The peace that formerly reigned in Terra Nova has eroded, now little more than a memory. War ravages the continent. Disputes divide kingdoms; ideals divide families. The quest for power consumes absolutely and indiscriminately. None are immune to its allure.
Who will rise and who will fall? Only time—and ambition—will tell.
UPDATES
05.26.2023
2 month character creation hold for all existing members begins 6/5/2023. Ended 8/5/2023.
10.29.2023
Change in how times flows. Was 4 IC seasons, now only 2 IC seasons per 1 OOC year.
5 whole years of Heir Apparent goodness! When I started the site, I knew I was hunkering down for the long haul, but I never could have predicted the numerous twists and turns this roleplay site has seen. Hundreds of plots, characters, and members have come and gone, all leaving marks on the site. I am so very thankful for those who have invested. Because you keep coming back, keep getting on, and keep writing, Heir Apparent has the legacy it does today. Three cheers to us!
When Embric and Aine had first seen the puppy, their thoughts immediately turned to Koti and his canine dyr, Rex. Five years – simultaneously the longest and the shortest of his life – had passed since the man, who had been their closest confidante for nearly a decade, had been killed by the Eldouir, yet the sight of black fur still had them faltering in their stride. For all he resembled Rex in looks, the young hound obviously was not – could not be – the dyr who he, Aine, and Kasni missed so dearly, but despite the strain of having another mouth to feed and another life to care for (though truly, he was quite self-sufficient), they all appreciated having the pup around too much to chase him off. So he stayed, and he was named Echo, for the way he reminded them of who they had lost.
In the months that followed, they had come to love the hound in his own right. With his seemingly boundless happiness and affection, Echo had become a welcome relief from the horrors of reality. And now that he knew @xanthe and Savi were here, Embric wanted to share the respite with them.
“Hey—Hey— Down,” He said as they entered the modest shelter that he, Aine, and Kasni called home. Xan was greeted immediately by a blur of black fur and a wagging tail. “Echo, we don’t jump on people— Sorry, Xan, he’s usually better. Oh, Savi, he will likely—” The hound had noticed the maned wolf, and after a momentary pause with his nose in the air, Echo began sniffing around the other canine in typical dog-like fashion. “Echo.” Embric’s voice turned sharper, demanding attention. “Sit.” The dog sat, though only just. With a sigh, the man shook his head, though the corners of his lips had turned upward. “Thank you,” He told the dog, before turning back to his guests. “Xan, Savi, meet Echo.”
Xanthe was glad to spend more time with Embric and Aine, and to see Kasni again. When she'd run into Embric and Aine in the street, they had exchanged their losses. It seemed a right of passage for the Dresmondi now. They had last seen each other just before the first attack from Coheed and a lot had been lost since then. Elijah and Legba had taken Xanthe in as a child, raised her and taught her everything she'd known. He'd been the best tanner in the Kushti caravan, at least as far as Xanthe was concerned. But he hadn't been her only teacher. When she emerged under the element of light, a teacher had taken her under his wing. Their wings.
Embric and Aine had lost even more. His son, who was lost to the Cave of Names. Koti and Rex, whom Xanthe had not spent nearly as much time with but was still very fond of. And his daughter had not been given the right of her birth, the opportunity to find her soul mate and be given her Name had been lost when the medallion disappeared. But still he managed to smile, and as he invited her inside and the black dog jumped at her, she couldn't help but smile as well.
"Oh, hello there," she said as he jumped up, not caring that he'd done so despite Embric's pleading him to stop. She scratched behind his ears momentarily before he was running off again to investigate Savi. It was more than amusing. She'd never had a pet before, and it was always strange to see animals act to their nature versus the almost human-like way that the dyrs approached such situations. Though...come to think of it, there had been a time when Savi was much less reserved and had a similar, playful energy to him.
"Oh, it's quite al -- wait, okay, hello, that is not necess--" Savi stammered, turning in a circle as the dog did the same. When Echo sit, Savi did the same, staring down at him both curiously and happily, now that he'd settled. Xanthe laughed at the sight.
"Echo, that's nice," she said, walking over to squat down in front of the dog, patting his head gently with her bandaged hands. He lifted his nose to sniff them, and then licked the bandages, which made Xanthe smile faintly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Echo. Have you been keeping my mentors company? What a good boy." The dog leaned forward and excitedly licked her face, and she let him. Savi still sat somewhat back, watching, reserved. "Where did you find him?" She said, standing up once more. "And where is Kasni? I'd like to see her as well."
From her position of safety - she had long since learned what roosts were out of the dog’s reach - on a nearby perch, Aine watched Echo and Savi turn in circles with no shortage of amusement. As her silent laughter compounded his own, Embric brought up a hand to stroke his beard, hiding a small smile in the event that the very flustered maned wolf turned to look at him. Admittedly, he had been rather curious to see how the two would interact - Echo, around someone who was another canine, and Savi, around a dog who lacked the inherently more sophisticated nature of dyrs - and he suspected the memory of their greeting would be one that he would chuckle at for the rest of his life. What followed in the next moment, however, was a sound he would cherish for an entirely different reasons. Xan’s laugh, a noise of delight that brought back long buried memories, was not something he had ever dared hope he would hear again.
