[AW] Voice of the People (Gathering with Champion of Community)

[Asterion]

Asterion in sunshine and in shadow* Lately he has stuck near to the borders of the Dusk Court. The late autumn sea still calls to him, but its voice is quieted the longer he goes without his water-magic; it is only a murmur, now, with no stirring beneath his skin. He would miss it, but he is too full with too many new things – sisters and loves and castles and strangers. This last, at least, he intends to work on. That is what has him answering the antlered mare’s call, picking his solitary way across the autumn fields until he reaches her just as she’s setting flint to tinder. Until the festival in the Dawn Court, with its great bonfires and sweet-scented smoke, Asterion had only seen one fire. It had been god-made, ravenous, raging, the most deadly thing he’d faced. And his golden twin had run straight for the heart of it, determined to dry out the saltwater in her veins and turn to kindling and ash. She had been unsuccessful, through his efforts and the help of others – But she had never spoken to him again. Perhaps it was for the best; the last thing she’d said was that she would kill him, if he ever tried to save her. He’d thought the memories were gone, smoothed over by the rift like rain streaked on glass. But they come rising up like cinders on the wind as he watches the pale mare light the fire, watches the flames lick and dance and eat up the wood. When he shivers, it has nothing to do with the cold, and the flames are reflected in his large dark eyes. But he wants nothing more than to try to belong, here, and so although he stands far back from the crackle and thin smoke of the fledgling fire, he offers a smile to Weir. “What are the winters here like?” he asks, voicing the first of the questions that rises to his tongue. “Is there anything I can do to help prepare?” @Weir @Morpho @Kiirha and anyone else!