"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
Cressida has never been in want of a home. Has never wanted for more than the moon and the stars above her. The sweet call of night as it wraps around her and lulls her to sleep. To the kind of slumber where she walks alone in the darkness with only the moonlight as her companion.
That has been home enough for her.
But her father had found her brother and her and told them about Loess. Told them about how it had been the place where he had lived for so long—that is, until he found her mother. It was the place of his death and his rebirth. The place he had pledged his loyalty. And while he had strayed, had spent the years by her wild mother’s side, it was time for the family to go home. Home.
So she does.
She comes at night, as is only right, in the shape of her deer. She is not as young as she had been, but there is still youth in the way that she holds herself. Youth in the slender, coltish legs that carry her so delicately across the rock and bramble. She dips her silvery head toward the ground and sniffs lightly before she continues, letting the pace set itself leisurely. Quietly.
When she hears the sound of movement, she doesn’t startle. Instead she just lifts her head and looks out into the shadows, peering through the near fog and smiling.
Mesec had been thinking about returning to Loess for a while, back to the kingdom he had once died in service of, but the thoughts often were brushed aside and forgotten. After all, why would he ever wish to change what he had with Alaska? Following her wild whims wherever they took them, raising their children. The last few years since his return had been filled with such an overwhelming amount of joy that to think of something more felt… ungrateful.
But there had been a day when he had brought it up, and it had not been met with scorn or derision - the twins seemed eager to go, eager for something new.
And, he reasoned, he could be temporary - they would not have to stay, if they did not want to.
On silent wings he returns, easily finding his daughter amongst the night where she fits so well. Helion had opted to nap before joining them, grumbling about not being given enough notice so he could have had fewer adventures during the day.
Looking at Cressida, Mesec thinks about how he had thought there might be pain to look upon her, to see the similarities between her and his mother, but there is none. There is only a warmth that spreads through his heart, only love that lights up his easy smile when he lands on the rocky ground nearby and greets the young doe.
Alaska and Helion both shine beneath the sun, but he and Cressida suit the nights with their matching silver glow.
For many, traveling at night was not the opportune time to see a new home. It did not make for the simplest way of understanding a place. For studying the rocks and the jutting cliffs. For smelling the vegetation. But for Cressida, it was the perfect time. She loved the way a place looked washed in moonlight most of all. Loved the soft, silvery glow of it and as she looks out at this new place, at her new home, she can’t help but understand why her father, her parents, wanted to return.
So she isn’t surprised when he comes to find her.
She tilts her head up and smiles that dreamy smile, her heart buoyant with the full moon hanging above her. With a breath, she shifts back to her equine self, her smile the same, those doe eyes changing in shape but not in the liquid depth of them. “Dad,” she says with a warmth that her family draws forth from her.
Without hesitation, she closes the distance between them. She presses her silvery mouth to his shoulder and wonders at how much peace she can feel just by being near him. Just by feeling that proximity and the security of her father’s presence. Her heart clenches and she smiles again up at him.
At his question, she draws her gaze away to cast it out across the kingdom. She doesn’t reply for a second, instead choosing to formulate her response. When she looks back, she ruffles her wings just slightly.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathes. “I understand why you wanted to come home.”
His smile brightens to watch her shift so easily from the deer to herself, to the young mare she’s becoming. This is the first time he’s truly had a chance to watch his children grow from newborns upwards and it is a bittersweet thing. They’re off having more adventures on their own now, exploring the world. It’s unreasonable to want them to be with him and their mom forever, but he enjoys these moments so much - when she greets him and he nudges her softly on her neck in return.
It is easier to deal with their absences when he gets to have these little reunions - when he gets to hear their stories about where they’ve been. And there is still a part of him that is so amazed that he could be greeted with such affection, that the love he feels for his family is reflected back to him. There does not seem to be a limit on his happiness because each day it grows and grows. And Mesec has experienced enough heartache not to question it, to let it wash over him even if it means he never stops smiling, even if it makes him silly.
His grin brightens when she speaks with approval and he nods, his silver eyes drifting over the landscape. “We don’t need a home but it’s… it’s nice to have a place.” He looks out at the moonlit kingdom, the way everything looks a little more peaceful in the night. “Somewhere to roost. I spent most of my life looking for a home, and never quite finding one. Until here - and until your mom.” He adds that last part with a small laugh because it is the most true. He had liked Loess, liked Lepis, but it had been Alaska for who he had crossed through the Afterlife, for Alaska for who he had taken more time.
“You’re getting good at shifting, is your brother jealous yet?”