“He is a very good boy,” Embric agreed, watching as Echo gave Xan a lick of approval, even as his dyr corrected both of them pointedly, “He is a terror. He is a walking mud puddle, has no respect for personal space, and utterly uncivilized.” The man made a non-committal noise; this was not a new complaint, and connected as he was to her, he could tell that a significant portion of her protests were merely for show. Instead, he continued mildly, “He is a puppy. And some much appreciated company.” Tilting his head slightly to where his dyr peered down at them in all her dignified majesty, he murmured conspiratorially, “Even Aine agrees. He simply spent the first season chasing her around, and she’s never forgiven him for it.”
With practiced ease, Embric ignored the offended screech, the pointed “I heard that”, and the subsequent threats of filling Xan in on each one of his embarrassing stories that she had missed, instead leaning over and scratching behind Echo’s ears as the dog’s tail thumped against the ground. The puppy whimpered, eyes fixed on Savi. He wanted to play. “Be polite, and maybe Savi will play with you,” Embric told him firmly, glancing at where the maned wolf cautiously sat. “You don’t have to, Savi. He spent the entire morning napping, so he’s full of energy now.” Released from the command to sit, Echo got to his feet, tail wagging, and sniffed the air around the canine dyr.
After watching them for a moment to make sure his young charge had calmed down some, Embric wandered over to stroke an appeasing hand down Aine’s feathers - she sent him a huff down their bond, but she was hardly sincerely outraged - and said, “Kasni should be back soon. She goes out hunting in the early morning, before it gets too hot.” At first, preying upon the animals around the outskirts of Elderkeep had been a fairly reliable way of supplementing the meager rations their red-headed captors saw fit to provide, but as the years wore on and an entire people were restricted to a single location, the land had no time to heal. Though game had grown increasingly scarce, his daughter still ventured out, and Embric suspected it was more for the sake of escaping their wagon and the feeling of doing something than anything else. He could hardly begrudge her a few stolen moments of privacy and feeling useful, even as the fear of her running alone into an Eldouir gnawed at him until she returned safely. “She takes Echo with her sometimes. He’s not a bad hunting dog.” And it was a good outlet for his energy as well.
Inviting Xan to sit, Embric offered, “Would you like something to drink?” All of the Dresmondi and their paltry possessions were objectively run-down, but the man had done his best to make his humble wagon feel like home. The interior showed evidence of makeshift modifications over the years, some made for Aine’s sake and others as simple upkeep - the products of a man who tried to keep his hands too busy for his mind to think - and it was to one of these that he went. A few weeks into living in their prison, Aine had given him the idea to start collecting rainwater for the days when the lines at the wells stretched far, so he had turned an empty barrel into a receptacle, with a lid to keep it all from evaporating. “I just have water.” After ensuring all who had wanted a drink were properly watered, Embric went to his seat with his own cup in hand. Scratching his beard absentmindedly, he looked back over at Echo. “We found him as a stray,” He said quietly. “On the way back from fixing the floor of someone’s wagon. Even then, he was probably the friendliest creature in Elderkeep.” Apart from Ermir.
Xanthe put her hands on her hips and looked up at Aine on her perch, the smile remaining. It'd been so long since she'd felt this familiar sense of family, of knowing. Not only because she knew them, but because they knew her. Aine had been this way for as long as she could remember. "Like the way Savi used to chase Aine around when he was just a pup? He was all legs, and he used to trip over himself trying to get to her. You forgave Savi, Aine, so you have to forgive Echo, too. And you taught him all of his manners." She gestured to Savi, sitting upright on the floor, nice and proper. "You just have to do the same to Echo. Patience. Isn't that what you always told us?" A devious smirk filled her lips, then, using Aine's own words against her. Xanthe had learned from the best.
Savi wasn't so sure that the dog before him understood when Embric told him to be polite, but to his surprise, the dog did re-approach in a much calmer way. No, calmer wasn't the best word. His energy was ready to explode, but he was asking permission, clearly. He lowered himself to the floor in front of Savi, his tail thumping, his belly exposed. Savi's eyes moved between the three others, but settled on Xanthe's. She was smiling so widely. He could hardly hide his elation at the sight of it and it had been all in thanks to Aine, Embric, and yes, even Echo.
So made eye contact with the dog and took a few steps back, then bowed his head to the floor and lifted his hind end into the air as if ready to pounce. Echo jumped to his feet and ran toward Savi at full speed, but the Maned Wolf leapt into the air, easily jumping over the dog and turning back around to chase him around the wagon. Xanthe's chest rose and fell. "I understand," she replied in regards to Kasni. "It's still quiet in the mornings. It's nice to have that time. And Savi gets all the credit for most of my catches. Nothing gets past his nose." She didn't want to say it out loud, because there was no doubting that it was likely a point of pain for all of them, but it was nice that Kasni had Echo. He wasn't quite the same as a Dyr, but he could be close enough. Her companion in a time where she had been stripped of one.
Xanthe sat but she shook her head when offered the water. "I'm okay, thank you," she said, looking around the wagon. It did feel like home. She had lost hers when she left the warring caravans behind and had been forced to make some kind of makeshift hut of a home when they'd settled into Elderkeep. But a lot of people had been forced to do that. "Maybe it was fated," she said, watching he and Savi as they pawed at one another and rolled around on the floor. "Being in this wagon makes me feel at home. Like at any moment all of those we've lost will climb in and ask us why we're cooped up inside on such a nice day. Do you remember that day underneath the Aestas sun, you and Aine were teaching us how to produce heat but it was already so hot outside. We had to learn before Autumna, though, and we were pouring sweat...I think we lost two stone that day, and when we came into the wagon we laid down against the cool wood and Koti thought we had passed out. He was so worried."
