A wall of sand fell on Tide Cascade but it crashed with a wave of rock that rose up from the ground and curled around him. Shan and Forest facing off was always earth shattering, one harnessing sand and the other earth. What was the rock around here but packed particles of sand anyway, and Forest's hold on his shield broke as sand wound it's way through the rock and broke it away in a shower of boulder that Tide had already slipped out from under.

Talamayas was behind Tide and didn't even cast a spell as the mage bumped into his abrupt departure. The man pat Tide on the head and grabbed his hair in a vise grip that had the man shuddering and nearly begging for mercy as Tala dropped him face first into the sand. Tala was a monster in size compare to that skinny water mage general, and the man knew it as he pressed his entire body to his. It gave Wren tremors as Tala did that to him on the bed occasionally too, always with no reason but an urge to be all over him.

It was also only something Tala would do to someone he liked.

Shan stopped his assault and dropped the sand as he parked himself by Forest, and both of them groaned as Tide tried to get Tala off with water magic. That only served to drench them as Tala refused to let go. Out of the two mages, Wren had not pegged Tide as the one Tala would like better, but they'd developed a healthy rivalry over the last year. Oh they spit shit in each other's faces but Tala loved him, and Tide had no intentions of harming Tala, though Wren doubted he liked him.

"We never win without Neil," Forest grumbled, as he headed to the bottom of the dunes they'd been fighting in and landed on solid rock as Tide finally shoved Tala off and growled profanities as Tala laughed.

"That is true. When Tala isn't distracted by the man, he is quite brutal," Shan said, stretching and eyeing Wren where he was relaxing on one of the low walls that surrounded the outer doors. They had many anti-magic walls of varying heights to warp and repel spells' trajectories. This one was only a few feet off the ground and comfortable to lounge on, as comfortable as sitting under the dessert sun and soaking his robes in sweat was.

"Well, you don't have to put anyone back together today," Shan said to Wren, and he nodded but closed his eyes to enjoy the breeze as it flowed by.

"Please tell me that means I can go to the baths," Wren begged, and Shan chuckled but it tapered off as Neil Arc headed out toward them.

"Tala, we need to talk," Neil said, and Forest and Tide seemed to know what it was about and flanked the man as he went back into the castle.

The bath would have to wait, and Wren hoped he didn't offend anyone's nose as they slipped into the drawing room and sat down. All except for Shan, who stood sentry near the walls, and Wren, who was sluggishly following.

"You can't be serious." Tala's low growl drew Wren's attention as he sat in a chair a ways from them, as the coffee table only seated four.

"Dead serious, Tala. I'm too close to the Zehir territory and my people are in danger," Neil said as Wren tried to understand the gist.

"Your people I would take in in heartbeat, but you expect me to host not one but two mage houses? How am I supposed to feed these people, let alone trust them to share living space with my men?"

"You want to bring mages here?" Wren asked with a cringe that showed his fear of that situation. That was a powder keg if he'd ever heard of one.

"The Arcs have to temporarily move, and it will leave my territory empty and open to incursion, which puts the Copses at risk since they share the territory south of mine with the Cascades. They don't have the cliffs and fortification to protect them like the Voids and the Charges. Please, Tala."

"We have our own food stores that you can bring here with magic, and that will sustain us through the unity gathering until we figure out our next move." Forest spoke first, which made sense since Tide was less humble when they were asking for a ridiculous favor. "They also know how to behave around vampires. Some of them have not interacted with more than a few vampires directly, but they understand you would be protecting them. If your men don't accost them, they will not feel the need to start any trouble."

"Why would my men accost them?" Talamayas grumbled low, and Forest frowned.

"Any number of cultural misunderstandings, Tala," Wren came to the man's defense before Tala offed him. "Forest wasn't insulting your men's ability to obey your orders if you told them to be cordial. Mages and Vampires in close quarters is dangerous even if everyone is trying to get along."

"Neil," Tala ran his hands up his face.

"My people will watch them, Tala," Neil said, but that wasn't entirely the point here.

This went against everything the Sol's breathed and lived. Allowing mages in meant that the layout of the castle could be compromised, that they might be able to figure out the locations of the anti-magic pillars closer in. It put Tala's people in danger, but at the same time, Tala's ally was asking for help to protect his own people.

