Little Fires In The Dark

[Kender Bard]

(Shortly after the defeat of the Demon Lords, after the Fires have returned to Naurorod to begin reclaiming their land.)

Amneris was glad to be back in her clan. She belonged here; the Sanctuary had been breathtaking, lovely, and undeniably comfortable with the angels catering to the whims of the residents. She'd had her family (or at least most of them.) But it hadn't been home.

The smell of the desert, clean and hot, was a pleasure. And being with her people restored what she hadn't been able to voice was missing from the Sanctuary.

Certain clansmates in particular... Amneris wasted little time in seeking out Brand.

[Skittlebug]

It had been a huge relief to come home, even if it was largely corrupted and messed up. It was still home, and it hadn't been destroyed.

He had been doing his best to keep himself busy since they got 'back', it was the best way to keep unhappy thoughts at bay. It would take a long time to return the clan's herd to any sizeable number, and he was devoting as much time as he could to working with the horses they still did have. It was there that Amneris found him, and he didn't notice her right away.

[Kender Bard]

Amneris grinned as she caught sight of Brand and she quickened her pace. "Brand!" she called out, lifting her voice and waving to him. She struggled not to run.

[Skittlebug]

Brand looked up at his named, surprised, then broke into a huge smile. "Amneris! You're all right! When did you get back!" He dropped what he was doing and rushed over.

[Kender Bard]

Amneris didn't answer right away. Instead, she threw her arms around Brand and hugged him tightly, laughing. Forces but it felt good to see him. She clung to him for all she was worth, finally saying, "I missed you Brand. I just got back today." She pulled back, looking him over with fussy concern. "You're okay too, right?"

[Skittlebug]

Brand didn't mind not getting an answer right away, the hug was certainly worth it. It was so good to see her again. Sure, she had been supposed to be somewhere safe, but he hadn't been able to help worrying about her. "I missed you too." He surprised himself, being so open like that, but it was the truth.

Her question brought on a pang of heartsickness over his mother, but he kept a brave face. He'd gotten used to doing that after Johan started with his comments about growing up already. He managed a nod for Amneris, "I've been keeping busy, mostly wondering about what was going on though."

[Kender Bard]

Amneris let her hands drop down his arms to hold both his hands. "I might have had family in the Sanctuary, but it was still kind of lonely. I missed my clan." She let go of one of his hands but kept hold of the other and looked over towards the horses. "I'm sure I'll be talking to Flame later about how the clan is doing as a whole, but how are the horses?"

[Skittlebug]

Brand thoroughly enjoyed holding onto Amneris' hand, and that she'd asked about the horses. Not everyone would have. "I don't even know where most of them scattered to, but they didn't hang around. The ones that we've managed to round up are doing well enough, but they're uneasy. They don't want to go farther into the desert. I think they can sense the corruption without knowing what it is." He looked back over into the corral with a small frown.

[Kender Bard]

"It'd be terrible to stress the animals but we can't stay here," Amneris remarked with a frown. "On the bright side, if they're shying away from the corruption then the wild horses further in must be near the edges with the rest of us. Maybe we could find and catch some to tame and replenish what we have." She made her way over to the creatures, letting go of Brand so she could reach out to touch the flank of one of the horses. "Other than not wanting to go further, they haven't been showing any signs of sickness have they?"

[Skittlebug]

Brand frowned sadly. "The ones here, no, thank the Forces. There were three that didn't make it. Demons had gotten to them or something." He paused, sadly. "One we had to put down."

[Kender Bard]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Amneris said, moving her hand up to rub the horse's neck. "Well if these ones aren't sick, are they good for a ride? I could help you exercise them. It'd give us a chance to catch up and it'd let me survey the clan too. Otherwise, we could just walk."

[Skittlebug]

Brand's smile returned quickly. "I think they'd be up for that. Not too many people see exercising them as a priority now. I'll get them ready." He set to getting two of the horses set up for a ride, picking two that needed the exercise and were getting restless (much easier when you can ask them).

"As long as we stay on the outer side of the area they won't mind." He says, leading the horses to the gate.

[Kender Bard]

Amneris mounted up once the horses were ready and she started at a walk. She'd build up to something faster after she got a chance to observe the clan. "How are your brother and father doing?" she asked him, moving her horse to walk alongside his.

[Skittlebug]

Brand followed along on his horse easily, enjoying the familiarity. He frowned a little at mention of his father and brother. "They're doing well, I guess. We got back here and they pretty much returned to life as normal." This wasn't the kind of thing he would normal say out loud, let alone to anyone. But this was Amneris, and that made it okay. "I feel like they've gotten over it and I can't. Johan tells me that I need to grow up and get on with life."

[Kender Bard]

Amneris tried to reach out to him with a sympathetic expression. "Johan's wrong. If you need to mourn, Brand, you should. Forces, I don't know how I would pick myself back up if Mom died..." Her stomach twisted at the thought. It's bad enough that she got hurt. It was something she was still struggling to come to terms with herself. "I know that death is something that happens and that we Naurites deal with it better than some other people might, but... You know if you want, whenever you're feeling really sad about it, we can go off together somewhere and I'll make sure nobody knows or gives you a hard time about it."