Aine turned and pinned Xan with a predator’s unrelenting glare as she spoke, but Embric could feel the trickle of fondness hidden in the overwhelming flood of disbelief and betrayal. “Xanthe! You’re supposed to be on my side,” She gasped, turning her scowl upon the man who was once again hiding a small smile. “She used to be a sweet little girl before she spent all that time with you, and now you have corrupted her! Turned her into this, someone who back-talks!” Expression held carefully neutral, Embric glanced sideways at Xan, then back at his disgruntled dyr. “That may very well be the case, my dear Aine, but have you considered that time spent in my company is the same as time spent in your own? Surely you have influenced the girl just as much as I.”
Despite her protests about the young woman’s changing allegiances, Aine was fond of the dog, and both she and Embric fanned the same ember of happiness as they watched Evho and Savi chase each other around the wagon. It felt a little like returning home after a long journey. Echo was not and would never be Rex, but if he set that aside and just watched the dark-furred canine run, then it seemed…
“Like at any moment all of those we've lost will climb in and ask us why we're cooped up inside on such a nice day.”
With his throat suddenly tight around the knot that had materialized, Embric could only nod. He wanted desperately to close his eyes and open them again to find Koti there, looking down at them, exasperation replacing concern the minute he realized what had happened. Framed by the doorway, he’d turned his head, then, and shouted for Embric’s boy to bring some water for two idiots who, despite their manipulation of light, were clearly not very bright themselves.
Kushti Caravan, Aestas 817
Embric grinned, offering his partner a somewhat rueful shrug but making no moves to remove himself from the refreshingly cool floor of their wagon. He turned to Xan, who had splayed the gangly limbs that every teenager seemed to have, across the floor nearby. “Though he does have a point,” He said thoughtfully. “Perhaps it would be prudent to save heat manipulation for when the entire world isn’t so hot.”
Koti made a noise from the door. “I leave you both alone for five minutes…” Embric could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose. “Aine, you’re supposed to be the reasonable one here. What were you thinking, letting them do this?”
“Now that’s hardly fair, love,” Embric told the ceiling of the wagon. “Aine knows that the weather is getting colder and just wanted to help. And in our defense, you were gone for far longer than five minutes.”
“Because I was doing my job. You know Kara’s back has been bothering her, and Vella’s baby is due any minute now. I was helping them and didn’t expect to have to come back and find you becoming my job, too.” His tone, which had thus far sat somewhere between fond exasperation and genuine worry, now shifted more toward the latter. “What if you had actually passed out and I hadn’t come back? You know overheating has killed people.”
Embric and Koti often bickered as though they had spent decades rather than years at each other’s side, but there were times when it was important to set that aside. Quietly: “I promise we’ll be more careful next time. I thought we could handle it.”
A glance in his direction showed the concerned healer crossing his arms as he looked disapprovingly down at them, but his next words indicated that Koti seemed appeased by the promise. “You thought, huh?” It seemed the verbal sparring had recommenced. This was why he loved Koti. “I swear, Embric, there is only one of us doing any thinking around here, and his name does not start with an E.”
Embric thought for a moment, then offered mildly, “Oh, you’re quite right. We never give dear Rex enough credit for his ideas.”
There was another noise and an audible eye roll, accompanied this time by a barking laugh from the dark-furred dog no doubt positioned right outside the wagon. “Honestly, I don’t know how you’d survive without me. You’re lucky I love you.”
“I know.” He was entirely sincere.
A sigh as Koti unfolded his arms and prepared to leave. “I need to get back to Vella,” He said, already halfway out the door. “Drink your water, birdbrain. You too, Xan. I doubt Elijah would be happy to know you’ve made yourself sick.” Then he left.
Embric heard him say something to his boy as the kid returned with water, but couldn’t make out the words; Aine’s amusement at whatever she heard was minimally comforting. He looked at Xan, then pushed himself up into a sitting position with a groan, just as his boy poked his head into the wagon.
“I brought these for you,” The kid said, holding out cups of water for each of them to take. When Embric reached for his, he hesitated for a moment, and then threw the water at the man instead. Sputtering, Embric wiped his eyes and looked up at a cheeky grin. “Koti said to do that.”
Xanthe's fists rested on her hips, her lips pressed firmly together as she tried to hold back more laughter. "I'm sorry Aine, but Embric is right. I have to give you both equal credit for my attitude. You know Elijah and Legba didn't have an ounce of sass in their bones. It's all from the two of you, I learned from the best of the best." It'd been so easy to do, to pick up on their unique blend of loving banter. It had been nonstop back then and though she hadn't started participating as much until shortly before they'd all ended up going their separate ways, she and Savi had practiced it between themselves through the years.
"Oh..careful, Savi, you're faster and taller than Echo," she said as they bounced around each other. Savi's focus didn't turn away from his new friend, his tongue hanging from his mouth.
"You would have me let him win?" Savi said simply, as if Xanthe was supposed to understand what that meant.
