run far away, way ahead of us
@[Viserion] / Anyone else who wants to join in and welcome Viserion is welcome to!
05-16-2018, 02:25 PM (This post was last modified: 06-03-2018, 12:57 PM by Viserion.)
Viserion keeps a pace that matches his new horned-acquaintance’s own. He does not plan on falling behind. Then again, the dragon boy was never one to allow himself to be in such a position. He was eager to see this new place—a place he was to call him now.
The silence between them two does not bother him at once. He has found few words within himself to say except for the conversation that Takei offers on their journey to the island kingdom called Ischia. During the journey he often finds himself in thought about his arrival to the island. What will the brotherhood be like? Will it be the place he remembered it to be when he was growing up? Would it be the same without his parents?
He doesn’t know.
Only that he is ready for a change.
He is ready for his life to finally start.
Soon they have reached the channel that divides his new home with the rest of Beqanna. The sight before him is more than he imagined it to be. Perhaps even more with the addition of the spring season’s touch onto the island. Viserion already finds himself even more liking the idea of his new home.
Takei, quiet but always seems to have a hint of humor within him, finally speaks. Viserion cannot help but smile after his informative statement on the water around the island. “Don’t you worry, I promise I won’t sink to the bottom and making you save me,” he replies back. A laugh then erupts from his throat.
Viserion willingly follows line behind Takei, allowing him to take the lead. He learns the path that the chestnut tobiano takes, knowing he will use this path many times. Eventually, they reach to the border of Ischia. His honey-hazel eyes give a sweep of the island several times now that he is closer than before.
“This will do just fine,” he says to Takei, although he does not expect a reply. So, Viserion turns to look around, seeing if any of the brothers would come and greet him. Would they welcome him as Takei had? He wonders if Brennen will come to say hello—surely the king could spare a little time to an old brother’s son.
hold me in this wild, wild world 'cause in your warmth I forget how cold it can be
The pressure of having two of their own held captive outside the borders weighs on him, and it would even if he had no loyalty towards them except as his Brothers and subjects. It doesn’t help that he does like both of them, immensely. Jesper is his own grandson, newly come home to him, and Leilan while mildly annoying reminds him of an old friend; an old friend who had in turn also begun as a (more than) mildly annoying young man. But just because he is stretched and stressed, does not mean life does not go on at home, and he is forcing himself to enjoy these small moments.
It feels, as if the world might upon up under his hooves at any moment. He must enjoy the time before that, because gods know when such times will come again.
Low tide has reached them, so Brennen is on the shore, idly watching the horizon. It’s not always this side of the island, sometimes he finds himself standing at the Tephra crossing to watch instead; but more often it is here. He trusts to the friendly relationship between Ischia and Tephra, for the most part, to prevent anything dangerous from coming up that side. Most days, he sees nothing but perhaps the crossing of his own people. Today, he is rewarded because the familiar face crossing the channel is accompanied by someone unfamiliar, but it is clear even from a distance that neither of them is in distress.
A recruit, then; or a potential recruit. The corners of Brennen’s mouth tilt up in a pleased smile as he steps out across the sand to join them, strolling in a way that is unhurried but brings him to their sides without an undue waste of time. “Good evening, Takei,” he greets the pinto stallion with a nod and a smile, before turning a friendly but curious look towards the tall red-and-black stallion. Something in the back of his mind says he knows him, should be able to place his face, but at the same time he seems too young for the Tundra, which is where the bay King’s aging mind insists he should be able to place him. But then again, in body, Brennen also seems too young to be over seven decades old; it is only in mannerisms that his true age is ever hinted at.
“Welcome to Ischia,” he offers with another fleeting smile. “I’m Brennen.”
hold me in this wild, wild world and in your heat I feel how cold it can get
Takei cannot deny the beauty of Ischia either. His hazel eyes watch Viserion’s face as the recruit’s eyes first land upon the collection of islands. It’s a warm, colorful scene that spreads before them (different from the shades of green and brown they had been walking through between the Field and Ischia). The ocean’s waves are clear, so clear that when they walk through the channel of water they can see the pale beige of the sand underfoot. While the island is covered by tropical foliage, the fleeting figures of the native parrots dive from tree to tree, found in any color imaginable.
The blood-and-bone’s heart fills with increasing warmth for his home, especially when he spots Brennen in the near distance, already staring out across the ocean. It’s a pleasant day, with the warmth of the waves quietly lapping at the ivory shoreline, so when Takei pulls himself out of the current he finds there is no chill upon his body. Crossing the channel at night is a different story, when there is a slight breeze to the air, but the affair is worth it to see the bioluminescent plankton glow across the shore and under his feet.
Before he might respond to Viserion’s comments (Takei is glad to know that the recruit finds Ischia suitable, especially in comparison to Brotherhood’s previously bitter homeland), Brennen makes his way toward the pair to greet them. Although the tobiano had thought he was handling the situation quite well, he exhales a barely-audible sigh of relief when the experienced king arrives.
Although Brennen doesn’t give his title, Takei had introduced him as the King of Ischia in the Field, and so the tobiano offers a knowing expression to the young man beside him. “This is Viserion… We met in the Field, where he expressed his knowledge of the Tundra’s Brotherhood.” He still hasn’t quite figured out how the new recruit might know of the Tundra in the personable way he had mentioned before, so Takei is curious to know if it will be explained in the oncoming conversation. His deep-red ears twist toward Viserion, his hazel eyes warm though his mouth is in an easy line.
Viserion is pleased to see that Brennen, the newly crowned king, has come to greet them. While Viserion had been merely a newborn colt when seeing immortal bay stallion, he does not forget such stories and reputation he has held. Many of the brothers had spoken highly of him, and even his own father did. It was an old face that makes him already feel at home—a home that he should have returned to long ago.
The dragon boy gives the king a soft tilt of his head in greeting. “It is finally good to meet you, Brennen.” A smile clings to his black and vermillion orange speckled lips. There is excitement dancing in his honey-hazel eyes before further speaking. “Yes, once I found out Takei was from the newly formed brotherhood in Ischia I knew I had to come here.” It had seemed too perfect of an opportunity to pass by, or even to turn away as fate laid out the steps of his life he is supposed to take.
“I was born within the Tundra while my father, Rigdon,” he says, “He served under the previous kings, Errant, and Ianto, as the King’s Hand.” He speaks with pride when mentioning his father. It isn’t a prideful boost though, but something he is proud to speak of knowing his father had played an important role within the history of the brotherhood. Viserion’s father had played an important role in the early days of his life before his parent’s death and the Reckoning had come. It was his wish to become the man his father was—to be part of the brotherhood and more.
Viserion falls silent for a moment before proceeding to speak again. “I know you must be busy, so I wish to make my intensions clear for why I have come here.” Viserion had already decided the instant Takei had mentioned the brotherhood. Brennen confirmed his decision even more. “I wish to join the brotherhood,” saying it made it even more real now. “I will do what I must to prove myself to be called a brother as well.” He would do everything in his power to become such. Viserion was determined to not let himself slip away into the shadows of this island they now call home of the brotherhood.
