The morning started like any other. Cairidan emerged from his den in the far-flung corner of the Mire, where the shore hugged its northernmost border. The sound of crickets and croaking frogs filled the otherwise silence, and he stretched his hind legs out one after the other as he emerged from his small hovel. His lips parted in a wide yawn, yellowed teeth glinting in the brisk morning sunlight that peaked through the trees. It were just low enough that the canopy hadn't choked out its light, and it cast a horizontal glow upon the forest, reflecting off the trunks of trees and bushes.

Sheepishness lived in his fumbling stagger, his legs not quite ready to carry his frame toward the water's edge, his eyes still half-lidded and heavy with lethargy. Eventually, he came to settle at the shore of the swamp, his gaze casting downward into its dark depths. The soil was dark, and the water particularly murky, but along its surface it was clean enough to drink from. Cairidan lowered his head, blissfully unaware of his surroundings as he began to drink from the pond.

---

ICly he's been chillin in the background, so bonus points if anyone with a rank wants to post here to 're-accept' him. ♡

"You've been quiet," the king pointed out at his arrival, standing in the shrubbery a short distance away. In his defense, the overhanging mire did make most entries more creepy than not. Bruno studied the crouched form of his knight and how he almost blended in with the depths of the water. He flexed his claws into the damp earth absent-mindedly, only flickering one ear in response to a hooing bird in the distance. He considered for a moment whether the entirety of Ecrosia was made up of his knights once he had ascended to the throne – even if he knew in his heart that their loyalty was not the same.

"I was going to start interrogating crocs," Bruno joked in that Bruno-way where there was little to actually hint at the jest in the matter.

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|| october y10 | three years | EM high sovereign | at ecrosia mire | @Cairidan ||

@Bruno ♔'s voice causes him to stiffen. In the days and weeks that had followed the challenge, he'd been able to skirt under the new King's scrutiny. It had been relatively easy; the shift in power had placed a lot more responsibilities on Bruno's shoulders, and it afforded Cairidan the surrender of solitude. His marked avoidance of the King had at first been chalked up to pettiness spawned from the bitter loss of his own challenge, but long after Cairidan had come to terms with the fact he'd lost against such a woman, he'd still felt the inherent need to avoid Bruno. He who was no longer a prince, but a King. He could not quite place the feeling, but it manifested like a heavy pit in his stomach, akin to a feeling of unworthiness.

Who do I even care? he'd questioned himself many times, but each time the answer never quite satisfied him. He'd long been incapable of thinking he could ever value other's opinions of him. He could consistently deny the way his heart hastened in his chest whenever he thought of the boy King.

Heh, well— he began after a few too-long moments of silence, slowly drawing himself up into a relaxed sit. His head did not turn, mismatched gaze regarding the man out of the far corner of his eye. You lose as bad to a woman like that, you've got more than physical wounds to lick. It weren't an outright lie. Cairidan had very much hoped to win his battle. But there was something deeper, darker, that he dare not divulge.

He allowed the silence to envelop them, his gaze shining with restrained patience. He had learned long ago that silence had a way of pulling answers out of stingy mouths. He noted the way the larger lion tucked himself into a seated position, failing to fully face Bruno even as he spoke. There it was – the alleged heart of the matter, which the king could not help but purse his lips with visceral sympathy at the notion of having lost to Morwënna.

"You need a rematch," he insisted without pause. He saw no use in coddling the lion when he had to crane his neck slightly to look up at him. Losing to a woman would never sit right, so he must win. "You're an Ecrosian. We don't back down," Bruno insisted then in slightly softer tones. He attempted to bridge some of the gap between them, trying to take a seat at the obsidian lion's side so they could gaze out at the water together.

---

@Cairidan @cala

It was difficult to think @Bruno ♔ a King. Things had been simple, uncomplicated, at least, in the time leading up to it. He could justify all of his snarking and complaining to a prince, but to a King? It felt shameful now to even show his back to him, but Cairidan would not soon shirk old habits, and doubted ( hoped ) Bruno had not changed overnight under the weight of his crown. He could scarce imagine the man's face should he turn around now and grovel. Would he be horrified, or would he be delighted? Cairidan was not eager to find out.

