He'd done his best to put the events of Loess behind him. The fires had thrown ash far and wide, clouded the skies for miles. It hadn't just been Loess that had. been torched, he discovered. Several lands had met the wrath of fire and violence, evidence that stretched beneath him when he'd left the tragic scene behind him.
Eyas' family was at the epicenter of the chaos. He'd known that. It was different seeing it up close though, with the high emotions strong in the air and grief touching everything. Even him. His was a removed sort of sorrow, though. The kind that occurred when you can only watch as others hurt. When you know there's nothing you can do in the moment, when you have to stand by and let events unfold.
It was a sensation he couldn't shake, even days after the fires had gone out. The skies cleared. The sun shone again. And still the glistening stallion could not rid himself of the anguish in Eyas' eyes when she'd tumbled from the sky, too late to save her parents from the tragedy of a story run its course.
He had an idea of where to find her. The same out of the way island that had housed her when their paths had crossed the last time. A beautiful, tranquil place that he'd only visited briefly before. There had been no need to linger, before. Even now he was struggling to decide if he would be welcome at all this time around. If he had anything to offer a woman who'd so recently lost both of her parents.
The pale man's breath gusted from his chest. From their first meeting, Santana had been plagued by a sense of responsibility for the mare who owned more courage than common sense. That feeling hadn't dwindled over time, and realizing that made up his mind for him. He had to at least check in on her. For his own peace of mind, he told himself.
His leathery wings cupped the air as he winged away from the mainland. For a few minutes, there was nothing but white capped waves and cloud streaked sky and him. Steady, strong wingbeats brought him ever nearer to the palm laden island, rushing wind drowning out the anxiety he'd been doing his best to ignore.
Of course, it all came flooding back as soon as his hooves thudded into the sand.
He halted on the beach, nose quivering uncertainly. There was a mountain of "what ifs" before him. What if Eyas didn't want him here? What if he'd flown all this way only to be turned away? What if she had wanted him there from the first, and now she thought he'd given up on her? What if, what if, what if.... He looked longingly back toward the mainland. There was a nice cozy cave there, there was a field of grass and a forest full of rabbits and there was no complicated feelings.
He dithered a moment longer, definitely overthinking the decision that had already been made. He was here, after all. He needed to know she was alright. Or as alright as a horse could be after what she'd come through.
At last he was able to make his feet move beneath him. After that it was only a matter of tracking the scent of the woman he was after, untangling it from the lush jungle and the heady sea. She was here. He knew she was. Yet it took him almost an entire circuit of the island before he laid eyes on the golden mare.
A golden mare, and a silvery grey one. Both faces he recognised, though together they were a surprise. Together, they twisted his guts in ways he'd not expected.
Tana approached the pair at a steady walk, a half-smile on his pink-pale lips. "Eyas, Catcher... You know each other?" He asked, suddenly self conscious. As familiar as he felt with each mare on their own, he had the nagging sensation that he had walked in on something... intimate, in finding them together. Something that he had unwittingly interrupted.
"I'm sorry, I can come back another time," he said, taking a step back. "I just. I had to make sure you made it home safely, Eyas. After what happened. I had to see that you were alright." He cleared his throat awkwardly, mismatched eyes on the golden pegasus, before turning to the greyscale unicorn. He smiled softly at her. She was his oldest friend, and there was definite call that they catch up soon.
@[Catcher]
Eyas' family was at the epicenter of the chaos. He'd known that. It was different seeing it up close though, with the high emotions strong in the air and grief touching everything. Even him. His was a removed sort of sorrow, though. The kind that occurred when you can only watch as others hurt. When you know there's nothing you can do in the moment, when you have to stand by and let events unfold.
It was a sensation he couldn't shake, even days after the fires had gone out. The skies cleared. The sun shone again. And still the glistening stallion could not rid himself of the anguish in Eyas' eyes when she'd tumbled from the sky, too late to save her parents from the tragedy of a story run its course.
He had an idea of where to find her. The same out of the way island that had housed her when their paths had crossed the last time. A beautiful, tranquil place that he'd only visited briefly before. There had been no need to linger, before. Even now he was struggling to decide if he would be welcome at all this time around. If he had anything to offer a woman who'd so recently lost both of her parents.
The pale man's breath gusted from his chest. From their first meeting, Santana had been plagued by a sense of responsibility for the mare who owned more courage than common sense. That feeling hadn't dwindled over time, and realizing that made up his mind for him. He had to at least check in on her. For his own peace of mind, he told himself.
His leathery wings cupped the air as he winged away from the mainland. For a few minutes, there was nothing but white capped waves and cloud streaked sky and him. Steady, strong wingbeats brought him ever nearer to the palm laden island, rushing wind drowning out the anxiety he'd been doing his best to ignore.
Of course, it all came flooding back as soon as his hooves thudded into the sand.
He halted on the beach, nose quivering uncertainly. There was a mountain of "what ifs" before him. What if Eyas didn't want him here? What if he'd flown all this way only to be turned away? What if she had wanted him there from the first, and now she thought he'd given up on her? What if, what if, what if.... He looked longingly back toward the mainland. There was a nice cozy cave there, there was a field of grass and a forest full of rabbits and there was no complicated feelings.
He dithered a moment longer, definitely overthinking the decision that had already been made. He was here, after all. He needed to know she was alright. Or as alright as a horse could be after what she'd come through.
At last he was able to make his feet move beneath him. After that it was only a matter of tracking the scent of the woman he was after, untangling it from the lush jungle and the heady sea. She was here. He knew she was. Yet it took him almost an entire circuit of the island before he laid eyes on the golden mare.
A golden mare, and a silvery grey one. Both faces he recognised, though together they were a surprise. Together, they twisted his guts in ways he'd not expected.
Tana approached the pair at a steady walk, a half-smile on his pink-pale lips. "Eyas, Catcher... You know each other?" He asked, suddenly self conscious. As familiar as he felt with each mare on their own, he had the nagging sensation that he had walked in on something... intimate, in finding them together. Something that he had unwittingly interrupted.
"I'm sorry, I can come back another time," he said, taking a step back. "I just. I had to make sure you made it home safely, Eyas. After what happened. I had to see that you were alright." He cleared his throat awkwardly, mismatched eyes on the golden pegasus, before turning to the greyscale unicorn. He smiled softly at her. She was his oldest friend, and there was definite call that they catch up soon.
@[Catcher]