"You can keep them contained," Wren said after some thought, and Tala lifted his eyes to him for guidance. The man always did, and while Wren was used to it, he still didn't understand it. "If you use the halls on the lower levels near the dungeons and the cafeteria, and the floor just above it, it will keep them away from the front the castle's defenses. All of the windows out that way face the dunes and there is no easy access to the rest of the castle without passing guards. I know it's not ideal, but you can use the lower barracks that you give to the nomads in times of crisis to house them, and they won't be able to compromise much even if one or two did talk."

"You want me to put them by the dungeons. That will make them feel at home." Tala laughed with little real amusement to it.

"That is the best place, Tala. Neil is your ally and is asking for your help, and you can't turn him away without damaging your reputation as a house. The dungeons were put there for the same reason, weren't they? To keep escaped prisoners from fleeing anywhere but into the dunes?"

"Yes, by someone who actually thought mages could escape." Tala scoffed. "Will that suffice, Forest Copse? Will your people be able to keep to those areas and not stare too hard at my dungeons and panic?"

"Are they occupied?" Forest asked with a hesitant grimace when Tala narrowed his eyes.

"Not since Wren crawled out of them," Tala answered. "The last two mage infiltrators I had watched until they died in the sands. Idiots wandered too close to an antimagic pillar, got turned around in a sandstorm, and died of exposure when they couldn't make a spell home. My home defends itself most times."

"Well as long as no one is screaming up from them, we should be fine. Your familiar with Alec from our training and he can head any communication between our peoples if any issues arise. Alec and Idus represent the Copses and the Arcs well diplomatically and work closely together to keep people from having misunderstandings because of the way we normally act."

Alec had come around many times in the last year to train with Forest and Tide, though he was newer to the battlegrounds. The man was an absolutely timid mage, with light features, showing his kind disposition with an innocent pair of Copse blue eyes, and dishwater hair that would darken to nearer Forest's brown as he aged. Even though he was easily frightened of vampires, he was also open and willing to work with them if they were in earnest.

There were very few people Talamayas felt poorly about scaring, and Alec was one them. Barely past twenty, the boy had already surpassed general class in their training, and he was rising in power and prowess each day. Yet, the mage had grown on even Shan who liked his friendliness and easy nature. Mostly, Alec was just easy to tease, and neither Tala nor Shan failed to exploit that. Poor kid.

"Know that I only do this because Neil is my ally and I... I owe the Copses a debt," Tala said the last with a frown, all of them knowing he'd harmed Silvia. "I'm not jumping for joy to ally with mages, but I do support peace if they leave me alone."

"That is good enough for us," Forest said with a smile, extending his hand out to Tala.

The man stared at it and flicked his eyes up to him with question.

"You harmed my daughter, so I don't offer this to you without serious thought into what it means, Talamayas Sol." Forest tone was tight, and Tala let out a reluctant growl, but accepted it. "We're about to face an enemy together, and we both know it though it hasn't been said. The vampires want Neil and we won't let them have him. We share that desire in common.

"I want more than to stay here, Talamayas Sol. I want my people to train with yours, to get used to their energy, to strengthen them and ourselves. When the time comes and we have to fight on the same battlefield, I want it to be as allies who trust each other. My men will protect yours in the coming scuffle, as we expect to be protected in return. Committing to this alliance protects us all, and I am willing to set aside everything I have thought and known of you over the years. Are we allies, Talamayas Sol?"

Talamayas gripped Forest's hand and pulled him in, right off his chair and onto his feet in an awkward crouching position to not topple over into him.

"Anyone who protects mine are welcome here, Forest Copse. We will fight together...but you will stick to your barracks and the lower eastern areas." Talamayas growled and Forest chuckled as the man let him stand back up.

"Yes. We will abide by your rules," Forest said, dusting off his mage robes. "Thank you for taking us in."

"Thank Wren," Tala said curtly. "I will protect the Arcs as I am obligated as their ally, but taking in mages is against my house's creed and something Neil shouldn't ask of me. If he was not a personal friend, I would have already kicked him out, but we are close enough that he knows he can ask this of me without offending my people.

