"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
Autumn's rambunctious breeze whispers in Oceane's ears and caresses her wings until they are coaxed open to welcome the squall into her bosom and across the expanse of her gleaming sides. It brushes through her flight feathers, pushing her unfurled wings back to create tension at her shoulders until the opaline woman can no longer resist the call —
She is airborne swiftly and gracefully, an expert takeoff from a woman who has known flight from nearly the same moment she learned how to walk with knobby knees and oversize appendages.
Oceane is buffeted by the wind as she ascends, her devices of flight working to exert control over the unpredictable thermals. It makes her feel powerful and free when she finds her rhythm, utilizing the wind in her favor instead of working against it.
It carries her south to warmer weather. She soars above the coast of Brilliant Pampas' peninsula, tasting the salt of the air and trying not to let it remind her of Ischia or Ivar. She had ventured in the airspace of the Pampas before, but never had Oceane truly visited the southern territory of Loess — following her discussion with Castile about politics, perhaps it was time to make her face known in the lands associated with her beloved foothills.
At the conclusion of her descent, with a handful of powerful undulations, Oceane's balefire wings alight her safely at the cusp of shoreline and meadow. Long grasses tickle at her violet underbelly and her shoulders, but fall away as she steps comfortably through them and further into the Pampas. The sea sits behind her, the sound of waves crashing intertwined with the soft white noise of the autumn breeze, as her bright amber soak in the unfamiliar sights of the wide-open grassland.
open | "speaks"
i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
All that is gold does not glitter; not all who wander are lost
The Pampas is quiet - a quietness he once rebelled against, but that didn’t quite fix it. No, he learned by now to have more patience, be more subtle. Not that he really feels a need to lead the place at all - he doesn’t care who leads what as long as he doesn’t get lonely.
Perhaps that’s why he likes to act as some sort of border guard and recruiter all in one, even though Noah never asked him to do that - she never gave anyone a task ever, which as he saw it was kind of the point of being a herd though.
Today he flies around in his owl form; a snow owl with metallic gold spots instead of black ones, and observant emerald eyes that scan the Pampas. It doesn’t, then, take him long to spot the purple woman landing in the flowery fields. He makes his way over quickly and nearly soundless, until he lands a few yards away, in horse form.
Shaking his crest to rid himself of a bunch of tiny white feathers, the stallion assesses the diplomat before him as she walks into the meadow.
”Good day.” he greets her casually. Just another one who’s passing through no doubt. Nobody ever stays.
The Pampas possesses a calm repose that can only be found when one is surrounded by a plethora of vibrant flowers. It's difficult for Oceane to imagine anything tumultuous ever happening amidst the tall verdant grasses or beneath the expansive blue sky. It draws an eager happiness into her heart, one that is usually reserved for those moments she learns something new but today she is inspired enough by this new scenery nonetheless.
It would seem, though, that the quiet tranquility of the grasslands extends into the bustle of the herd which inhabits it — in an obvious display of irony, she need not wait long to be greeted but the scents of other equine are nearly nonexistent.
The snowy owl, flecked with gold, stands out against the deep blue of a cloudless sky. Oceane's molten amber eyes find its movement easily and track it as it nears. She smiles pleasantly as it morphs seamlessly, finally coming to touch upon the earth with four hooves attached to a gilded leopard coat. The stallion is not far off, and so Oceane halts her meandering as he moves to greet her.
Her brief smile has disappeared in the time it has taken the stranger to shift and then find his spot in front of her, though Oceane's face is not unkind as she acknowledges his greeting with a polite nod.
"That it is," she says succinctly as her gold eyes follow the white feathers that fall lazily from the stallion's crest, "My name is Oceane. I've come from Loess. Do you—" she pauses for a moment, a combination of the right words and the wrong words fighting for space on her tongue, "Is the Pampas under your protection?"
She'd heard of a woman by the name of Noah and her association with the grasslands, but sometimes it's best not to share everything one knows.
@[Aodhan] | "speaks"
i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
The one year old smokey blue roan girl made her way through her aunts land. She took in the lands appearance and nodded in approval. She spotted a couple of figures in the distance and decided to approach them. She called out before she started their way. The girl smiled as she stopped a respectable distance away from them. She said "Hello, my name is Alija. I am hoping to visit my family's land. What's your names?" She was curious about the two strangers.
All that is gold does not glitter; not all who wander are lost
The purple woman is an oddity in the flowery meadows. Most who come here simply are Noah’s or Castile’s relations, and no-one else seems to be interested. The peace and solitude are as much part of the vibrant-coloured herdland as the flowers and the sparse bushes and trees in these hills, although honestly for such vibrant colours the male often yearns for just a few more vibrant faces to accompany him. More visitors are key, he thinks, and hopefully in due time there may be one or some who’d like to stay.
The shiny winged woman seems a little reserved, and asks a question that sounds rather silly to the stallion. Maybe she’s trying to start off with a joke? He’s not sure. She smells of Loess, certainly she will know about Noah ruling and her being a mare - perhaps she has even been told of the untrustworthy ruckus-maker trying to overthrow her once.
At least, he’s quite certain that that is what Castile calls him behind his back.
His emerald orbs fixate on the mare, but they are soon approached by a filly. The yearling girl has some of Carwyn’s build perhaps, something in the lines of her face seem to be similar; then again he could be completely wrong. Noah hadn’t had a second child had she? No, he doesn’t think so. Still. He could be wrong.
Addressing the purple mare first, he shrugs a little. “In a way. The Pampas is under many horses’ protection, if that’s truly what you’re asking. It’ll never be unprotected, even if it seems to be a little… uninhabited.” He remembers vague notions of his mother’s meetings with diplomats, and that they’re not always as straightforward in what they wish to know. Better to ask for clarity than give the wrong answer, he thinks.
