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    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    Velk, anyone;
    #1
    and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
    a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
    Only his labored breaths and beating wings can be heard at the pinnacle of the world. High in the clouds, alone, there is only silence. There is no plague here, no quarrels or destruction. Here, there is peace and beauty. The blue sky embraces him like a lost friend, holding onto him and teasing him with soft winds. Around his face, Castile’s locks whip side-to-side, but he is far too memorized to take notice. Ahead, there is the Cove, a refuge he has heard Solace mention once before. It’s where another two of his children are tucked away and hidden from the ongoing travesty. Their welfare is critical. His heart patters in fear for them.

    Castile’s landing isn’t at all graceful. There’s a heavy thud against the sand and he stumbles forward a couple steps before regaining his balance enough to stand. With such frequent traveling, the infection has been able to run rampant through him. A cough or two wrack his body. His ribs are beginning to poke through and his hips are no longer softened by beds of toned muscle. Overnight, his fever runs highest.

    Nonetheless, it doesn’t stop him from reaching the northernmost point of the Cove. His voice, as hoarse as it is, rings as he beckons the twins – wanting only to see their faces, to touch them, to hear their voices.

    Little does he know that Valdis never arrived with the others.
    He doesn’t know that her path went astray.
    He assumed she would follow her brother and mother.

    Another cough erupts after shouting their names. Fatigue, as familiar as it is nowadays, drains him and so he retreats to a nearby tree to lean his weight against. It’s a temporary relief, swinging his body away from it only when he glimpses someone approaching. Folding his wings against his sides, he waits. 


    castile



    @[Velk]

    Castile is just swinging by checking on the fam
    Reply
    #2
    He'd followed Warlight here. Through the strangely deserted vistas of Hyaline into this new territory. It was a backtrack, far too close to skirting Pangea's realm. A part of him regretted the direction, he knew he was going in the wrong direction. Still, he wanted to make sure that Warlight was safe. He'd seen the same look in her eyes that he'd felt within himself, a terror and resultant need to be anchored. Then he'd lost track of her. 

    The sky was clouded over, maybe threatening rain, washing the color out of the scene. Not far away, there's the sea, steely silver and cold. It's pretty, in an untouchable kind of way. Without Warlight guiding his way, a sense of trepidation filled him. This wasn't his home. He knew no one here, and had no reason to believe anyone here would look kindly on a wandering stallion with no way of stating his purpose. It was a recipe for unpleasantness. 

    Over a series of dunes came an echoing bugle, someone screaming names he didn't know. It was a bad idea, terrible really. But he didn't have many options right now. His family could have been scattered to the four winds, and he needed to find them. Walking in the direction he heard the calls, a figure came into view. 

    It was a stallion, only just taller than Raul himself. It was easy to tell that he would be an imposing being in his prime, though something had effected that lately. Guilt gnawed unapologetically in his gut at the thought. The buckskin youth bit his lip uncertainly as he stepped forward, wondering how to make himself understood. There had to be something... dawning wonder distracted the train of thought as he took in the stallion's appearance. Mostly, the way his eyes flashed in the half-light. Silver and orange, like the puzzle that made up he and his brother had an obvious solution. Mutely he sought eye contact, wishing more than ever that he could speak. 

    @[Castile]
    Reply
    #3
    do you ever wonder...
    ...do you ever dream?

    Velk felt guilty about not seeking out his sire earlier. Truth-be-told, he could not leave Silver Cove. Well, he could but, he chose not to. He needed to preserve his strength so that he could help heal any residents of the Sanctuary. Not that he could completely heal the plague but, he could ease their symptoms and lessen their discomfort. Just like he helped Litotes on their visit to Icicle Isle. The male's thoughts return to Leilan's words and his offer to reach out to Castile. Velk regretted not taking advantage of his offer once their diplomatic visit ended; however, he could not change the past. He could seek him out, now.