"W--win?" Her head moved slightly to one side, not unlike the way a confused dog might. As far as Xanthe could tell, whatever game they were playing had no established rules, but maybe Savi had made up some of his own. He was enjoying himself and she was hardly going to stop him.
Laughing was easy around Embric and Koti. She kept quiet as the partner of her teacher stared down at them, his face a mixture of emotions that she had seen more than once or twice and would surely see again before their training was over. Her lips remained zipped for the moment since Koti seemed happy to blame it all on Embric and Aine though she had been the one to beg them to work on it with her. Better they be there to help than she and Savi do something destructive. "We did it, though," Savi, who laid on the floor by Xanthe's feet, said through pants.
It was only when Embric responded to Koti's little jab by commending Rex that Xanthe could no longer withhold her laughter and it burst from her mouth loudly, forcing her to cover her lips with her palm, her eyes beginning to water quickly. "I'm sorry Koti, but we did it! We just went a little overboard is all. We'll do better next time, I know Savi can get it right."
As Koti left she nodded happily, agreeing to follow his instructions, her giggles still bubbling out slowly as she attempted to control them. She pushed himself up and leaned toward Savi, her fingers scratching behind his ears as he whimpered happily. She had really just gotten over the giggle fit when she reached for the cup of the water, pausing at half reach as her mouth dropped open when he tossed the water into Embrics face. She snorted, covering her mouth to keep herself from yeilding to yet another fit of giggles. Instead she turned to the boy, two sets of eyes meeting seriously and narrowing. She slowly moved her hand closer...closer...until she finally gripped the cup. "That's what I thought..." she said, slowly pulling the cup away from his hand without incident.
She took a few sips of it, sat the rest down on the floor for Savi, then reached out and grabbed the boy, pulling him into her lap and wrapping one arm around him. The other reached under his arms, poking at him and forcing him to erupt into laughter. "Koti told you to do it so I'll go easy on you!" She said, tickling him without restraint. Between laughs and gasping breaths, he demanded that Xanthe let him go because he was now too old to be tickled, but she did not relent. "You'll never be too old! Embric, hurry, get his feet while he's weak!"
Before responding to Embric’s cheek, Koti had glanced over at the teenager who was trying and failing to hold in her laughter. “Oh I am aware that you’re not entirely blameless, Xanthe,” He said with the desert-dry tone of one who knew all too well the collective chaos that Embric and any one of his three young charges could cause. “However—” He jerked his head in Embric’s direction “—of the two of you, this one is supposed to be the responsible one and stop you before it goes too far.”
Embric could only offer a rueful grin. Soon enough, Koti’s concern-ridden disapproval had been replaced by squealing and demands for freedom as the boy was tickled mercilessly by the girl he viewed as an older sister. Living with two young children meant that laughter echoing through the wagon was hardly a rare occurrence, but every time it happened, Embric couldn’t help but smile - even though he was now drenched in the water that he was supposed to have drunk. Running his hand over his face again and flicking away the last bits of water that threatened to drip into his eyes, he mentally pointed an accusatory finger at Aine - she sent a SMUG satisfaction back - and took a moment to survey the scene before him.
“It looks to me like you’ve got him pretty handled yourself,” Embric told Xan lightly, watching as his boy gasped for breath between bouts of laughter. “I’m not sure he would survive having his feet tickled too.”
“Hey!” The kid protested, twisting around in the teenager’s grasp as he simultaneously tried to escape and face his father. “I’m not a baby! I can survive anything!”
Embric raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” Aine sent a mental eyeroll in his direction at the glee she could feel bubbling up within him. “Well then, if that’s the case…” Abandoning his place by the wall, he crawled over to the pair and reached for the boy’s feet.
“It’s hardly an accomplishment to verbally outwit a nine year old,” Aine pointed out to him, tone mirroring Koti’s in a way that suggested they spent far too much time commiserating about Embric and his antics.
The man himself had caught one of the boy’s kicking legs in one hand was too busy tickling the captured foot to respond. His other leg still flailed wildly as he did his best to escape - he had moved on now to threatening revenge if they didn’t let him go, but it was hard to take him seriously when every other word was punctuated by a laugh - and moments later, his foot came dangerously close to the cup of water and possibly the maned wolf dyr nearby.
Aine sent a warning to Embric, who pulled back, still smiling. “Alright, we have probably shown you why it’s not a good idea to do everything Koti says,” He chuckled. “What do you think, Xan? Shall we show him mercy?”
The slightest bit of scolding from Koti had Xanthe's smiling face falling into an exaggerated frown, eyelids lifting as far open as they could to give him the typical 'puppy dog face' in hopes he would go easier on her, only to have him turn his attention and the fault back onto Embric. Which made her smile quickly return. As long as Koti wasn't upset with her, Embric could deal with whatever else came of it. It was hardly honorable to abandon her teacher to fault, but she'd done it before.
Even as Embric insisted she needed no help in tickling, the boys struggles surprised her. He'd gotten strong and though part of her was proud, she did have to hold onto him a little more tightly. "Stop your wriggling!" She demanded, though he could do no such thing as the very act of tickling made his flails compulsory. Luckily, after a bit of back and forth, Embric had joined in and grabbed him by one of his legs. At this rate she thought the poor kid might pee all over himself, but soon Embric was asking if he'd been punished enough, and she had little energy left anyway after their training session. "I guess so. You're lucky, kid. Next time you won't get off so easy!" She said, messing up his hair and then leaning down to kiss his forehead before she rolled away.
