everyone;

[Tiphon]

We danced with monsters through the night He had withdrawn from the Dale, from the world. Uncertain as to why, Tiphon finds himself dazed and confused when he opens his eyes to peer up at the distant peaks. The rolling hills swarm around him as the clouds hover high overhead. Every essence of the Dale is digested as though for the first time ever. It feels wrong and yet so right to be here. They will ask him where he has been but Tiphon doesn't even have an answer for them. Comfort is what he can provide when they rush to him with worrisome eyes. A sheepish grin and calmed words will overtake him as he embraces the family he has obtained since being here. They are what he cares for most - those that he cherishes with every fiber of his being. A hoarse, crackling voice bellows across the open fields as he calls to them all (what little may still remain under his feeble authority). Anxiety grips him, fearful of their rejection but at the same time joyous to once again see their faces. There should be children, perhaps even grandchildren, wandering the Dale for the first time in years. Their wide innocent eyes will brighten even the darkest of days. A grin touches his lips then. Tiberios, Talulah, Elysteria. Will they still be here? Will they still welcome him home? His lips are pursed shut as he ventures further into the kingdom's embrace to lessen the distance between him and his family. Tiphon infection and starlace

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[Talulah]

A late autumn hawk circles overhead, climbing weak thermals ever-higher into the sky. It catches the mare’s attention, but she sighs as soon as she sees what it is.

Or rather, who it is not.

It’s not the arcing white and gold flight of their king. It’s not a rare smile that the creature wears, but a curved, deadly beak. It’s not a father who hasn’t yet met his son; it’s not Tiphon returning to them from up high.

Talulah turns away, surprised at the level of scorn she feels towards the heedless hawk. As if it is his mistake for monopolizing airspace already reserved. Ramiel follows her gaze as he’s grown accustomed to doing. He knows exactly what his dam is looking for – spends his own fair share of time doing the same, in fact – but he’s also used to the disappointment. He’s grown up in a constant state of waiting. Waiting for his overbearing mother to loosen her tight hold on him. Waiting for a less monotonous day. Waiting for Joscelin to be able to play. Waiting for a father that he’d never met.

Fortunately, in all this waiting, Ramiel has become a patient boy. So he doesn’t fall apart a little more every day like his mother. He stands taller, more sure of his role as a protector for those who need it. He becomes certain that Talulah now needs him more than he needs her. As he pulls the metal-mare away from her hill-top spot, he offers to accompany her to the river. If nothing else, it will be a good distraction for her. Besides, she’s always had a special fondness for the river.

As the almost-yearling and mare walk towards the kingdom center, they further assuage their worries by making pointless observations (as they were fond of doing, passing one tree that looked like it had a face, and a mean one at that. They had previously dubbed it the Carnage-tree). Their spirits soon lift, and by the time they see a faint glow in the distance, they are both wearing bright smiles. Talulah recognizes the glow for what it is immediately, and she takes off at a swift canter, her skin seemingly shining in response. She barely manages to stop before colliding into the stallion, but she closes the distance anyway, pulling him into a firm embrace. He’s warm and real and smells like she remembers, but his long absence makes her hold a quick one. There are a million questions swimming in her eyes and forming on her tongue, and before she can give life to any of them, Ramiel is there behind her. She looks between them, her emotions a well that she cannot begin to delve into at the moment. Instead, she focuses on her son, their son (who watches his parents’ exchange with reserved delight) and introduces him. “This is Ramiel. He’s waited a long time to meet you.” Too long, she wants to add. Where have you been, she also wonders, silently.

[Elysteria]

love is a temporary madness...

She sees him at nearly the same time as Talulah does. He is unmistakable. And though her heart lifts inside her chest and her throat tightens, she does not fly into his embrace. That has never been her way. Those fragile emotions of hers still hide behind their wall. And though cracks had been weakening it for a very long time, it still stands. So she moves towards him, a bright smile upon her lips, her russet eyes sparking with joy.

She calls to Joscelin, who is rarely far from her. Certainly not for lack of the young girl’s trying, but rather because Elysteria has had a very difficult time letting the filly out of her sight. Joscelin comes to her, leaving behind her investigations with a grumble. But when she sees what the reason is, her white tipped ears perk up curiously. She bounds forward with enthusiasm, her energy and spirit inexhaustible. She has been waiting just as long as Ramiel to meet the gold and white stallion that she knows to be her father.

In her eagerness, she nearly barrels right into him. Halting scant inches from the winged stallion, she offers a quick, happy grin to Ramiel before turning her gaze up to Tiphon. Golden eyes peer from a red and white face with bright curiosity. Elysteria reaches the small group only moments after her daughter, though she comes to halt at a more comfortable distance. Her smile is radiant as her eyes study him closely, ensuring for herself that he is well.

“We have missed you.”

Joscelin speaks at nearly the same time as her mother. She never been much of one for politeness.

