"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
She had been loyal to Loess, more loyal than ever before. She worked for the kingdom, on a promise from Castile that she would not forget. She hopes, to soon return to her own home, Sylva would always call to her.
None the less, she had yet to meet with Castile since he requested her to go to Tephra. Did he know that Vulgaris now ruled? Or that the slithering stag had died and returned? She wonders how the dragon king will take the news, they were friends after all...
The dapple mare travels through the kingdom that was covered in leaves. A gentle whinny escapes her maw, and she scans the horizon for the king who normally did not take long to respond.
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
There is no smoke that spirals from his nostrils, but there is still a steely gaze that grabs her own. There is still an arrogant swagger in his step, a content expression that settles across the sharp edges of his face when he reaches her. ”Mary,” it has been a while, too long perhaps, and his voice is level, flat even, when her name drifts from the edges of his lips. Last they met, he sent her away to Tephra.
From there, what happened?
He draws to a halt in front of her, his baroque neck handsomely arched as he searches her face for any indication of where she has been. He won’t admit that a small part of him missed her – missed her coy grins and smug retorts – and he hides it well as he straightens. ”Vulgaris came here not long ago,” it burns him still to have seen the rage in the eyes of the serpent, an individual he once considered a close friend. ”He threatened me… He threatened Loess,” his lip curls in distaste at the memory, and it’s more at the situation than Mary’s absence following her trip.
She did as she was asked. It’s perhaps poor timing that everything happened.
With a brow elevating from underneath his forelock, he asks, ”What happened in Tephra when you visited? Did they take you prisoner?” It’s another option that he fumbles, trying to grope for a reason that she disappeared, another reason to be angry at the serpent king.
His presence is quickly found, and she smiles as he approaches, but it quickly falters as he appears less than pleased with Mary.
He says her name, it wasn't welcoming, nor aggresive as it had been in the past. She glances over the stag, he looks different since they last met, stressed? It had been a while since she visited Tephra, she should have came back to Loess sooner...because he shares that Vulgaris had beat her here.
She watches as a familiar fire lights in his eyes, but this time it wasn't because of Mary. Vulgaris came to Loess and threatened him? Her eyes grow wide as he tells her, when she had left Tephra they sought an alliance, woulf they dare threaten the kingdom that burned them once?
His gaze finds hers and he inquires about her visit to Tephra, going as far as to ask if she had been taken prisoner. In this moment she wished she had, she had been gone for too long, and now she would pay for it. I'm sorry I wasn't here Castile....I had a child..I delivered her in the Resort where her sister lives...where she lives. A weak excuse, but the truth none the less.
When I went to Tephra they offered an alliance, I am purely shocked at the news they came here to threaten you.... She knows that Castile allows himself to grow emotionally attached to others, a trait she had been able to avoid for some time...but as she fights it in her current days, she seems to understand the pain he is feeling in betrayal. Is there anything I can do for you? For Loess? She asks, she owed him that much.
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 reads her surprise, registers how she is oblivious to the change in Tephra’s heart.
No, she did not play a part in it.
She did her job. She is innocent.
Castile clenches his jaws frustratedly, but glances away as his temper quickly subsides. If there is one lesson he is gaining from having lost his shifting, it’s to control himself. Yet, he is incomplete without the voice in his head and the primal impulses. He considers her, and mulls briefly over her initial response but there is no fire crackling in his eyes. ”You don’t need to apologize, Mary,” there’s a warmth blooming across him, a softness cradling his words as they roll from his tongue. There’s no way he can – or will – be angry at motherhood. Although there lies a sliver of bitterness inside him for Mary having skirted away, it falls far and deep into the corners of his mind.