Crawling back over to Savi, she pressed her forehead against his and he lifted his snout to touch her face. "Savi, gross, your mouth is all wet," she said, rubbing the moisture from her cheeks, though she laughed.
"Perhaps I find it gross that yours is not," he rebutted, sitting up tall. She crossed her legs next to him, finally looking back over at Embric.
"Savi did good today, though, didn't he? I think we'll be ready by Hiems," she said confidently, stroking the thick mane on the wolf's back. "I can't think of anything else we need to work on. We should be able to help everyone with all of the work this season. I don't want to sit anything out. Savi and I can handle it. We're adults now so no one can tell us to take breaks or help with the chores the kids do. We want to help everybody with the lands. We're Kushti, it's what we're meant to do."
"Yes, I'm ready," Savi agreed.
"Besides, there haven't been as many Light dyr emerging from the Cave of Names lately. We've got to pick up the slack. What would you do without us, Embric?" She said, and both she and Savi displayed a toothy grin in his direction.
As the tickling assault fell away and her hold on him loosened, the boy took a moment to simply catch his breath – and gave Xan the opportunity to ruffle his hair one last time and plant a kiss on his forehead. Face scrunching up, he squirmed away, bringing one hand up to wipe away the non-existent mark as he turned to face her. “Argh that’s gross!” He complained, wiping the now-contaminated hand on his clothes with the righteous indignation of every nine year old boy subjected to such treatment. “Next time I won’t let you off so easy!”
Chuckling quietly at his antics and remembering fondly how his father tolerated his own, Embric backed away to lean against the wall again and waved the boy over to sit next to him. He tossed an arm around the boy’s shoulders, drawing him close. “Where’s your sister?” As far as he knew, the four year old girl had been with Koti, but when his partner had returned, there had been no sign of her.
The kid shrugged. “Don’t know. Think she’s playing with Kara’s kids or something.”
“Right,” He hummed quietly. “Would you mind going to find her for me?”
There was a pause as they looked at each other, Embric with the politely bland smile that he had perfected over the years of dealing with stubborn people, before the kid climbed to his feet with a groan. “Fine.”
“Thank you,” Embric called after him as he stomped his way across the wagon toward the door. “Don’t have to bring her back unless she wants to come!”
Fondly, he shook his head and turned back to Xan. Since his mind still trailed after the boy, it took a moment for him to remember the question she had asked him. “Yes,” He replied warmly, eyes drifting to the maned wolf settled contentedly by her side. “Savi, you did very well today. You’ve both improved quite a bit since we started this morning. Come Heims, you’ll have no trouble staying warm.” Embric smiled, proud. It had taken him and Aine far longer to reach the point where Xan and Savi were.
As if summoned by his thoughts, the gyrfalcon quietly glided down to land on the floor near Embric, and he reached out to run his fingers gently down the back of her neck. “Only children feel the need to point out their alleged adulthood,” She observed lightly, pivoting her head to send an amused glance toward the younger pair. “But yes, you are ready to help.”
Embric made a thoughtful noise. “Give it a day or two, and you’ll regret losing your breaks,” He added knowingly, tone carrying the weight of past experiences. “As you said, we’ve got to pick up the slack.”
Their mischievous grins were meant with a raised eyebrow. He turned back to Aine. “I don’t know – what do you think we would do without them, Aine?”
“Ruffle fewer feathers. Enjoy quieter afternoons. I think you would have fewer gray hairs.”
For a moment, Embric considered this before nodding his agreement. When he next spoke, his expression was serious but for the slight upward twitch of his lips. “I think Koti might yell at me less without these two dragging us into trouble as well. The real question is, what would they do without us?”
Xanthe put an exaggerated frown on her face. "Gross? I've been kissing you for years and suddenly it's gross?" She said to the boy, a heavy sigh. "Alas, I am growing so old that young boys will no longer accept my affections." Her hand moved to her forehead and she fell back onto the floor dramatically. "And even threatened me! Ah, my charms, I can feel them fading!" Her hand moved from her head to her heart and she made coughing, cracking, and gagging noises as if she were dying.
Dramatic play over, she sat back up, one hand still resting on Savi's back, and listened to the little back and forth between Embric and his son, who he sent off to fetch his sister, aka the sweetest little girl in all the Kushti clan. It was cute little ones like her that made Xanthe excited for the day she might give birth.
As old as she joked about being, she was still young enough to be warmed by the praise of her teacher. As he insisted that they had improved, she and Savi shared a smile and she booped the tip of her nose up against his, taking his head in her hands and pressing her forehead against his. "I told you, Savi. You're doing great." The maned wolf rubbed the side of his face against Xanthe's without communicating a word, as their affections said all they needed to say. Every Dresmondi had a different relationship with their Dyr. Xanthe and Savi had always been like closing siblings. Twins born of separate parents, but from the same Earth. They had their disagreements like all siblings might, but their love for each other could not be questioned.
Aine's words, and stare, did not go unnoticed. The pair turned to her and stuck their tongues out. Xanthe looked as planned - mockingly at the bird, but Savi sticking his tongue out only made him look like a hungry predator. Which was comical, in a way, as Aine could surely defeat him in any battle. Still, she followed it up by saying they were ready, and that excited them both. "I knew it! Savi exclaimed, bumping against Xanthe. "I could feel it today. I felt strong."
