Wallace;

[Tiphon]

BUT HOW COULD YOU KNOW THE SWEETEST SUFFERING
OF MOVING ON

There is no hiding the way Tiphon’s body deflates when Wallace admits her plans. This is only a brief sanctuary, a quick stop, in her life. It’s enough for now, he understands from her, but it doesn’t soothe the hurt that’s radiating from his chest. Although he won’t seize the opportunity, he wants to pull her into his embrace and never let go. The history that lingered between them can be tossed away and they can create something new. They could create it here, or so he thought, until she denied him that dream.

”Oh,” it’s the only thing he can bring himself to say. The solitary word is muttered quietly and is almost lost in the sound of the tide. Even as she includes him in Ischia’s history, he cannot envision himself anywhere else now. This island has provided him a place to rest his head and to mend the suffering. Maybe, he thinks, there’s a reason he had left Ischia. Perhaps he fulfilled his purpose there and is now needed here, on a new island.

Emotion chokes him for a long while and he takes pause in this. His molten eyes dance between Wallace and the ebbing waves. Interestedly, he watches as they lap at the sand and recede, always coming back, ever reliant. ”I’m here now,” she knows this and yet he tries to open her eyes to the possibilities that she doesn’t seemingly want, ”and we can begin anew. This place can be just as good.” He speaks gently, struggling to fathom his home quieted by her family’s departure. If they leave, there will be no one. ”We… as in, your family. I wouldn’t try to separate you.” It wouldn’t happen anyways. Wallace has confided how much her family matters, how they determine her own paths. It’s rarely ever her choice, only theirs.

A defeated sigh passes through him as his mind wraps around her decision and attempt to reassure him that her time here has not yet ended.

”Ischia is led by a scaled stallion, I heard.” It’s almost as though she was listening to his conversation with Kromium when her opinion is jaggedly stabbed into the space between them. ”It’s certainly odd to have a stranger come here trying to unite forces,” he agrees smoothly with a slow nod of his head while imagining what lies in their island’s future.

TIPHON

STARLACE AND INFECTION

@[Wallace]

[Wallace]

this time I’m torn, please wake me if I lose that face
search in these eyes: there’s still fire in the darkness

He seemed to wilt when she made it clear this home was only temporary for them. It was Ischia that her children were born, where she had become of age before then, and it was Ischia that they belonged so long as the ruler was someone they could find acceptable.

Otherwise, she wasn't confident her family wouldn't just stand up to them and solve the problem themselves. Set things right.

"Oh."

It sounded kind of like she might have let him down in some way and she felt an unfamiliar pang of guilt, looking over at him again in concern. Her brows were pulled softly together and she was trying to understand why it mattered to him when he didn't even remember her anyway. And she wasn't exactly a girl anyone would want to spend time with. She couldn't be reading him that poorly, could she? But he really did seem to be bothered that her family would be leaving eventually, returning to their island home.

"I'm here now and we can begin anew. This place can be just as good. We... as in, your family. I wouldn't try to separate you."

So, he definitely wanted them to stay. It seemed at least a little more to him than just hoping for more bodies to call this place home. It mattered in some other way, maybe. Or so she thought she was sensing. Though she wasn't confident enough to believe it had anything to do with her. More likely it had to do with Kerberos or her children.

She shrugged dismissively in response when he told her Ischia was led by a scaled stallion. It didn't make any difference to her who led it currently. They'd iron it out when they returned. She'd prefer if it would be Ea or Tiphon leading, or even Sabrael. Or, hell, Kerberos and Reilly did a fine job when they held it for the family. They could just as well do it again. It had been easier to control the types of people that passed through, and they certainly learned it was necessary for the safety of their family after Kerberos' family came to rip the land away from Ea and do who-knows-what with the rest of them.

Nothing good, that had been clear.

She sighed and tentatively shifted a step closer, reaching her muzzle out for his shoulder with her breath firmly locked in her throat. Even that little bit had her heart racing in a panic, clashing with the desire to comfort him, reassure him, and the desperate urge to get as far away as she could before she could even accidentally let him in passed her walls. Her eyes were on him, as calm or fearless as she could manage to make herself look despite the secret glint of terror buried in them. She should definitely leave now, get some air.

"I should get back to my daughter," she breathed, straightening with a tight jaw when she heard how shaky it came out. "I'll see you again soon, Tiphon." She hoped. It would be nice to try and start again with him. The thought tipped her mouth in a weak smirk. "We'll make a new story this time."

Wallace