all that we have amassed sits before us, shattered into ash

She has a duty, she knows, to the kingdom (sanctuary?) she has newly pledged her allegiance to, and she knows that before long she has to turn her hooves towards it and head towards the rumbling, active volcano, but until that moment, Cress has another task that she has to do. Not that she isn’t loyal, not that she isn’t completely head over heels for the stallion who literally sets her alight in their lovemaking sessions… but she has to know the truth. Once upon a time, she had been head over heels—or so she thought—for another stallion as well, only he had been too dense to realize before it was too late. That time is past now anyways.

And who is there to tell her she cannot go to him if he is returned?
She has not so much as seen a glimpse of her fiery lover since the magic was wiped from Beqanna and besides, he does not own her.

She leaves Rhaenyra alone today, but she knows the girl will find a playmate soon enough in the Playground. She is a rambunctious thing, always looking to make a friend in anyone and anything, so Cress doesn’t worry for the girl as she leaves her in the care of the fairies. Her own destination is the Meadow, and though it has become a lot less crowded since the last time she was here, the stallion she is looking for is still a hard one to spot. She knows that without eyes, he will not find her, so it is up to her to run into him, so she looks harder.

There. Wingless, and greyer than before, but Demian all the same. Something in Cress shatters and relaxes all at the same time and she hurries towards him, hoping to reach him before he disappears back into the crowd. Where has he been? Does he have a home already? She knows that he doesn’t reside in Tephra, that much is obvious. Where has he made his home, then? “Demian,” she calls, and she prays that he recognizes her voice. It has been a long time, so long. Years upon years upon years since they have heard each other’s voices, but she is drawn to his side all the same.

“Oh, Demian,” she breathes when she reaches him, not daring to approach but wanting to embrace him (so badly it hurts). Her dearest friend in all the world, despite it all, despite her mixed feelings and his oblivious ones. The one who tried his hardest to protect her, who tried to understand her. She’s missed him so much. Does he feel the same? Does he remember?

cress

oxytocin x kindling