"See? We won't need any breaks any time soon. I think you two have forgotten what it's like to be young and have lots of energy." She prodded, though clearly joking, her words would surely come back to bite her in the end.
Embric and Aine went back and forth about what they would do without Xanthe and Savi, and the two all but gasped. Xanthe's mouth hung agape and Savi pinned his ears back, the slightest wimper. "First of all, Embric's gray hair is coming in regardless of us!" Xanthe pointed out with a little huff. "And second of all...okay, maaaaybe we help get you in trouble with Koti...sometimes. But -- but you'd never have any fun without us! You'd all just sit around, bored. Like...reading or tinkering. Can you imagine how dull it would be until one of the kids came back from the Cave of Names?"
Another deep breath and she crossed her arms defiantly over her chest, happy with the argument she'd made. But the idea of what she and Savi would do without them? Without Embric and Aine? The boy and the girl, Koti and Rex? Well, it softened her back up. "Well, that doesn't matter as much because I won't ever have to worry about that, will I? A teacher can't leave his student behind."
"Yeah, you two couldn't leave us even if you wanted to." Savi added, and they both turned to look at their mentors without a shred of worry. "You're stuck with us, I'm afraid." He continued, doing his best impression of Embric as possible, which only made Xanthe begin laughing once more.
Chuckling to himself, Embric watched the boy snicker at Xan and her exaggerated antics before gathering him close and sending him off on his quest. With a full heart, he watched his students celebrate their success and glanced warmly over at Aine, continuing to gently stroke her feathers. Though too proud to stoop to such touching displays of affection, she did curl her head ever so slightly into his hand, and their bond thrummed with quiet affection and simple happiness as they enjoyed the moment. Her piercing black eyes, however, had landed on Xan and Savi, and her remark about maturity prompted two rather immature responses from the younger pair.
The man and his gyrfalcon returned equally paired expressions to their students. Embric looked at Xan with a single raised eyebrow, while Aine cast an unimpressed stare with the slightest head tilt toward Savi. In response to the girl’s quip about Embric growing old, the eyebrow only climbed higher, but he did not offer any other reaction. He would remember that one. Xan’s impassioned defense of herself and Savi had his lips twitching upward ever so slightly, and he ran a hand through his hair, which held no noticeably gray strands, as he corrected, “Be that as it may, I am certain that exposure to the two of you is hastening its appearance, and I simply cannot recall any time where Koti has told me off for something that wasn’t your idea in the first place.”
Aine scoffed. “Liar.”
Hush. You’re supposed to be on my side.
“Furthermore, an afternoon of reading and tinkering sounds quite enjoyable to me,” He mused idly, bringing his hand up to ostensibly rub his nose while actually hiding a smile. “Think of how much work I could get done on the wagon if I could spend all my time tinkering. Aine, Koti might finally get the shelving he’s been wanting all this time.” Embric could see, however, that his own question had unintentionally struck a nerve. He brought his hand down to let the smile show and with a wave of his arm, invited her over to sit beside him in the boy’s vacated spot. If she chose to do so, he would wrap his arm around her shoulders and hug her close, smiling down at her as he agreed, “You never will. I’m afraid you are stuck with me, for any good teacher - and I, naturally, am one of the best - will never leave his student behind.”
Then Savi spoke up, the impression unmistakable, and Embric pinned the maned wolf with another raised eyebrow. “There are no such stipulations about the student’s dyr, however,” He added dryly. “That is up to Aine.”
“He’s staying.” Her response came almost instantly. Betrayed, Embric turned to her, but she cut him off with a quick, “Don’t look at me. This is your fault. All of the attitude these two have? They get it from you.” A pause. “Besides, it’s good for you.”
Embric turned to look back at Savi—
—who was in the middle of his incompressible game with Echo, the two of them making the ramshackle little wagon feel more alive than it had in quite a while. The maned wolf’s comically long legs had him towering over the younger canine, giving him a quite literal leg up for whatever they were doing.
“Before I forget, Xan,” Embric said mildly, glancing over at his former student before his gaze returned to the dog currently nose to nose with the maned wolf. “Would you mind fashioning a lead and collar for Echo? I know you’re busy with your… work, but I was hoping perhaps they would be simple enough to make before Tribute?”He stroked his beard thoughtfully, hiding the regret that coiled through his heart. “They don’t need to be fancy. We’ve managed thus far without them, but I don’t want to push our luck for any longer than necessary.” Leaning back, he acknowledged her answer with a smile and a quiet word of gratitude.
Watching the two canines play reminded him of later that very same day, after the boy had returned with his younger sister in tow. He asked Xan if she remembered it…
It had taken him a while to track her down, for she had wandered with the other children as Dresmondi offspring were wont to do. By the time they had returned hand in hand, Embric had gone to get himself, and Xan, if she wanted another one, a cup of water to drink, and was feeling quite refreshed - or as refreshed as one could be, in the Aestas heat - despite their earlier misadventures. Like any pair of siblings, the boy and girl sometimes had their quarrels, but when they were united against a common enemy, they made a formidable team. The boy had, like any respectable brother, convinced his sister to join in on his plan for revenge, and while she distracted Xan, he had rushed in to tackle the teenager and tickle her in turn.
