"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Help me out before I drown Save me now before I give up
When she had taken off into the sky, a blaze of twilight and feathers, if she had looked over her shoulder she would have seen the regret reflecting in that gold flecked eye. This was for the best, he reminded himself. It was better to let her go, better to let that offer fade from his mind. It didn’t help, the conflicting emotions that stirred around the silent glass heart. Because he had wanted to accept it, had wanted to assent to her offer of help. It wasn’t pride that held him back, whatever minuscule threads of pride and ego he ever held had vanished a long time ago. It was fear that controlled him, fear of himself and the fear of her. The possibility of getting close to her, close to anyone, could be his undoing. It wasn’t worth it. Was it?
He didn’t sleep well that night, his mind refusing to shut down and spiraling with the built up anxiety that finally overtook him as the sun dipped behind the mountains. When he didm manage to find sleep in the early morning hours, it was filled with the nightmares of her. Ellyse baiting him and shattering his crystal heart, Dahmer and Magnus bonding and laughing in the background, Adaline’s screams as she fell and broke to pieces. Just before dawn though, a wild warm laughter drowned out the glass girl’s screams. White wings turned to ocean blue. Molten amber eyes gazed at him with humor and Ledger found out that she did indeed hold the fragrance of her color (lilacs and lavender) as his muzzle buried itself in the curled tangles of her unruly tresses. His slumber was peaceful long after dawn had risen.
It had been a few days since the chance encounter with Oceane and in that time, a flurry of activity suddenly appeared in the Meadow with the arrival of a portal. Of course the one eyed stallion was incredibly wary. It was hard for him to disassociate magical transportation as anything but bad, seeing how usually it meant ending up under the Mountain in Carnage’s maniacal grasp again. However, he watched as horses entered the portal and then came back through it.. Laughing and none the worse for wear. Finally his curiosity won out and he asked another traveler what the deal was. “It’s a party, a fair to celebrate the return of the sun!” The other stallion had answered with a grin before stepping through the portal.
Snapping his flaxen tail in agitation, Ledger considered the magic before him. It was the bear that finally convinced him, sensing the ice and snowfall that taunted it beyond the veil. Surely it couldn’t hurt to check it out? Despite the years of caution instilled in him, when the bear really wanted something.. He got it. Uneasily, Ledger stepped through the portal. In seconds, he was standing in a tundra like landscape. The northern lights danced gold and green in the sky above. Snowflakes fell around them and the cold air hit him with a blast. Ledger relaxed instantly, feeling completely comfortable in this chilly environment. The bear was beyond ecstatic, wanting to come out. Ledger wrestled for control of his shifting, there were so many horses around them. It wasn’t a good idea. But once his gaze landed on the large piles of snow, it was no longer a battle he could resist.
The glowing constellation brand on his flank seemed to get brighter as he shifts. Claws sprang from hooves, shaggy white fur spreading over his chestnut skin like wildfire, the gold flecked eye turning into a smaller beadier predators version of itself. As his snout elongates and sharp teeth broke through the old herbivore ones, a roar of approval grumbled deep in his chest and without an ounce of grace, the polar bear dove headfirst into the snowdrift. Looking like a gigantic terrifying puppy, the bear rolled and tumbled in the snow, glittering flakes sticking to his fur until finally he lays on his back and gives a contented sigh, a fanged smile on his bear lips as he closes his good eye and for the first time in a long time allows himself to just feel good.
In the handful of days that followed her encounter in the Meadow with the troubled Ledger, Oceane had tried her very best to keep him from her mind. Unfortunately, this proved difficult ─ Loess, usually quiet, seemed quieter. Emptier. She had sent Fiorina to speak with Sabra in Sylva, and Tarian had gone to investigate how Noah was handling the Pampas, leaving Oceane alone to meander among the foothills and canyons to see who she could find within her kingdom’s confines. Beyond that, the continued absence of Soran and Altum seemed fresher and more painful after having felt the unexpected chemistry she shared with the flaxen chestnut stranger.
When finally Oceane concedes to her thoughts and Tarian has returned to protect the foothills, she makes the decision to visit the Meadow again with the intention of checking on Ledger’s wellbeing. But the willow beneath which he stood swayed its boughs in solitary and, while there were others around this time she could ask, they all seemed distracted and giddy with the prospect of new adventure. With a bit of luck, the Loessian Queen was able to find the robin she’d interacted with on her last visit to the Meadow, and with a bit of coaxing the avian informed Oceane of Ledger’s dive through the mysterious portal.
