Eyes On Fire
Souzan had steadily been making his way northwards. The place he'd landed on had been just a little too warm for him. Despite the kingdom he'd hailed from being decently warm he'd always suffered under the weight of his northern bred pelt, a gift from his mother. So it was a relief that as he moved northwards, first crossing the land bridge and then plodding along in a generally northerly sense, and the weather grew colder, though it was still relatively mild. As he continued he found himself growing more and more comfortable in his pelt, which was starting to thicken even more as autumn was creeping in. So he'd kept moving, occasionally stopping to soak in an interesting local. He may have kept going, hitting the northern most shore if not for a familiar scent catching his attention. Ig? He wondered, stopping and taking a deep breath to better breathe in the scent. And Sephira! His eyes widened in shock, he obviously hadn't seen his brother in quite some time and after she'd left to follow their brother Souzan hadn't been certain he'd ever see his sister again either. Of course there had been no way to know that the land he'd found himself upon had been where his lost siblings had also arrived. So he followed the scent, brow furrowing as it grew stronger and he got the second shock of the day, his surprise evident on his face, to discover that not only did his sibling's scent exist they seemed to have laid claim to a whole forest. He stopped just beyond the clear boundary line and for a moment he was wracked with uncertainty. But in the end Souzan's curiosity won out and the man tipped his head back, releasing his voice in a call for his siblings. He had so much he wanted to ask them, so much he wanted to talk about, but more than anything he couldn't help wanting to see with his own eyes that they were alright. |
Image by Ulfeid3 |
A mix of guilt, hesitation, pain, mistrust, and other unnamed emotions came flooding through Ig's mind. Initially it'd been difficult to avoid worrying about the other member of their litter. Sephira's relationship with Ignatius had always run deep, always been steadfast. Before, he'd thought that Sou was the same, in a different, quieter way sure, but still his brother and still someone that he could count on. But then, he hadn't shown. Ig and Sephira had wandered the continent and no one else showed up. Naturally, Ignatius had mixed feelings. He certainly didn't want more wolves to become targets, but he'd also been foolish enough that more would believe that he wasn't the sort to commit such a heinous- No, he had to stop sinking into the thoughts that were threatening to swallow him whole, otherwise he'd be stuck here forever. If he wasn't careful Sephira would beat him there, and he wasn't sure he ought to allow that to happen on a first reunion.
Making his way towards the place where the call had come from, Ig marched over the frosty ground, huffing a cloud of foggy breath into the air as he tried to figure out how to... even begin to know what to do. He paused by one of the giant trees and gazed up at it, trying to compose himself. It honestly made him feel a little dizzy at times to stare up at the trees, searching for the tops that would feel like they were a million miles away when he stood on the ground, dwarfed by massive thing simply when compared to their width, much less the impossible height they achieved. Once he felt properly dizzy and regretted the choice, Ig drew in a breath, held it, and began walking again as he let it out.
Striding over to the blue and red form of his brother, Ignatius regarded him for a long moment. He looked the same as always. Maybe a little healthier now that he was here in the land of plenty. Normally Souzan wasn't a big talker, it was something Ignatius had been able to appreciate growing up with the constant babble from Sephira and Avis' sweet but borderline needy nature. Someone had to balance it all out. But now, for once, Ig was the one who had no words. He didn't really resent Sou for taking some time to get here. There wasn't a way to know why it'd been a while until they'd spoken... Guilt slammed down on him like a hammer, unyielding and merciless. Why?
"Been a while, brother," he mused at last, sounding oddly tired as he lost any semblance of a strong facade. There was wariness there, almost imperceptible, but still there. That was the source. Ignatius found that it filled him with anger to realize that not only had he been stripped of his home and title, but also any ability to trust those around him completely.
Souzan waited patiently, though to say he wasn't anxious would have been an obvious lie. He shuffled from side to side, unable to really keep still as he waited. He was a flurry of emotions, each one clear as he felt it anew before mixing with the others on his face. There was relief, that his brother and sister still seemed to be alive, maybe even thriving. Then there was guilt, at having not gone after Sephira and Ignatius himself, what would his brother think of him? Was he a traitor for not immediately flying to the former heir's side? But there was also anger, slow and simmering but there. Anger that he should feel guilty at all. Was he not allowed to grieve? What good would it have done to abandon their family in the face of such a tragedy? Some of that anger was directed at Sephira as well, for forcing him to lose a second sister in as many days. That anger was mostly reserved for something else though, the possibility that his biggest fear could prove true. And of course there was that fear itself, that he should discover that his anger was well founded. That it had been true all along. If that was the case he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself back from tearing his brother apart himself. But of course that he believed it was possible at all only fed into his guilt more. And under it all, flowing like an unending current was the pain. He'd spent the last few days on this continent distracted from it but it was always there, flaring up whenever he woke or was left alone with his thoughts at the end of the day. He'd cried so many times some part of him was sure he'd run out of tears, but that simply hadn't happened. Souzan slowly rolled into conciousness each morning, screwing his eyes shut and begging, pleading to open them and find everything, all the terrible things he'd heard or seen; the destruction of his homeland, the tearing apart of his family, had been a long nightmare. And each morning when the world coalesced into solid images and he found himself in this veritable paradise, it felt hollow. By all rights he should have been stunned to find the realm around him was real but each morning he couldn't help but wish he was back home, being woken up by Sephira or Avis, or even their father. He'd have given anything to have it all back. And indeed while he'd never been a particularly pious man Souzan had found himself pleading each night to whatever gods could be found in this place to take him if it meant giving her back, and each night they ignored his pleas, unmoved by his cries. Souzan shuffled again, uncertainty rolling over him as he waited. What would Ignatius do? What would he do? Did he even have any right to call on his brother like this? But did he also not have a right to know, a right to the truth? These thoughts swirled in his mind when his brother finally made his appearance. Souzan watched him, following him with his gaze. Ignatius looked as he always had, no even better, sleeker, better fed and a wave of relief washed over the man, flashing across his face as it did. "Been a while, brother," Ignatius spoke and Souzan felt his eyes prickle, those pesky never ending tears once more threatening to spill over. He could only nod, suddenly feeling nostalgic. He wanted to rush over and scoop his brother into a bear hug, ignoring that Ig was the oldest of the bunch he wanted to feel like if he simply never let go again he could protect the fiery man forever, but then he also wanted to hit Ignatius, wanted to growl and snap at him, wanted to make his brother tell him everything. So he stayed put and that internal conflict played out in him like a war, clearly raging in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to open with it. He certainly couldn't help but feel like he was about to push ways his brother after only just getting him back but there could be no moving on from here if he didn't know, he imagined it hadn't even crossed their sister's mind to question him but Souzan was different, he had promised himself he'd protect them all and then had clearly failed to do so, and with the one everyone seemed convinced had done it standing before him he simply couldn't pretend it hadn't happened. "Did you do it?" His deep voice was a soft rumble, barely above a whisper. His tone carried all the pain, all the anger of his grief, but also carried the guilt he felt for accusing his brother at all. This too was reflected in his eyes as he watched his brother. |
Image by Ulfeid3 |