[private] catch a tide, my dear, and only think of me

[Oceane]

oceane

with tremulous cadence slow, and bring
the eternal note of sadness in

What she doesn't tell Castile is that she would have knelt before Draco and Ghaul and Anaxarete. She would have allowed them to slay her, to spill her blood across the wasteland of Pangea if Alcinder's life had been at stake. But she doesn't tell him this because he already knows. And she has no doubt that he would do the same.

She is surprised, though, when he grows more vulnerable with her ─ something about their conversation here, on the fringes of Loess, feels as if their boat is floating ever closer towards closure. To hear him speak of his childhood gently pushes that notion away, and Oceane finds herself hoping as he speaks that this will not be the last she ever saw him.

The childhood story is a familiar one to her. Nau-Aib had been a dangerous place for children ─ even those who lacked the political connections that her family had, and each set of parents had responded in their own way. Some were overprotective, some separated themselves emotionally, so the story of Castile's dam does nothing more than help her draw connections between his current emotions and what had taught him to express in that way.

"You didn't fail," she tells him softly, though there's a hardened edge to her gaze. She will not allow him to feel at fault for the actions of others. "And as hard as you try, Castile, you cannot be perfect." She snorts, but there is a warm grin at the corners of her lavender mouth. She hopes their son will develop that same sense of motivation ─ though, perhaps, less self-destructively.

The gold-banded stallion takes another step backwards and swiftly the feeling of closure returns to her. And then it's confirmed ─

I'm not coming back.

He is noncommittal in his response to her inquiry, offering a handful of options but no direct answer. Oceane watches him closely, prepares for him to say that he would be leaving their continent entirely ─ But he doesn't. He couldn't abandon Beqanna, or his children. She smiles in understanding and clears her throat before responding with a knowing look. "You will make sure Alcinder knows how to find you, yes?" It's a question, but not really. "He will need to see his secret-keeper, I'm sure." To let slip that she knows Castile has brought Alcinder on secret trips is nothing more than a device to return the playful glint to the dragon-stallion's mismatched eyes.

"You and Lepis are family," she says after a time, a quiet sigh slipping from her lips as she turns her gaze away and then back again. "I won't meddle. But obviously I hope that you can both find a way beyond this, eventually."

"@[Castile]"

n | v