Xanthe leaned in to Savi, her cheek pressed against his and whispered out loud, even though she very well good have said the words without saying anything at all. "I think he plucks them so no one will see..." she smirked, and Savi didn't dare reply, but turned to bop her with his wet nose, which made her scrunch her own nose up and reach to wipe it off. But her mouth dropped open slightly at the insinuation that he only got in trouble with Koti when she was around.
"That's hardly fair!" She exclaimed. "If I'm not around to get you in trouble, I'm also not around to see you get in trouble, so how am I supposed to know if Koti does or doesn't scold you?" She crossed her arms, lifting her chin. "There's no evidence that it doesn't happen, so we'll just have to ask Koti himself when he returns."
That was one argument Xanthe couldn't combat, however. He probably would have more time if she and Aine weren't coming around every day, begging him to do this or that. Elijah had mentioned once that once they were finished with their lessons, she should give Embric and Koti some time. Having the kids would already make it difficult enough for them to be alone, and Xanthe barging in all the time didn't help. Although she was sure Embric didn't actually want her gone, she had to be mindful of such things especially as she was getting older.
When she was invited to sit next to him however, she accepted happily and moved close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her family was a makeshift one. She had no idea who her parents were, and thought Elijah called himself her grandfather, she knew that was through fact of adoption. Her parents, whoever they were, had not been from the Kushti and how baby Xanthe had ended up in Elijah's care was unknown to her. But he had taken care of her well, taught her everything, loved and supported her. And when she emerged from the Cave of Names with Savi, who wields the element of Light, Embric and Aine had taken them in to teach them. But they weren't just teachers, they were like the parents she'd never had. She loved them like they were her blood because to her, they were her blood. So his words warmed her. She'd never given thought to losing he and Aine before, but all it took was his simple assurance to ease her mind.
The back and forth between he and Aine about Savi made her laugh, and she opened her arms to allow the Maned Wolf to come and curl against her. "Aine's the boss, you get to stay too, Savi," she said, scratching his neck.
It was true that she was busy with her work on the tribute. Her hands told that tale easily. The process had been long but as they neared time to offer their sacrifices, she was getting closer to being done. So she nodded at his request without question. Truthfully, he could have asked her for anything. A whole new set of clothes. A blanket large enough to cover the wagon. She would have said yes, and done her best to supply him with whatever he needed. Because she finally had some of her family back. "Sure, that's easy enough," she lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "I have plenty of scraps from my work on the tribute that should work well enough. It won't take me half a day."
It was curious that he felt he needed this before tribute, but perhaps he was worried the dog would get loose while everyone was busy making the trip to the estate. He was right. A roaming dog would draw attention, not just from the Eldouir, but of the other Dresmondi, many of whom were desperately hungry. It was safer to keep Echo on a leash, and Xanthe would make sure it fit correctly and was comfortable for him.
Waiting in the wagon for the water that Embric had promised, Xanthe and Savi rested against the wall with their eyes closed. They felt the movement of the wagon as someone stepped inside, but she knew it was not Embric because it had not moved enough. Instead, she opened her eyes to find the smaller girl staring at her, looking down at Savi with pleading eyes. Xanthe smiled. "Savi," she had to say little more. He climbed out of her lap and leaned his head down to allow her to pet him. She smiled with excitement and reached her hand out, petting his head gently. Xanthe's attention was focused on the two of them when suddenly she was attacked.
"Noooo!" She said, her own giggles erupting forcibly as she was tackled and tickled. "That's not fair, you cheated!" She said through gasps of laughter as the girl then joined in, taking hold of one of Xanthe's arms to keep her from being able to fight back. "I can't believe you'd betray me like that -- my own sister! Savi, help me!"
The dyr did as his human requested and jumped in, pushing the little girl with his nose and licking her face, which made her giggle as well. But she didn't let go, she was holding on to Xanthe's arm for dear life, and there was little Xanthe could do to escape. "Emmmmbriiiiic! Help, stop the savagery!"
Embric may have gotten moderately sidetracked while going to retrieve the water he’d promised Xan. Vella’s wagon was on the way to the well, so he had decided to stop by and see if her baby had arrived yet. He had proceeded to be drawn into conversation by the new mother and Koti, whose laughing eyes told Embric he knew exactly where his partner was going and why. Once he had offered his congratulations to the former and cooed sufficiently over the newborn, he managed to extract himself from that discussion only to land himself in another. After discerning that the request wasn’t urgent, given that they had settled here for the next few days, he promised to take a look at the woman’s broken wagon wheel later and finally made it to the well. Water had been acquired and carried most of the way back when Embric paused at the sight of two very familiar children whispering a short distance away from his destination. With a smile, he decided to duck back inside Vella’s wagon.
“Did either of you need any water?” He asked a bemused Vella and suspicious Koti.
“No,” Koti answered immediately for the two of them. “Embric, what are you doing?”
He waved away the concerns, attention split between communicating with Aine as she listened in on his two children plotting revenge against his student. “I’ll only be a moment.”
“The girl’s entered the wagon.”
Turning away from Koti’s narrowed eyes, he smiled at Vella, whose own eyes glittered with cautious amusement as she watched the exchange between the two men. “I simply wanted to admire your baby one last time before I returned to my wagon. She is quite adorable.”
“The boy, too.”
“Embric, what—“ Koti began, but Xan’s shout cut him off.
