[private] Time cast a spell on you but you won't forget me [Oceane]

[Oceane]

a little white light in a
sea gone black

≋

The shade beneath which Ledger hides accentuates the change in his expression ─ from collected and charming to fatigued, well-worn, and somber. One that hurts people. Oceane had not been naive to think that that would not be the case, but to hear him confirm it does make her feel disheartened ─ though not in the way one would expect. Perhaps it’s foolish, especially for the seasoned woman that she is, but Oceane’s instinctive reaction is to hope that the man before her could eventually find happiness without his fear of hurting others. His physical appearance and his unwillingness to relocate away from the Meadow remind her that he has likely tried and failed in the past. Despite this, she’s forced to bite her own tongue to refrain from offering her immediate help.

She doesn’t think he would accept it, anyway.

What she can offer, however, is the safety and privacy of Loess’ northern canyons. Ledger’s reaction is instantaneous. She meets his incredulous why with a steady gaze and another agitated flick of her tinsel-like tail, finding herself suddenly annoyed that he would think she was acting purely from a feeling of responsibility over his health and condition. “Rarely do I feel obligated to do anything,” she tells him finally, and then her voice softens warmly again around the edges, “Loess was the safety I needed when I first found Beqanna. I’d just like to pay it forward.”

I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.

Her lips twitch into a small, resigned smile as they arrive, again, at a deadlock. There is no point in telling him that it is her ultimate decision who is allowed to remain within her kingdom ─ she suspects he would have another excuse lined up for her. “Okay,” she tells him dismissively, “Then I hope to run into you again in the future, Ledger.”

A woman of her word, she allows herself to be dismissed. Pivoting away from the willow, she extends her gleaming wings and tests her muscle fatigue from the journey here before peaking back at the one-eyed man and offering him a succinct nod. “Be safe,” Oceane adds before she takes to the skies and begins her journey home.

—
@[Ledger]
“”

n | r