quiet the stolen heart >> o, AE visitors

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

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sweet the child that came, aine's scent making them turn their head, taking in the deer fox before them, blue eyes warm as they looked upon her for the first time in a long time, "greetings, aine", they murmured, pleased as ever to know she was alright. after the attack ramona had suffered so long ago ... they had feared what might befall those in the group, especially the smaller members. not that she didn't have the power, they could feel it around her in some way, they'd been there to experience moments of it. exhaling softly, their breath was severed in their throat, her words ringing in their ears, eyes going wide. that meant a lot of things, surely it couldn't mean that kydobi had died? surely he had stepped down? leading was a tiresome and long painful thing, it drove some mad at times. taking a breath, they tried to console the thoughts rushing about their mind, the thought of their beloved and lost lover taking up every nook and cranny of their mind, breath caught in their lungs, unable to get it past the lump of emotions there. he had to be okay, right? bowing their head to hide the display of emotions on their face, they fought to keep their mind from spiraling, panicking inside of their heart, inside of their mind. was their curse that apparent? were they destined to lose everything that they had claim upon at one point or another?

breath finally rushing through their lungs and throat, it came out as a strangled keen they tried to muffle, silvery tears rimming their eyes, eyes sliding shut tightly, talons digging into the sand as they tried to control the crushing restriction within their chest, their body trembling as her words came like a blunt weapon. gasping slightly, they bit down upon their tongue, unaware of the silver ichor rolling between their teeth, numb to that pain, their shoulders hunched as they tried to restrict the damage that raced through their nerves, their heart squeezing so painfully in their chest but it was nothing, nothing against the void cracking and ripping into existence in their chest. it shouldn't hurt this badly, not after the way that they had split ways. what they would give to go back and fix that ... oh what they would give. body locked in silence as grief wracked them, the dragon forced their mind away from the spiral of pain and wonderments of 'what if's, the pain lancing their heart like nothing else.

finally after what felt like centuries, they raised their head, silver tears shining against golden scales, cream mane laying heavy and dense about their head and neck, their eyes dark with grief they dared not let consume them at this time. they had to find out, one way or another, and what better place than what had been home in a world where home was nowhere to be found. blinking back what tears they could, voice shattered and rough, they spoke, lips heavy with agony, their pain forever burrowed into their heart, "it's alright, aine. thank you for telling me ... i would rather find out here, where i knew he lived happily with everyone. it means a lot to me, to find out now. thank you, my dear.", they hadn't been close, but gods help them, their heart ached for her. they remembered scenting her around kydobi often enough, to know that the two had been close. false hopes and false idols in their chest, they watched kold approach aine, their gaze following the movements, mulling for words. "does ... he have a grave?", they were an adult, they shouldn't fall to pieces like this ... shaking their head softly, they breathed out slowly, "i'm glad you're here, aine. i have a small gift for you. i don't know what you could do with it, but please ... for all the times i was not here for the group to protect everyone as i should have, to try and make up for it.", they spoke quietly, before they exhaled, focusing their mind for some time.

bowing their head to the ground with a shake of their head, they lowered a bag from around one of their antlers, previously hidden in their mane. the contents within would hold some of the herbs that grew along alithis' coastal cliffs, some herbs from the tree of their den. they hoped that even this small bundle, so fragrant, would be of some use to the younger one before them. she had always been skilled in the arts of healing, and they knew that well, sometimes herbs were the best gift. "i do not know if you can use it for anything, but within the bag lays a vial of whale fat. we use it to light our lanterns in our territory. should you be able to visit, we may have more things to gift to you and yours.", they murmured quietly, the hollowness in their chest aching with a ferocity like nothing they'd known before.