02-01-2021, 05:27 PM
stifled the choice and the air in my lungs;
better not to breathe than to breathe a lie
Tiercel isn’t surprised to hear that his brindled brother is the Chief of the island. With parents who ruled more than once, it is more surprising that so few of them have carried that legacy… He had heard Pteron had ruled Taiga for a time and now he learns that Gale is charged with Islandres. For all the guilt and jealousy Tiercel has felt over the years, he feels none for this responsibility.
In fact, it almost makes him laugh to think about this twist of events. Two brothers he had looked up to — literally, as they pinwheeled in the sky — find themselves grounded to a specific place in Beqanna while he is free to wander wherever he pleases. Perhaps the chains of leadership are something he left with his family those years ago. When you renounce the princely crown from atop your head, there is no reason to sit on the hard, stiff throne. At least, these are the ways that Tiercel sees leadership — a crown that drags its wearer down, chaining them to the people and things that call their island or redwoods home.
It seems dreadful and lonely work, so Tiercel doesn’t laugh. His navy-tipped ears prick up at the mention of Pteron and the children he supposedly has. This does make Tiercel laugh, and it brightens the serious lines of his face as he turns his eyes back to Gale. “No, I don’t. I haven’t taken the time to stop anywhere long enough to find someone.” He’s met pretty girls in passing, but the visits had been too short, and he had left before anything serious developed. “I don’t want to be an absent father,” he says, thinking about how many mothers and children he has seen each spring who have been alone.
Tiercel draws in a long breath, feeling the distance of years make the air uncomfortable around them. Although they’ve managed to keep the conversation going, it hasn’t been easy. “What about you? Chief of Islandres, handsome, survived a goddamn burning in Tephra’s volcano… Surely you have mares and stallions alike pining after you.”
In fact, it almost makes him laugh to think about this twist of events. Two brothers he had looked up to — literally, as they pinwheeled in the sky — find themselves grounded to a specific place in Beqanna while he is free to wander wherever he pleases. Perhaps the chains of leadership are something he left with his family those years ago. When you renounce the princely crown from atop your head, there is no reason to sit on the hard, stiff throne. At least, these are the ways that Tiercel sees leadership — a crown that drags its wearer down, chaining them to the people and things that call their island or redwoods home.
It seems dreadful and lonely work, so Tiercel doesn’t laugh. His navy-tipped ears prick up at the mention of Pteron and the children he supposedly has. This does make Tiercel laugh, and it brightens the serious lines of his face as he turns his eyes back to Gale. “No, I don’t. I haven’t taken the time to stop anywhere long enough to find someone.” He’s met pretty girls in passing, but the visits had been too short, and he had left before anything serious developed. “I don’t want to be an absent father,” he says, thinking about how many mothers and children he has seen each spring who have been alone.
Tiercel draws in a long breath, feeling the distance of years make the air uncomfortable around them. Although they’ve managed to keep the conversation going, it hasn’t been easy. “What about you? Chief of Islandres, handsome, survived a goddamn burning in Tephra’s volcano… Surely you have mares and stallions alike pining after you.”
tiercel.
@[Gale]