"Forgive Leonidas," Lilliana says first with giving a knowing look to her companion. But the way she speaks his name implies that the glowing orb has some kind of cognizance. It only dips once in acknowledgment before floating towards the filly again. "He's still learning manners," says the Taigan. But then her attention is drawn back to Memorie.
"Hello Memorie," Lilliana says to her granddaughter and smiles gently at the little girl. Despite the darkness that lingers at the edge of Leonidas' light, the familial resemblance between remains obvious. Lilliana looks at her and is reminded all over again what Yanhua had been like at that age. An ear pricks towards Borderline and hearing the warmth flooding the voice of the young mare makes her glad; she had looked rattled moments before.
The filly reaches her delicate nose out and Lilliana does the same, extending it to almost brush against her granddaughters. Like before, she hangs back and lets the choice come from Memorie if she would like to come closer. When the older mare glances back up at the younger one, something about her still seems on edge despite Leonidas' starting to dim his light and the peaceful cadence of the waves behind them. She exhales a soft gust of air towards the filly and smiles tenderly, finding it hard to look away from the little chestnut.
She still can't shake the belief that if everything was fine, then Borderline and Memorie wouldn't be here. They would be tucked away, safe and content in some hollow within the Taigan woods. Her blue eyes gaze down at the girl again and Lilliana feels the smile etching against her dark lips. "You must have been very thirsty to come to the ocean for a drink," the Guardian teases. They all know there is no drinking from the sea but some part of Lilliana likes the idea that they went searching for a brook and found the vast ocean instead.
Borderline's face cracks against the shadows; fractures in a way that Lilliana has seen before (with Elena, Brazen, and Warden) and that she knows.
Leonidas lifts on the salt air, twirling on a summer breeze and his companion asks her granddaughter: "Have you met a star a before?" Lilliana waits before adding, "He says that he likes your blue tail. It reminds him of a comet he once saw."
When it seems like the star is occupied with the child, Lilliana looks to Borderline again.
A gust comes rolling off the waves and she offers quietly, "I often come here when I need to clear my head." Lilliana admits, revealing that this has been a frequent spot for the Guardian of late. Glancing to check on Leonidas and Memorie, she adds: "The ocean is great for putting things in perspective." Her problems had always seemed so much smaller than any horizon (until Aela went missing, until Brazen died, and then Lilliana had wanted to burn the whole sky down).
"Thank you," she murmurs softly, banishing the ache away by focusing on the present. "For all the healing you brought to Taiga after the fires." She looks back to Memorie and the way that her expression softens again says that is not the only thing she is grateful to @[Borderline] for. Watching the little girl brings back so many memories for Lilliana that she can't help but ask: "How do you find motherhood?"
Remember when our songs were just like prayers
Like gospel hymns that you caught in the air?
but it's all in the past, love
it's all gone with the wind