Thus, he remained where he was, his gaze cast out across the dark waters, wishing for silence, wishing for solitude, wishing for anything other than this.

You need a rematch, Bruno says, and Cairidan's shoulders roll back, his head lifting toward the sky. You're an Ecrosian. We don't back down.

I'm Cairidan, he insisted, before finally turning to face the King. But as soon as he did, whatever ire lingered in his tone fell away, and the frustrated furrow of his brows eased. It had been weeks, months since he'd seen him; the curl of his mane framed his face even more pleasantly now. Well-trained muscles lined his frame, piercing green gaze bearing down onto him. How long had it been since Cairidan seen him? How did his conceptualizations of him seem so small compared to the real thing? He shook the feeling away with a quick shake of his head, his lips pursing. Life was easier when I was just Cairidan.

So why did you join, then?

For him, he supposed. At first, it seemed like a delightful spell, a temporary thing. Even now, when he's scarce seen Bruno, he'd desperately tried to find any reason to stay, to fit in. He'd done a piss poor job at even trying. He were not strong; he were not built and waged for war as Bruno were. It did not lessen the sting of losing to Morwënna, but had been enough to solidify his doubts.

Besides, he finally laughed, tearing away his steely demeanor in favor of faux delight, You're a King now, eh? Finally realized those daring dreams of yours. He glanced to the side, his smile fading, reaching into the ceaseless nothingness of the Mire as it stretched and stretched. Not everyone gets to realize theirs.

"I'm Cairidan."

As if that separated him – as if that made him an exception. Bruno's stomach tensed as he prepared a retort, determined to encourage the lion into belonging.

"Cairidan of Ecrosia –" he insisted, though the knight was already marching forth into unmarked territory.

"Life was easier when I was just Cairidan."

Bruno stopped short. There was a heaviness lingering in the air between them as they sat, different than the usual thickness of the unspoken. He could practically feel the cord that tethered them being stretched, Cairidan leaning and pulling away at what Bruno had so stubbornly bound. The starlit lion scoffed a laugh that did not fit them, remarking as to the king's realized dreams in contrast to his own. He could not help but wonder if this had been his dream. The past appeared more like a dark haze within his memory, reluctant to be accessed through such a differing lens of the present.

"This was not my dream," he denied hollowly. His heart thudded a mournful tale within his chest as Bruno struggled to cope with the feeling of a stranger of his own making at his side. "This was supposed to be my brother's life. I'm... I'm still Bruno," for better or for worse.

Had he ever really been seen?

---

@Cairidan

Cairidan of Ecrosia– Bruno insisted, and Cairidan could feel the wrinkle of his brow, the hardening of his gaze. But as his next words take a deep-seated effect on the Ecrosian King, the boy's face softens only just. A sudden, aching regrets settles deep in his stomach, but he is far too prideful to admit he'd not meant what he said. Did he not mean it, though? Did Cairidan not yearn for the freedom of rogue life once more? Had he not had his fill of a pride, had he not embarrassed himself to the point of never wanting to show his face again?

Was it simply his nature, or did he want to tuck tail and run?

He sits there for a moment, dumbfounded, letting that dreadful silence consume him. Cairidan's eyes do not leave Bruno's face, but he's long lost the angry mettle that was there before, the spark in his eye had begun to dim. Bruno could easily win that fight if they continued to stay there in that silence forever. The star-speckled boy was certain to break under the pressure of it; its weight grew heavier and heavier on his shoulders, until, finally—

This was not my dream. Cairidan blinks; once, then twice. This wasn't his dream? He'd never thought to consider otherwise. Bruno had touted his position as prince for so long that the boy had always thought being King was his greatest destiny. Yet, to hear its blatant admittance all at once felt like a cruel whiplash, and he was left reeling, staggering backward. This was supposed to be my brother's life. No, no. I'm... I'm still @Bruno ♔.

So, in the end, destiny were neither of theirs.