The fact Tephra had wanted an alliance piques his interest most. It lifts his eyes to meet Mary’s, unyielding. Even as she offers help – anything, is her exact word – Castile answers with a lingering quiet as his thoughts reel until the common denominator sinks in. ”Heartfire happened,” he grumbles with a curl of his lip, an expression of sheer distaste. ”We need friends, Mary, but at the same time, I’m afraid to trust.” The confession is bitter on his tongue. ”Perhaps, family can be trusted better. With having lost Pangea and Tephra, we need more connections. Stronger ones. We have Taiga, but that isn’t enough…” suddenly, his arrogance deflates, and he is quieted by the unraveling certainty he once had.
It was an odd feeling, standing here before Castile, apologizing for her lack of appearance. Yet she finds a comfort with him, perhaps it is a budding friendship...she has missed so much with Loess that she herself isn't sure she knows who to trust.
He is still tense, and she wonders why his sharp teeth haven't budded, but that is a question for a later day. He accepts her reason for vanishing, she dips her head to him in response. She should have told him first, but he wouldn't have to worry, this next foal would be birthed within Loess' walls.
Her gaze finds his firey one when he speaks again, this time he updates her on all that has happened. He mentions Heartfire, and she can tell from the way he speaks her name that she must have found an alliance with Tephra. Perhaps this was the reason that Tephra finds itself so strong now, an alliance with another kingdom.
She doesn't speak, instead she listens as he discusses the need for an alliance, but in all honesty if Tephra and Nerine allied together that only leaves one kingdom for them....
I assume that Tephra and Nerine have allied together? That only leaves us Pangea, and I hear she has a new ruler. Her eyes study the dragon king, reading his reaction to the idea. I can go and visit if you'd like, see if the new ruler would like an alliance? Another option we have is trying to break Nerine and Tephra, take there herdlands from them. She falls silent, waiting to hear his reaction, a war was certainly on the horizon again.
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
Mary’s head dips in response to him, a form of both acknowledgment and submission. Their witty and snide banter that once populated their conversations has since dimmed. When he looks at her, he sees the forging of trust and the development of a prosperous relationship.
It’s possible. It’s nearly tangible.
And yet… and yet…
There remains the reluctance stiffening his muscles because the wounds are still so new and so fresh. While he sees a flourishing strength with her, he also sees her betraying him just as easily as Vulgaris and Litotes. His gut wrenches uncomfortably and he casts his eyes aside for a somber moment before lifting them back to her. A contemplative stare levels on her, and his tongue slips across his lips in recollection of the meeting. ”I imagine so,” the words are bile in his mouth, the thoughts barbed and frustrating. ”I will check out Pangea, if only to meet the new ruler. As long as she doesn’t ally with Nerine or Tephra, I’ll be content. We don’t necessarily need alliances although I’m not against them. We just need lands to keep their hands out of the pot if anything arises.” If Pangea remains neutral, that would even help.
Castile’s pride makes it difficult to beg for friendships, a flaw that he knows to exist.
But scheming? Plotting? He can manage that.
Nodding his head, he considers the options and catalogues the different territories and herds. ”We can provide better protection than Nerine, but Jesper of Icicle Isle is very loyal to Heartfire. I doubt we could persuade him. Ruinam is set on a no; I offered him protection for some answers he wanted, but he declined,” he realizes Mary is close with the porcelain man, but he doesn’t intend to use that tie. ”Hyaline has been quiet, as has the Silver Cove. I know nothing of Ischia anymore…” When he plots them all mentally, they aren’t quite so weak. Loess is fierce alone, but they also have the Pampas, Sylva, and Taiga. ”If you want to check out any of those places, just to see how they are, that is fine. I’m not hungry for alliances. I just want to be aware of everywhere.” Soon, he muses, he will be able to soar and seek his own answers, but for now, he can try letting others take handle on responsibilities and earn their way to power. He will be grateful. He will reward them.
With a resigning sigh, he shifts the conversation, not yet wanting her to leave again. ”Do you miss him?” Sinner, he doesn’t say. They were partners, something more than just a power move like with Velk, and unknowingly, Raul. Was it something so strong that she, too, would abandon Castile for?