You’re my papa, right? Mama has told me about you. Where have you been?

elysteria

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[Tiphon]

We danced with monsters through the night There is an overbearing sense of failure that sinks deep into his core. It's hidden behind his smiles and soft nuzzles when Talulah, Elysteria, and their children soon arrive. They join together as a family would with only one missing: Tiberios. Curiosity lifts Tiphon's eyes to the scenery engulfing them. There is no sign of his son but his scent is here, as he had hoped. Winning him back in battle had been one of the greatest reliefs he had ever felt. His attention quickly drifts to his youngest children, however, as they peer up at him with youthful innocence. A smile plays across the angel king's lips. "Ramiel," he tastes the name with delight, "Such a strong and fitting name." When he reaches forward he ruffles the boy's forelock before his daughter speaks up in the sweetest of voices. "Yes, I'm your papa." She asks him what he was afraid of. A frown creases his pristine face as a breath is drawn slowly in. "It was going to be a secret but," he pauses to find an explanation that a child would rather hear and to lower his voice and head to her level, "I was saving the world." A chuckle radiates from Tiphon before straightening himself to look at the two mares. The two women he has come to cherish and adore. "I'm sorry, but I'm back now." He wants to send an eternity with them without ever having to lose them, without missing a single moment together. "I've missed you both so, so much." The sincerity of his words is far deeper than he has ever allowed to be expressed. "How are you and the Dale? And where is Tiberios?" So many questions and still there are more that lie tucked away in his subconscious. Tiphon infection and starlace

picture by random-acts-stock on deviant art

[Talulah]

Wedged as she is between her son and his father, she’s never felt happier. She’s never felt like she has had a purpose as great as being the bridge connecting the two. As if her life has led her to this moment, a blissful triad reunited under the blazing Dalean sun. It feels like a pinnacle. But despite its glittering peak, this moment is hardly golden. Elysteria and her filly are mere minutes behind Talulah and Ramiel. She hears their approach, and when she turns, she knows. All the pieces, at last, fall into place. As she looks from one face to the next in their little group, she finally sees what had been in front of her for the longest time. Blinders that she hadn’t known she was wearing (or maybe that she put there herself, rose-colored as they were) finally come off. Elysteria’s tender eye as she assesses Tiphon, the way she holds herself – not in deference to her king - but in the familiarity of an equal. And if she hadn’t been able to untangle the knots, Joscelin does with her telling question of parentage. Pappa, she calls him. Talulah feels an odd burn in her stomach, a different kind of warmth than the one heating it just moments before. It’s so uncharacteristic that she has no name for it; it’s so alien in the way it drinks greedily from her happiness. She tries to muscle it away, but it anchors down into her gut. Suddenly, the grey mare knows how Tiberios must feel. Ramiel doesn’t pick up on the underlying tension of his mother or the revelations coming to light around him. He only knows that his father is back, at last, and he cannot believe his good fortune. His white and gold sire praises his name and ruffles the hair falling down his face, and he thrills at it all. “I only hope I can live up to it, for my family.” His usual stoicism crumbles on such an exciting day, but he always chooses his words with the utmost care. Joscelin, as per usual, is the sunshine to his pensive moon, and she doesn’t hesitate to express her joy. Tiphon answers her question, and Ramiel leans forward to hear his response. Saving the world? It doesn’t really surprise him, and he grins openly back at his sister. They would have a lot to talk about on their next adventure. The metal mare smiles faintly at her son’s enthusiasm. Tiphon soon diverts his attention back to them, apologizing for his absence. It chips away at her every time he looks at Elysteria; it eats at her that they’ve shared these glances before and she’d had no idea. Deep down, she knows she has no right to this resentment. For hasn’t her heart been pulled two ways? The angel doesn’t understand the irony when he speaks his son’s name, and Talulah looks up quickly, as if he’d caught her thoughts. “We held down the fort as best we could. There were a few new faces, but we haven’t seen them again.” She looks at Elysteria for confirmation, a weak smile playing on her lips. She doesn’t – and wouldn’t – hold it against the bay woman who has become her friend, but the realization is still fresh enough to hurt. “I think Tiberios needed a bit of time to himself to reacclimate.” Perhaps the understatement of the year, but she didn’t want to speak for him. “Is the trouble you warned us about passed?” t a l u l a h lady of the Dale

reference //info

[Elysteria]

love is a temporary madness...

She does not see it right away, the realization, followed by the pain that flits across Talulah’s features. She is too caught up in her own happiness that Tiphon has at last returned, that Joscelin could finally meet her father. She is reserved in her affections, but her joy is plain for all to see. However, when she sees the expression worn by the metal mare, her own expression falters for a brief moment. She wonders what could have caused such a reaction. Even in her concern, she does not realize that Talulah had not known of Joscelin’s parentage, of the relationship that existed (however warily) between herself and Tiphon. She had known of them, of course. How could she not? Even were it not quite so obvious, she would have had no doubts upon first meeting Ramiel. So it had never occurred to her that Talulah had not known as well.

She is prevented from asking however, when their conversation continues. In any case, she knew she would have plenty of opportunity to inquire at a later time, after their reunion. Joscelin, equally as oblivious to the undercurrent running through the group as Ramiel, answers her father in delight, barely waiting for a break in the conversation to speak.

Really? That’s so exciting! What were you saving it from?

Elysteria can only smile at her wayward daughter, a bemused expression lighting her features before focusing her attention on Tiphon’s questions. She glances at Talulah as she answers, her concern once again surfacing at the odd, uncharacteristic smile that now graces her lips. She nods in agreement to her friend’s assessment, a slight frown touching her muzzle as she studies her closely.

“I’m afraid Tiberios has been a bit reclusive since his return. I have not yet had the opportunity to speak to him. I have made several attempts at recruitment, but regrettably I have not been successful. The field seems full of recruiters and lacking in newcomers of late.”

She pauses for a long moment, her russet gaze flitting from Talulah, to Tiphon, and back again. In the end, her concern regarding Talulah’s odd behavior proves too great to keep contained.

“Are you alright Talulah?”

elysteria

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