Grinning now at the other man, who simply put his head in his hands, Embric said with faux surprise, “Apologies, Koti, but I believe I’ve been summoned,” said his farewell to Vella, offered his partner a kiss on the forehead, and strolled out the door.
Laughter spilled out of his wagon’s open door, and he paused on the threshold, simply enjoying the sound, before making his presence known. Leaning against the doorframe much like Koti had earlier that afternoon, he stood there and watched as Xan tried to defend herself from the machinations of two tenacious children. Not even trying to hide his amusement, he raised both hands, each of which held a full cup of water, and said mildly, “I’m afraid I’m not quite sure how you expect me to help, Xanthe. As you can see, my hands are currently quite full.”
As Embric stepped into the wagon, Xanthe felt a sense of relief. Obviously he would help her, right? But Xanthe could hardly believe the words coming out of Embric's mouth, using the cups of water in his hands to act as if there was little he could do to help. Betrayal. Utter betrayal on all fronts. "A whole family of traitors!" She shouted through laughter. "Savi, do something!" She demanded again, and this time the dyr got an idea. Instead of nudging the girl in the face with his snout, he turned and flicked the tip of his tail under her nose. At first she only giggled, but soon the reaction he'd wanted reared it's head. She took a little breath in, and then a second, and then she sneezed. As she sneezed, she unwittingly let go of Xanthe's arm. Once the arm had been let go, Savi straddled the little girl and rested the whole of his weight on top of her, his snout still reaching up to poke at her neck and face and continue making her laugh.
As soon as Xanthe had use of both hands again, she sat up and spun around on her knees, grabbing the boy from behind and putting him in a loose headlock, which she only utilized for the purpose of using her knuckles to rub his head roughly. "Ahh!" He flailed, trying to reach up to grab Xanthe's hands. "This isn't fair, you have a dyr, we don't have ours yet!" He said, hold one of her wrists to slow down the noogie.
"I have Savi and you have your sister, how is that not fair?" She said, laughing as she stopped rubbing his head but still kept him in the headlock. "It's two on two, you two are just no match for Savi and I. Come back when you both have your dyrs and we'll see if you can handle us then." She pulled him back, and just to rub it in, gave him a big smooch on the side of the face before she let him go. He faked a gag and wiped away at the kiss furiously, making her laugh. Pulling herself onto numb legs, Savi let the little girl up and walked over to Xanthe. The two, victorious, touched foreheads, and then Xanthe stepped up to Embric and took the water. "Some help you were," she said, drinking down a few gulps of the water and then sitting the cup on the ground again as she'd done for Savi before.
"You came in so smug, but just you wait. Some day it'll be all of us against you...I just have to find a way to get the girl on my side..."
Perhaps abandoning his student to the mercies of his two children was less than fair, but he considered the look on her face well worth the repercussions of playing a little dirty. In any case, it made for a good show. Leaning against the door frame, he sipped at his water and pointed out mildly, “You’re welcome to ask Elijah and Legba for assistance if you so desire. I’m sure they would take great interest in your predicament.” A smile warmed the latter words while he watched with no small amount of amusement as the advantage shifted and the match ended as he had expected it eventually would.
“My dyr’s gonna be bigger than Savi!” The boy declared, wiping his kiss-contaminated hand on his pants and turning to face Xan. “Then you’ll both be in trouble!”
Embric nodded sagely. “That would be quite problematic for them, wouldn’t it,” He agreed, glancing over as the girl climbed to her feet while the teenager and her dyr touched foreheads.
When Xan retrieved her cup with no small amount of accusatory betrayal, he offered her a pleasant smile. “Consider it a learning experience,” Embric said brightly. “As I am your teacher, it would be remiss of me to not ensure that your lessons are as comprehensive as possible.” He took a sip of water, then added, “And, clearly, you managed fine without my help anyway.” Xan’s promise had him gasping in mock betrayal as he set down his own, mostly full cup of water and lifted his daughter into his arms with a soft grunt. “My own daughter?! She would never!” It was to the aforementioned child that he asked, “You would never get tired of me, right?”
“Never!”
Embric smiled and said, “That’s my girl.” Holding her close, he booped her nose with his own, then kissed her on the forehead, and put her back down. It was so much harder to pick up up now than it had been a year ago, he bemoaned quietly. She was getting so big, just like her brother. They were both growing up so quickly.
“Or you’re just getting old.”
Ignoring his dyr in a display of maturity that was unquestionably befitting of a grown man his age - Aine, I can feel you rolling your eyes at me, now who’s being immature - Embric turned back to Xan. “Looks like you’ll have to find someone else because that one’s staying on my side. Don’t worry too much about it,” He added, putting a bracing hand on her shoulder as his gaze found hers. A moment passed, then, deadpan with the air of making a serious oath: “When the time comes, we’ll take it easy on you.”
Embric straightened up and glanced around. “Until then, I suppose— Yes, little one?” The girl had tugged at his shirt, and he knelt down to speak with her, hand finding hers. He listened, then nodded. “Yes, you can go back out to play. But take your brother with you.” Embric looked over at his son. “Watch the sky,” He said. “It’ll be getting dark soon.” After watching the kids run off again, he stood up again, wincing as his knees audibly protested the movement. Turning to Xan, he asked her, “Will you, Savi, Elijah, and Legba be joining us around our fire tonight?”