Had it not been for the handful of others she encountered on her way to find the strange, roiling bit of magic, she would have flown her way back to Loess and avoided the mess altogether.
But instead, her bright amber eyes watched with fearful curiosity as strangers step their way through the portal, some without hesitation entirely. The existence of this magical gateway before her forces memories of Nau-Aib to rise, sudden and unwanted, to the forefront of her mind for the first time in years. Her heart pounds rapidly at the inside of her chest and her amber eyes, usually calm and warm, grow wide with panic at the thought of one of Nau-Aib’s arithmancers finding their way through.
She’s accidentally bumped through the portal when a collection of yearlings bound around her and through; her bluebell hooves stumble and suddenly she is through and surrounded by falling snow. The appearance of Icicle Isle does little to settle the icy consternation that grips her now as her eyes, flighty and wide, skip about the immediate area to ensure that the scene before her ─ beautiful and snowy and lively ─ is not a farce created by the magicians of her past.
Only when her frightened gaze collides with the frame of an ivory polar bear caught in repose, his back pressed happily against the curve of a snowdrift, does Oceane find it in her to settle herself ever so slightly. It feels surreal to see such a creature in the midst of cheerful partygoers, and she focuses on him further as a distraction from her panic. Slowly it subsides, but her efforts to reach the bear with her zoolingualism are unfruitful, and with tentative steps the balefire woman moves closer to him with curiosity and confusion.
He turns his massive white head ever so slightly and Oceane stops in her tracks as she snakes her head forward with squinted amber eyes and the hint of a smile on her lips. “Ledger?” she whispers to the one-eyed beast, voice still tight at the memories of Nau-Aib, but now flecked with incredulity at the happenstance of today’s events.
So far, the party seems to be a success. The ice mage strolls through the visitors in the meadow, keeps an occasional eye on the partygoers in the northern half of the island, and trusts Nashua with overseeing the Highland Games. Besides meeting Aela, one he simple hadn't been able to ignore, he's keeping himself to the side. His promise to those who came to party was that it would be safe, after all; as their host and one of the more powerful around by now, he wants a clear enough head to pick out the unruly.
That said, when his favourite ruler sticks her nose through the portal, he allows himself a momentary distraction. Or perhaps, since she follows right after a polar bear shifter, he still needs to check out the latter - and she just happens to be greeting the large predator, as well. The bear doesn't currently seem to pose a danger to anyone though, so it's more or less just an excuse to approach, for the roan stallion.
"Aquaria's beat you to it, @[Oceane]. I was starting to think you'd gotten lost on the way." he remarks dryly, but the emerald green of his eyes are gleaming. In truth, he hadn't seen many, or any for that matter, from the southern kingdom lately - or well, he pretended not to see Sabra because she didn't want to see him - and rightfully at that, what with the stick up her... heart, and all. Sticky jokes aside though, the scaled draft is much more curious about the newcomer who'd been lounging in a snowdrift. @[Ledger], she calls him.
"Sorry to interrupt. My name's Leilan - playing host for today, I guess. Welcome to Icicle Isle." his greeting grin is perhaps a tad more wolfish (or cat-like, or draconic) than that of a normal horse, but it lasts only short enough to leave one wondering. Besides, it's only an indication that honestly Leilan doesn't care about the predatory nature of some shifters. There's many more out here; not everyone on Icicle Isle had to eat the tough tundra grass to survive. One more polar bear was nothing to worry about for an ice dragon - even if he was no longer bound to that specific shifter form, himself.
No, what's interesting right now, is that the queen of the hilly-desert kingdom seems to know a polar bear shifter, who in turn seems to only be happy because of the available snowdrift. Do they both stem from there, he wonders briefly. He could hardly match the idea of a polar bear and Loess, simply because of it's extremely hot summers. Then again this might be the vacation he needed to get away from exactly that scorching sun and red rock. Speaking of... "I hope you didn't bring any cacti."
Just because, you know. He still doesn't like them.
seek it out and ye shall find
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
Help me out before I drown Save me now before I give up
His eye is closed, the mound of snow supporting his large back almost like a big comfy chair. The coldness seeps through his thick fur and he seems to purr with contentment. That all comes to a screeching halt when a familiar voice whispers his name, tight but curious. He doesn’t open that eye right away as the well-known sensation of panic rises in his chest. If his heart could beat it would be pounding. Oh shit.
