Solace
. . .
They were beyond her control, all those she loved, and It had taken her years to accept that. They rarely said goodbye, they came and they went, and each departure poisoned the memories they left her with. Yet like the stones on the mountainsides, she remained. Only in brief intervals had she left her home over the last three years, and never long enough to sleep anywhere other than Hyaline. Even as her friends and family vanished, she remained rooted.
"It will be easier for them to find me," she had justified, in her younger years, (for it had been true) but now she no longer tries to explain away her quirks.
Hyaline was where she belonged.
Svedka had always returned to her, and she had silently believed that she had not seen the last of Smoak - even if years had passed. Those she loved most always returned.
Her name echoes across the surface of the lake, pulling her gently from the sleep Kagerus had given her. The lake is visible from where she rests, yet the owner of the voice is not clear. Placing a kiss to Kagerus cheek, Solace sets off to find the source of the call, which echoes hauntingly in her mind as she travels. But as Solace reaches the bank, she halts.
"Smoak," his name fall from her lips the moment she sees his gold pelt and ivory armor. The width of the lake divides them, and she stands wide-eyed and astonished for a moment too long.
From the top of the bank, she springs, unfurling the expanse of her cerulean wings to glide above the surface of the water. Had she had her wings the last time they met? She thinks back to that strange day, the flurried excitement of their brief meeting which she hadn't known would be their last in adolescence.
(No, she hadn't had her wings back then.)
Solace's hooves touch the earth as she takes several strides to slow her momentum, and brings herself to the side of her childhood friend. She is older now; her winter coat is plush and full and many sleepless nights have drawn her mouth taut. She sought out Kagerus to help her sleep more and more these days, the dreams were addicting - her own form of escape where she never had to leave her kingdom. But her cheeks are full, and her blue eyes still often sparkle when she smiles, for the things she had to be thankful for greatly outweighed her sleepless nights. She gives him that smile now, but it wistful and hesitant - there is a question posed on her lips, and she has no idea how this rugged, travel-worn version of Smoak will answer.
"Where have you been," she asks, with no hint of judgment or hostility. She had spent hours turning over that question in her mind after he and Svedka had departed for their journey, and there was a time when she would have sacrificed her crown to know where he was, and if he was ok.
@[Smoak] <3