I'm coming back again
I want to live tonight

His visit to the common lands had eased some of the loneliness but Oceane’s absence had not gone unnoticed when he had swung by Loess on his way back “home”. He had found the children, wild and free as ever, making them a firm promise to bring them to Sylva soon for a visit. Of his twilight love there had been no sign but it had been clear from the others that she was wrapped up in kingdom affairs. For a moment his anxiety rises in his chest as he looks at his two children, the thought of them being unwatched bringing a thousand “what-ifs” to his mind. Eventually he soothes himself with the thought that Loess is well protected by the likes of Tarian and Cheri. Besides, he’s still not sure he trusts the quietness of Sylva. Not yet.

He spends the rest of his trip from Loess to the autumn land lost in thought. The Loessian Queen’s first duty was to the South, he had never doubted that nor wished to change it. Yet he can’t help but be bothered by her growing absence and leaving the twins behind feels like a stab to the heart. There hadn’t even been a chance to catch up with Cheri, if only for peace of mind regarding his iridescent Queen, knowing he had been away from Sylva for too long. Soon enough he finds himself among the familiar gnarled woods and follows the dried up riverbed through the eerily silent forest, admiring the fiery colors and catching the song of robins that break through the thick quiet.

It’s not until he is hock deep in a patch of wild strawberries that he finally comes to a halt with a frustrated sigh. The lonely days and nights, the constant gnawing ache in his chest that comes with missing his family, and the irritation of leading a land that seems to be hiding from him all seem to combust together as his temper flares and sharp bear teeth pop through his gums, replacing the herbivore ones he usually wore. “I know someone’s there.” He snaps into the growing darkness that begins to settle over the woods. “I’m not interested in your hide and seek games.” He grimaces slightly as he glances behind him, waiting to see if what lurked in this forest wanted to finally show itself today.

Ledger

I'm coming back again
I want to live tonight

Ledger had been broken and remade by the Dark God himself over and over again. Every brand that glows faintly in the dimness had been placed carefully by Carnage himself and most of his scars had been wrought and carved by the Dark God’s own magic. He had been cursed and gifted, had watched his life play out a story of only tragedy while remembering another life that had never truly happened (but the pain of a life worth living still burned somewhere in that dark hole inside of him) until a twilight mare saw something in him that he could not see himself. There had been plenty of days before that when he had begged for death, when he had grown mad with injustice and pain and grief, and if she had found him back then he might have taken anything she had to offer.

Now, though, was a different story. The voice that falls from the rafters of the trees finally turns his head in the right direction. His good eye lands on the strangeness of her figure as his snowy forelock falls away, revealing the claw marks and thin gray papery skin that spreads over the hollowed socket where an eye had once been before it was plucked by a massive white bear. The same bear that waits just under his skin, whose fangs protrude from beneath his upper lip as he stares up at the creature, considering her. “I don’t doubt that.” He finally says quietly, his temper easing back now that someone had finally shown themselves.

He had never doubted what lurked in these woods. There was something about Sylva that had seemed to beckon living nightmares for centuries. He has never seen anything like her before but the predator in him rumbles in his chest as his gold-flecked gaze flicks from talons to paws to feathers. All the questions she asks herself (about the wendigo and the illusionist, the demon and the dead man) are questions he has already asked himself. No, he doesn’t think he’s a match for any of those things let alone all of them together. However, the bear had a strong will to live and he doubts he would be the only one missing an eye by the time he finally fell to their bloody whimsy.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

”And the others?” He finally asks her, his wary gaze still turned up to her even as his ears twist back in case anyone planned on sneaking up on him while he was distracted.

Ledger

I'm coming back again
I want to live tonight

She plays the game of a cheshire cat, holding her cheek with a clawed paw as she gazes down at him, completely unperturbed. He had spent too much time in the clutches of dark god’s, murderers, and thieves to lower his guard with the likes of her. Not with that predator gaze, not in woods like these with the legends they hold. She acknowledges that there are others (he had always suspected as much) still lurking in the dark and when she speaks of cruelty, he frowns.

It had been one thing to claim Sylva to keep it under the South’s diligent thumb. But bringing the twins here, making this Oceane’s “retirement” home? He was still leery of Sylva and this interaction seemed to only confirm everything he had felt about this place. This land wasn’t safe and might never be, how could they ever be certain that something wouldn’t come in the dead of night and harm them?

It is strange then how he is suddenly feeling quite content when she lowers a paw and bats at his swiveled ears, ever the image of a playful (terrifying) kitten. He can’t help the low chuckle that escapes him as he easily dodges her attempts, looking back up at her with a rather thoughtful expression. As the crickets begin to sing and small dots of light appear around them, he wonders if maybe she wasn’t as bad as she seemed. Perhaps he had judged this book by her cover far too harshly.

Still the bear within him is wary and stirs restlessly beneath his reddish gold skin, refusing to retract the fangs peeking from beneath his lip. He heeds the beast, agrees that he does not trust this creature. Not yet. But he is willing to give her a chance. After all she was right, she could have pounced on him long ago. If she hadn’t, maybe there was a reason why. She sits and stretches and his amusement grows as she speaks of what to call him. “I do have a name. Ledger. Ledger.. your Paladin.” He decides to play along, not seeing the harm in it for now. “And does my Hippogryph have a real name?” He casually banters back, taking a step back to give her room to land. A hippogryph… He’s not sure he’s ever heard of such a creature. Perhaps Oceane has though and he makes a note to ask her about it, whenever he finally gets to see her again.

Ledger

I'm coming back again
I want to live tonight

There is a purr in the way she says his name and he watches the way her beak runs through soft gleaming feathers as she settles to his left, keeping in view of his good eye. The stallion feels like this is another show of good faith while the bear rattles his bones and reminds him how sly predators can be. Still, he doesn’t feel quite as on edge as he had been minutes ago and he snorts, amused, when she refuses to tell him who she is. “Are we still strangers Hippogryff?” He asks her with a small grin that falters slightly when her magic snags gently into his heart. An irregular beat that disappears as quickly as it comes and when he feels nothing else, it becomes forgotten.

“I can’t recall ever giving a stranger a nickname.” He says quietly, considering her and that tone of voice that the beast inside of him recognizes. “Usually they are reserved for friends.” He banters back easily, not noticing that his golden coat was starting to pale as the need to shift began to press against him. She stands and he becomes hyper aware of just how close she is to him, his breath shallow as the corner of his mouth pulls into something curious. “Why would I need you Hippogryff?” He asks her gently but that hook in his heart tugs again and he thinks perhaps it would be nice to have someone like her at his back if he should need it.

The molten flecks of his eye are suddenly distrustful with what she asks next. “No.” He says firmly. No, he was not a killer. Once, almost once, he had given in. A desperate attempt to remove the glass heart that had hung heavy in his chest. It was the ghosts in his head that had convinced him otherwise in the end. Although he hadn’t seen the images of madness in a long time, he can still hear Magnus’s voice in his head. "That is not who you are.” But there is that soft caress against his heart and he remembers Oceane giving him permission to hunt if he wanted to. And in these dark golden woods filled with terrible things… Would it hurt to allow the bear (so patient all these years) a chance to truly be itself?

“No.” He says again but this time he sounds uncertain.

Ledger