"If Wren didn't think it were plausible, I would not allow it, so you have him to thank. Now return to your people and I will work out the specifics with Neil. Take Wren to speak with your people if they need the assurances. I want this done as quickly and discreetly as possible. The unity gathering is not far off."

"Does he not realize the way he sounds?" Forest asked Wren as they sat outside the Copse territory, the mages preparing for the move.

"Nope. Not at all." Wren laughed, and it drew a strange look from Forest. "You haven't the faintest how confusing it is for me to live it every day. Just sitting there and saying that my opinion of something is what weighs his decision like that doesn't come across to him as unnatural at all. I'm a mage, a Song, and the person who killed his god damn mother, and he just spits that shit out without a second thought."

Wren curled in on himself as he tried to make reality feel more like it. Everything in the Sol territory felt like some sick joke played at his expense. Like Tala enjoyed the way he made Wren feel important and wanted, powerful even when it came down to things. There was no reason to it. Wren had never done anything to make the man like him, let alone heed him.

"Shan didn't say anything either," Forest said with a pitying smile as Wren lifted his head to look out into the dense forests of the Copse territory.

"No, the Sol general is loyal to a fault and would never question Tala's words in front of others, no matter how bat shit crazy it makes him sound. It's frustrating." Wren growled and Forest waited for him to speak, knowing he had few to talk about it to. "Tala just took me in, put me at his side, and no one said anything. No one but Shan, who doesn't shut up. I don't know why I'm allowed so much freedom or why Tala listens to me like I'm some advisor. I'm a mage stuck there and he'd be burning my flesh off if he could."

"It does defy logic," Forest said as they headed in to start the departure.

"Forest." A Copse came up to him with Alec in tow, failing desperately at whatever he'd been trying to say. "How are we to know we're safe? We are okay with sharing space with the Arcs, but we will be surrounded by Sols. What if one of us runs into Talamayas himself?"

"Sorry, Forest." Alec said, ruffling his dishwater hair. The new mage general was powerful as they came but not respected by his peers yet from experience, and that much was to be expected. "I've tried everything I know to explain they will be protected but they still want to speak to you."

"Just compliment him," Wren said with a slow breath that drew all of their eyes. "If you run into Tala, just say something nice. It will piss him off and send him back in the direction he came," Wren said with a laugh the eased the fears of the mages who were gathered, but not by much. "Tala loves his people, and he will protect them from any threat perceived, but the man knows little about what to do with a mage who isn't a threat. Under his iron will that he will use to crack any mage in half who threatens him, he is also a really angry kitten that will begrudgingly allow another cat to share his space if they're friendly and fluffy."

"Wren!" A voice came from behind him, and he groaned as he recognized Shan.

"You got here faster than I thought." Wren turned to the man with a smirk, and Shan growled low at him, his hand firmly on a lance and his bare chest flexing in the light with his frustration. The mages in front of Wren backed up and cowered.

"Don't walk around smearing Tala's name," Shan warned, lifting his chin and baring his fangs.

"Or what? You'll stare really hard at me?" Wren asked with a sigh. "I'm not smearing him, Shan. I'm trying to make sure the mages understand their situation properly. I just told them to say something nice if they get stuck close to him and don't know what to say."

"That will repulse him enough to find another avenue." Shan groaned as he dropped his threat. "You can still explain to them that he is committed to protecting them without comparing him to small animal."

"Would a large animal be better?" Wren asked, and Shan opened his mouth to say something but just shut it and was unable to stop the smile from forming on his lips.

"If there was not a blood writ protecting you–"

"You would still do nothing. Both you and I know that Tala dictates what you can and can't do, pre and post blood writ." Wren wasn't wrong, and Shan moved to wrap and arm around his neck and pull him in closer.

"You walk a fine line, Wren," Shan whispered into his ear before letting him go and looking out to the mages. "Let's get you to the Sol territory before anyone notices I'm here. The last thing Tala needs is vampires catching wind that he's harboring you. You will tell no one, communicate it to no one, or you will be cast out into the desert. We are not sympathizers and are doing this because of our alliance with the Arcs."

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