    A familiar but, hoarse voice calls his name. Velk stops in his tracks and takes a moment to process the voice. Castile. Or, his sire could come to him! Velk shifts gears and alters his course until he is heading straight towards the winged black-and-white. Limbs execute a swift canter across the sandy terrain as muscled hindquarters push male forward. As sapphire gaze rests upon his father, Velk first notes that a third male is here. Velk does not pick up any animosity from this stranger and decides to do nothing more than cast a quizzical glance towards the buckskin. Focus quickly shifts back to his sire and, now, Velk notes the changes in his physical form. He slows his pace back from the hasty canter to a jog and then, a walk.

    Though slightly out of breath, Velk speaks between inhales. "Castile, what happened?" Blue eyes travel down his shoulder to his barrel and flank where his hide has lost its fit tone and now, allows the last couple of ribs and his hips to show through. His cupped acoustics catch the slight wheezing of his breaths and, without and more information, Velk steps forward. He presses his nose into the flesh of his sire's breast and channels his focus to the winged male's lungs. A pair of light beams emit from nasal passages and penetrate, through his dark-colored hide, into his thoracic cavity. Velk can feel the warmth through his respiratory tract and, with a second wave of sunlight rays, he hopes Castile feels a little better.

    He steps back slightly and lifts his muzzle to press it into his sire's neck. Velk holds the embrace for a moment later before he takes a couple of steps back. He says nothing more though allows his sapphire gaze to match Castile's before flicking curiously towards the silver buckskin male one more time.

    Velk

    @[Castile]
    @[Raul]

    I am so sorry for the delay! I know the timeline is off but Velk still wanted to see his dad!
    Reply
    #4
    and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
    a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
    He had wanted so badly to be an active part in their lives, to watch them take their first breath and first steps. It had been Castile’s dream to be there and to press himself lovingly against the women that bore him his children.

    To have that stripped from him still riddles his mind with regret and disappointment. The twins – both sets – were two by the time he returned and settled his eyes on them for the first time. His heart reaches out to them, wanting to embrace them, but the opportunities have been rare to come by. It’s with the plague’s arrival that Castile’s urgency to see them increases. Their welfare is what matters most to him, above all else. Knowing they are here, tucked in the safe embrace of the Cove, he rushed to see them and ease his troubled nerves.

    It would break him immediately to know he doesn’t recognize his own son. Raul had not been on Ischia when he visited and when he first laid eyes on Santana. Only one boy, Sabra said, was around at the time. Raul, nomadic and diplomatic, was wandering on his own. Suspicion sinks into his thoughts when his eyes sweep sideways and glimpse the silver buckskin. Sabra. It’s the first thing that comes to mind. The male nearly mirrors his opalescent consort, but he doesn’t jump to an immediate conclusion. While his attention frequently darts back to the muted stallion, Castile cannot help to rest most of his focus on Velk when he arrives.

    A broad smile stretches across Castile’s lips upon glimpsing the boy – no, he is a man grown now. ”Velk,” his son’s name is laced with a sense of joy and pride that surfaces and brightens across his face. His breaths are still labored, his muscles trembling from the exertion of his travels. ”Don’t worry about me,” he begins to mutter before silenced by the magic stemming from Velk’s muzzle. It threads through his skin, into his veins and lungs. A wave of relief washes across him, rewarding him with a clear, deep breath. The distress of his body eases and his exhaustion gradually subsides. ”Thank you,” he says, holding Velk in a matching embrace until they peel apart.

    Idly, he glances to the buckskin, then back to Velk. ”I wanted to check on you and your sister. This plague is really… something.” He hates how quickly he contracted the infection and succumbed to its harrowing symptoms. Admittedly, he was too arrogant. ”How are you and Valdis? Okay, I hope? Staying safe?” Concern – paternal and loving in every way – gleams in his mismatched eyes as they scrutinize his son, searching him for lesions or blood. When nothing stands out, Castile inclines his head curiously. ”Do you know him?” Sabra, he still thinks. Is that his other son? The one child that has eluded him? With a trembling heart, Castile waits expectantly for answers.

    castile



    @[Velk] @[Raul]
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