Then fuck this place, he urges, the crinkle in his brow giving way to a bewildered expression. He did not believe his own words. There was nothing that could wrench Bruno from his home. He had already burdened himself with the crown; such was a price already so heavy. Let's leave it behind, chase our actual dreams, be just Bruno and Cairidan.

Vagabonds, vagrants. What an unrealistic, lofty dream it were.

Your brother can have his life back, eh? Rude fuck.

Still he looked toward the dawn-lit water ahead, ignorant to the wild unfurling of emotions across his companion's face. It had been the constant reality he lived with, and so it had not occurred to Bruno that others had been kept in the dark – that he had kept them in the dark. Only Cairidan's next words managed to break his steely composure.

"Then fuck this place."

How many times had he thought the very same? He had never dared voice it, was the difference. He craned his neck to regard the wily knight, gaze tracing his determined stance and the fire shining in his eyes – always like the sun.

"Let's leave it behind, chase our actual dreams, be just Bruno and Cairidan."

Something like consideration lit his own gaze. It was just as quickly dampened, face hardening as he turned stubbornly back to the horizon.

"You know that's foolish," Bruno chided. "And, Luther is... not around," he revealed carefully. Anguish sat like a rock in his gut over a loss he could not fully name, irritation at the lion simmering just as fully as did a need to tether him closer.

"You pledged yourself to me," he reminded lowly. A slow, thoughtful stare. "You wish to leave, now?"

Damn you.

---

@Cairidan @cala

@Bruno ♔'s gaze casts out across the water, murky depths alight with dappled golden light flitting through the canopy above. Had he not been so restless, so unnerved, he might have reveled in the silence of staring at it, too. But Cairidan were all things uncomfortable and confounded, and the nervous twitch in his whiskers was enough to keep his gaze trained on the boy King. He knows the words before Bruno speaks them, but the heavy weight they carry still pierced through his armor, ripped back the steeled exterior and revealing the misguided, directionless boy beneath.

You know that's foolish, Bruno states, and Cairidan knows it's right. He could not have everything he wanted, and knew the tethers that bound the curly-haired man here was far stronger than Cairidan himself could ever hope to achieve. It is very likely he'd wounded whatever blossoming friendship they'd had since secluding himself in the far corner of the woods. Perhaps he were nothing more than a stranger. Perhaps he deserved to be nothing more.

You pledged yourself to me, Bruno continued, and Cairidan's jaw tightened, his teeth gritting into his gums. You wish to leave, now? He could feel Bruno's eyes burning into him, and his mouth parted, a dejected expression breaking through the steeled indifference there'd been before. He'd wanted to leave because he felt embarrassed, out of place; among the stars he'd always dreamt but he'd never felt more grounded. His loss to Morwenna were one thing, the driving cause of his seclusion. But life on the far-flung outskirts of Ecrosia had given Cairidan the cruel reminder that he was always best on his own, when there were no one to disappoint but himself.

You've got an army, a crown, a family, a wife— he lingered on the word for a moment, the bitter recollection that he were married far more vexing to Cairidan than it should be. And yet, long had he tortured himself with the ruminations of it. Was it Morwenna, was it some unnamed lioness lingering in the background, blended into the blissful scenery of all that was Bruno? You don't need me.

I'm just some boy with broken dreams.

It was fun, though, for what it's worth.

The laissez faire drawl of his voice would do little to ease the regret.

"You've got an army, a crown, a family, a wife—"

Bruno blinked. While the list had led him along on a journey, that last word had the lion's attention dropping off suddenly as it did not fit in with their reality. His mind reeled to make sense of it until understanding soothed his sour stomach.

Oh, that. He had not reminisced on the lie in so long. Another passage scene flashed before his eyes involuntarily – this one autumn-lit and starring two large lions rather than merely one of starlight. It only took that – a flash of a thought – to send his stomach rising up in his throat once more. Bruno clutched at the earth with unsheathed claws to try and ground himself there.

"It was fun, though, for what it's worth."

He felt that word like a strike to his face. Oh, when had any of it been a matter of fun?

"Fine. You wish to escape your end of our agreement, you'll have to fight me for it." Bruno was already standing to his paws, staring the larger lion down with molten heat.

Have you learned nothing?

---

@Cairidan @cala