"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Leaving Loess proves itself to be one of the most difficult decisions Oceane has made in the duration of her lifetime. Her heart and head are at odds, the combination bittersweet. There is the dull, intense ache of her heart and the bright hope for the future that now rests on Cheri's extremely capable shoulders. There is sorrow ─ it clings to the memories of Castile and Lepis, of the Long Night and the monsters within. It weaves its way into her thoughts of Tarian and the unfettered loyalty he had shown her and their kingdom from the very beginning, and still, to this day. It lingers around her memories of her canyon home and the prickly pear she'd once shared with Lepis upon her arrival, and in the way she remembers each heave and drift of the land's topography.
Despite this sorrow, there is excitement. But it doesn't bloom just yet.
It doesn't take her long to find Ledger, hidden within the boughs of their new golden home, and she falls into him once she does. Tears stream from amber eyes as she buries her soft face into the crook of his neck and her chest heaves with the power of her heartbreak. Loess had been her constant savior since she'd run from Nau-Aib. Though the seasons and fires and darkness had brought change, it had always been there. Through the eras of Lepis, Castile, Soran... through the birth of her children. Through the reception of her magic and her growth as a genie.
Loess had always been there.
The weight of her sadness keeps the words at bay, and though she is silent beside the heavy sobs that fall from her open maw, she knows that Ledger understands. And it's in his embrace that she eventually settles down, the sobs becoming weak gasps and her puffy amber eyes finding drought where previously they had flooded.
When she is able to find her voice, Oceane forces humor into her words and offers her scarred lover a small grin. “I hope you weren't worried that I wasn't coming,” she presses her soft muzzle to his cheek and shuts her amber eyes against the wave that once again threatens to crash against her opaline face.
He had stayed only long enough to wish her luck after he had spotted the dark Prince in the canyons. There had been the children to escort and settle into the golden woodlands, the last touches to the cave he had claimed for himself that had been the perfect size for their growing (hopefully) family. The twins run off to explore (something he is still not entirely comfortable with) but this is their home now.
After today, all the time they had been forced apart would be worth it.
Any minute now, she would be here.
He wanders the cold forest, breathing in the lichen and looking at the burnt orange leaves with new appreciation. This had always been a dark place but they may still breath some light into it yet. There is a rustling from behind him and he turns to find her there. He barely has a moment to register the look on her face or her tears but she quickly falls into him and he wraps himself protectively around her.
Her sobs shudder into him and he runs his muzzle soothingly across her backside, gently smoothing her windswept mane. He had loved Loess because he loved Oceane but to her it was her entire life. She had loved and lost and loved again in those canyons. Had lived a whole life before him in those walls. While he had never had a feeling for a place like that before, he does understand loss. He understands grief. He understands that some things can’t be put into simple words but the tears against his neck speak volumes to how hard it had been to step away from something you cared about so much.
He is quiet as her tears begin to fade and her breathing becomes something more steady. He pulls back only so that he can bring her face to his, brushing gently against her cheekbone. She attempts to joke and he smiles in good humor, seeing her attempt at grasping the buoy and eager to throw it in her reach. “Me? Worried? Never?” He responds with a wry grin, his gold-flecked eye looking at her apologetically. He gathers her close to him, placing a kiss to her opalescent brow, as he murmurs to her softly. “We can always go back Oceane. We don’t have to stay here.”
"Just as long as I'm with you"
He doesn't say but it hangs unspoken between them. He's sure she already knows that he would willingly follow her anywhere.
It’s the kiss upon her brow and the softness in his voice that save Oceane from drowning. She clings to his kindness and his embrace in equal amounts, more thankful now than ever before that her true home is with Ledger, no matter where they may be. This removal of herself from the head of the South brings heartbreak, but in the presence of her lover she knows she will soon find it within herself to heal.
She nearly whimpers when he pulls himself away, though she is settled by his jest and finds it natural to offer a small giggle in response. And when he throws another lifeline ─ the suggestion to return to Loess if that's what she wants ─ Oceane nearly clasps it to her chest, ready to turn on her heels and return them to the familiar foothills.
