They had barely even had time to cross the border of the Edge when the sound of a howling dog set the hairs on his back on edge. It was not the kind of cheerful sound made when greeting others, nor was it a triumphant cry that signified a successful hunt. No, this was a scream that tore through every layer of the soul until it strung the very core of the heart, opening up wounds and letting it bleed freely. It made the eyes of the grulla water and sting as it brought his sorrow up to the surface and drew back the image of Torasin dead and decaying beneath a tree of ice.
Taking a deep breath to press down the sudden surge of emotions the gold-backed stallion forced his tired aching body forward, heaving himself into a canter as he wove through the trees, following the pale beacon that was Fajira as she took the lead and flew ahead of him. Dread rose like bile in his throat as the heartbreaking sound of the dog continued, and terrified that something had happened within the heart of the their home Lace crashed forth, breath ragged and mind racing wildly. Was it Mirage? Had something happened to a foal, had a companion died or lost its bonded?
His heart nearly stopped as he pressed out between two tall trunks and found Aaron lying on the ground right next to Kimber, the daughter of the WildRose. Alarmed and shocked to find the powerful young steed on his knees, the older glazier carefully inched closer while Fajira swooped down to sit next to the howling dog, attempting to comfort her by wrapping a pale wing around its shoulders. "Aaron, what..." he began, but froze as the voice of the youngster reached his ears.
Lace froze. In dumbfounded silence he stared down at the boy, at first not even able to take in what he had heard.
She's dead
Ridiculous. Why would Solstice be dead? She had been healthy as a peach last time Lace saw her, surrounded by her youngest children. Laughing, talking... There was no way. No, he wouldn't believe it. Irritation blossomed and spread through his limbs, denial running hot in his veins, hot as the liquid sun he had yet to fully learn about. An almost unconscious use of magic made the trees surrounding them bend roots and branches out of his path as he stepped closer to make Aaron take back his words, admit it was all a bad joke that no one was going to laugh about.
Only a firm grip from the mind of his dragon made the stallion pause in mid stride, eyes forcefully snapping back and forth between the colt and his companion. The painted steed was crying, shedding tears like the rain onto the cold dirty ground. The dog was crying too, her tears caught and released with that haunting, horrible howl that didn't seem to end.
"No" he said, as if the simple word would be able to chase away the unchangeable truth. "No, it's not.. You must have seen wrong, she... Aaron, who would do that? Who would ever want to hurt Solstice?" But just as the words parted from his lips he remembered the winter past when their gilded ray had been stolen, taken without explanation and against her will. The expression on the stallions face turned blank for a second, then the amber eyes closed. When he spoke next there was a quiet chill to his voice that made the head of the white dragon jerk up and away from him, her rapturous eyes suddenly nervous and pleading.
"Who, exactly, are they Aaron? Who was it that killed your mother?"
It wasn't a tone of voice many had ever heard Lace use. His temper was normally calm, on the border of docile, and the few bursts of temper he ever showed were like a summer storm; sudden, raging, only to disappear as quickly as they came. But not this time. This wasn't the voice of the smiling, helpful Glazier the Qian knew about. Neither was it the young, honest knight that had patrolled the borders of the Moonlit Tides so long ago... This was someone else. A creature born from war, from endless death and battles where blood fell like rain upon the ground. Cold and merciless, he looked down upon the sobbing boy with hard and heartless eyes, retaining his fury and impatience with steely self control.
"This is no time to be lying on the ground, boy!" he snapped, a hind leg snapping into the ground with a sharpness that made Fajira flinch. "Tell me everything you know about this. Is this the work of the Basin? Is the rest of the herd in danger? For the sake of the Moon, what happened?" The voice cracked through the air like a whip before it was replaced by a thick silence, heavy with the impatience of the stallion that no longer seemed like himself.
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[O] Too Much Unwelcome News [Aaron, Lace]