Turning to the filly who had approached, he nods to her. “I’m Aodhán. I live here, with just a few others. Who’s the family you wish to find?” he wishes to know. Perhaps he can help her find her destination, and then find out some more about the mysteriously visiting Loessian.
After all, they’d thus far left them alone in the Pampas. Exception being Cyprin sent their way to keep an eye on him.
It’s not like he hadn’t noticed what she truly was here for. It was just another way of Castile saying he didn’t trust him, even if they’d only met once.
There's a palpable moment of hesitation after Oceane introduces herself and inquires of the stallion before her; she makes note to ask Castile about the gilded leopard the next time she finds a moment to converse with him in the foothills, but for now she finds reason — in the form of approaching hoofbeats — to brush the stallion's tentativeness off.
The blue roan is unfamiliar, but even before she has finished her approach Oceane knows that she is not Noah. The girl is much too young to be in charge of the Pampas, despite the quiet of the place, and there is no displayed familiarity between the roan and the gilded stallion.
She introduces herself as Alija, prompting another nod of greeting from the gleaming opal mare before her attention is drawn back to the stallion by his gruff voice. Respectfully, Oceane listens with fluttering ears and the smallest implication of a smile returns to the corners of her mouth — if she is not mistaken, it almost sounds as if he could be warning her.
"I've no doubt the Pampas is well protected. Have you lived here long, Aodhan?"
If anything, it illustrates his loyalty for the Pampas and — by extension — for Loess.
"Oceane," she introduces herself again for the benefit of Alija before falling into silence and allowing Aodhan to take point on helping the young roan woman find her family's land.
@[Aodhan] & @[Alija] | "speaks"
i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
Alija gave the purple mare a small friendly smile as she listened to her words. She said "It's a pleasure meeting you. You are very pretty Oceane." The roan girl turned her attention to the stallion and gave him a small smile. Alija said "Its a pleasure meeting you Aodhán. I am looking for grandma Carwyn and my aunt Noah." She had heard that her grandmother had gone missing sometime ago. Her father had been busy watching her aunts and uncles to notice her slip away from his small island in Ischia. She turned her attention back to the older mare and stallion as she waited.
The spotted baroque finds it perhaps harder to put on an animated face for such a well-worn diplomat as she comes off to be. She certainly is his elder, in experience with diplomacy even moreso than just in age. Not that he wants to call her old, just... experienced in things he never got himself involved in. Not after the events of three... four? years past. Something about that, he thinks.
She seems to have read his mind, and so he cracks a small smile. It's an inside joke she would not know of because his thoughts are his own, but it amuses him nonetheless that she had that perfect timing. "More than half of my life, by now. I arrived here... three-and-a-half years ago I think. I didn't settle with the quiet way back then, but Noah has lead well, since." It could be better with more horses around, the spotted stallion still thinks, and it appeared he did a lot of visitor-greeting and sometimes attempted recruitment, though really he would think diplomacy just wasn't his strong suit, and he still wasn't entirely sure if recruiting would be appreciated. Nevertheless he could at least try to be active in the flowery meadows, even if most of it went unnoticed.
The compliment the girl makes on the mare makes him smile a little. Loire would be two by now, but still, he thinks she would have said the same. "You're right about that," he agrees, then tilts his head at the names. Carwyn. Would it do good or harm if he told the girl she was here? Perhaps he should discuss it with her. She hadn't told him about the dangerous stallion until she found out she was pregnant, which complicated things - how much might the granddaughter reveal to him, unaware that she did any harm?
Shaking his crest as to rearrange the white mane, he thus replies cautiously, in a neutrally happy tone that would fool the child, though perhaps not the diplomat. "I'm sure your grandmother is safe. We can go visit Noah later, if you want. Have you met your great-aunt before? Or your cousin Norma?" It would be easier, perhaps, to deflect the questions about Carwyn by encouraging enthusiasm about a cousin she never met; perhaps meanwhile he could ask Carwyn what she wanted.
It'd be better to keep the child safe - maybe when it was born, it should stay here if Carwyn wanted to return, but that wasn't for him to decide right now.
Aodhan explains his years spent in the Pampas and though Oceane tries her best to listen intently, the blue and purple pegasi can't help but to think about her second son, who — had he not met his demise in much the same way his older brother had — would be around the same age as the leopard appaloosa.
The last memories of her son, only days old, do not bring heart-wrenching anguish as they used to, though she can't help the cold melancholy that still sneaks like wintry tendrils from her heart.
Laughing quietly at the unexpected compliment from Alija, and at Aodhan's endorsement, Oceane draws her soft purple muzzle to the crux of her chest almost sheepishly. "That's very nice of you both," Oceane responds politely, but is thankful as the conversation turns to the other woman's family. The Loessian doesn't recognize any of the names that are soon mentioned, though she is acutely aware of the way Aodhan seems to step carefully around any suggestion of Carwyn.
Clearing her throat at a gap in the conversation, Oceane rustles her wings at her side and tosses the lavender forelock from her amber eyes. "If it isn't too much hassle, Aodhan, I'd like to join you. It'd be nice to see more of the Pampas," and to meet Noah. She had, after all, come to make herself better acquainted with those territories that fall under the protection of Castile and Loess.
@[Aodhan] & @[Alija] | "speaks"
i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
nature's first green is gold her hardest hue to hold
Alija let her eyes drift as she listens to each of the others. She couldn't wait to get get to meet her great-aunt and the cousin she didn't know about. Her ears perked up when the stallion mentioned that he thought her grandmother was safe. She let out a small sigh of relief. Alija smiled and said"I have not met Noah or Norma yet. I haven't been away from Ischia until today." The blue roan girl was quite excited about seeing more of the pampas.