But the genie stops before she is able to get ahead of herself. And there she is for a moment, frozen, her breath held deep in her lungs until finally she releases a fatigued, exasperated sigh that heaves her opaline barrel. “This is where we need to be,” she tells Ledger, though the words are more a reminder for herself than for him. This is where Cheri, and where Loess, need them now. “But perhaps in the future, if the circumstances are right, we can make our way back.” She tries not to linger on the thought, lest she get her hopes up too much. Another wave of sadness crashes against her but she pushes it away as she turns her winged frame to stand beside her lover and gaze out into the golden forest.
“Show me your favorite places, my love. And tell me how you and the children have settled in.”
No wonder he had felt like a man drowning at sea without her. No wonder he had held that ache in his beating heart all those months apart. Now that she is here curled up against him, all those doubts and anxiety fade away. There is a hurt in her regarding Loess that he can never fully understand. He has never loved anywhere as much as Oceane had loved her kingdom but he will try… Try his best… To see her through this. Just as she had done for him when she had found him living the life of a hermit in the meadow.
When she giggles, his smile comes naturally and he is relieved to see tears no longer falling. Gently, he brushes his muzzle against her cheeks to wipe away the lingering dampness. When he mentions returning to Loess, he can see the struggle there. Its one he holds as well and part of him is hoping that she will say yes. Perhaps Sylva wasn’t as bad as he had made it out to be. The Hippogriff of these woods (his hippogriff reminds those threads around his heart) wasn’t nearly the monster he had expected to find here. Still, he cannot help but shake those natural suspicions that something was off about the beautiful autumn forest.
He still didn’t quite trust this place.
She loosens a breath and he can see the way she resolves herself as she remains committed to her plans. He understands why, why she doesn’t want to go back just yet. For a moment he thinks of suggesting somewhere else to live. Somewhere else like Ischia with Beyza and her daughters and her magical dolphins. But as she turns from him and faces the forest, he knows he cannot ask her to leave the South. She would never agree… Even for a tropical paradise. So, instead, he takes a few steps out from the cave towards the golden canopy that awaits them. “Favorite places? Those we will find together.” He says with a grin, looking over his shoulder at her with his good eye. “I think the children have adapted just fine, as they do, but these woods are still very quiet.” Too quiet, he thinks as he looks back out, a frown now flickering over his mouth. “Besides my hippogriff, there seems to be only us and her.”
He pauses as he turns back to her. She is just as beautiful here as she had been in the desert cliffs of Loess. The auburn setting only makes her twilight figure all the more striking. He moves towards her, unable to help himself as his lips find the curve of her neck. “I can show you. Or we could stay here a little longer…” He murmurs suggestively against the softness of her skin.
Oceane steps from the mouth of the cave and beneath the golden canopy of their new home. Sunlight peeks through the leaves, specks of dust floating almost magically in the beams, and the opalescent woman feels the first inkling of happiness at this new adventure that is about to unfold before them. She sighs into the forest, silent for a moment as she coaxes her muscles to loosen. The tips of her flight wings reach out gently to brush against Ledger's side as he fills the silence with the only voice that could ever calm the churn inside her mind.
“A terrific idea,” she tells him as she turns her amber eyes to look at him as he speaks of their children and the quiet that lives inside the forest. She nods in understanding, her maw opening up once more to comment on their need to recruit ─ perhaps in the freelands, or even in the quieter lands of the east ─ but something in his wording catches her attention and Oceane raises a playful brow as she side-eyes her lover. “Your hippogriff? Should I be worried that you've acquired a concubine in my absence?” She giggles playfully at the flaxen man before they both breach the distance between themselves, his blunted teeth coming to her neck and hers to his mane where she tugs gently.
“I don't see why we can't enjoy ourselves for a little while... we can talk about the boring stuff later.” She nips gently at his cheek before pivoting back towards the cave, nudging her lover with a hip as she moves into the darkness.