Slowly the eye opens, the gold flecks landing on her squinted gaze. On the small smile that plays across her lips. It eases the panic a little, that she doesn’t seem frightened or mad. A sheepish grin seems to find its way to his own toothy mouth as he lifts a single paw and gives her a little wave. He hadn’t expected to keep his shifting a secret forever, it was inevitable and had been a well known fact long before he had gone mad and disappeared. Out of all his issues, the shifting was the easiest part of it to explain. It was everything else that made it harder, more complex and complicated.
He’s saved from having to immediately explain himself by a voice behind her. Sarcasm weaves around the friendly tone and it’s obvious the approaching stallion knows Oceane well. He takes the opportunity to sit up from the snowdrift and stands up on his back legs, towering over the horses as he shakes the snow from his fur. And then the bright white fur shrinks into a flowing flaxen mane, the chestnut flesh spreading as muscles and bones snap and remake themselves. short stubby ears turn into curved ones, his snout morphs and teeth become blunted. It only takes a few seconds to be back in his normal body and a hoof strikes at the granite that punches out from the snow, his gaze uncertain as he looks between the two of them. The brand on his flank and the one on his chest glowing brightly as the northern lights illuminate down upon them.
The large draft metallic stallion introduces himself as Leilan, the host of the party and he assumes the Isle itself. The predator within him can pick up something familiar in the other but to what exactly that is remains unknown to him. Years of diplomatic training and experience runs deep enough within him to gain his composure and he dips his muzzle slightly in greeting. “A pleasure Leilan, I’m Ledger. I appreciate the open invite, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the snow.” A small smile remains on his lips as the one eyed stallion glances at Oceane. She’s exactly as he remembered but more beautiful then he realized, now that he was closer to her. As he’s scanning her entire body, from head to wings to tail, he doesn't think of Ellyse once and misses the importance of this.
Leilan speaks of cacti and it must be some sort of inside joke between the two of them but he inserts himself into the banter easily. “I did not. Did you?” He inquires to Oceane, his dark eye glittering with humor. There is much he wants to say to her, to ask her, but this is not the time or place. So instead, he looks back to the roan man and asks with open curiosity. “You rule this place yes? I’ve been absent from the politics of Beqanna for quite sometime and fear there’s much I’m unaware of.” His intention is clear, hoping that Leilan might casually explain the current rulers and structure of the lands since he is truly ignorant of everything he had missed. The other purpose is to serve as buffer between him and Oceane and all those explanations that he owes her and would eventually have to answer for.
The massive bear freezes as soon as Oceane questions its identity, giving her the answer she was looking for even before he opens his bright eye and offers her a cheeky grin. His sharp incisors peek over the curve of his lips and his massive paw raises beside his ivory head to wave at her, goading a loud laugh from the pearlescent mare in response. She relaxes noticeably in his company, despite the current predatory form he holds, and by the time Leilan’s voice reaches her from a few yards away Oceane has allowed her tight smirk to loosen into something more casual and polite.
She meets the emerald gaze of the dragon-shifter eagerly and genteel laughter falls from her lavender maw at his greeting. “I’ll have to be sure to find Aquaria before I leave, it’s been far too long. But yes, I took a detour this time,” she explains with amusement, “I needed to see the portal for myself. Was that your magic?” she inquires, tone impressed ─ nevermind the fact that the mystical gateway had driven her to panic, she’s curious what else the Freyr of the Isle can accomplish outside of donning the skin of a wyvern.
On the topic of shifters, Oceane does a brief double-take as the ivory fur of the biped polar bear slowly dissipates and leaves behind the equine form of Ledger she’d met in the Meadow. She remains silent as Leilan turns his attention to her companion and introduces himself, taking the opportunity to watch Ledger’s shifting process curiously. Despite having been company to several shifters since her arrival in Beqanna nearly a decade ago, it still amazes her what their bodies can do ─ and how swiftly they can usually do it,
Ledger accepts his greeting from Leilan merrily, which coaxes a suspicious side-eye from the Loessian Queen. Perhaps she’d caught him on a grumpy day in the Meadow ─ while he had been polite and charming, he certainly hadn’t been giddy. She smirks slightly as she catches his gaze inspecting her own opaline frame, and attributes his good mood to the snow.
His coy response to Leilan’s question, however, catches her off-guard. Amused when she realizes that it gives the impression they had come together from Loess, Oceane quips back at Ledger, “I would have been surprised if you had found any cacti in the Meadow anyway, Ledger. I don’t believe it usually grows there,” before turning her warm amber eyes to Leilan, “I was hoping to bring you a few prickly pears, but the plants didn’t fare too well in the dark.” Her tone is playfully apologetic, accentuated by a rustle of her wings, before she falls into silence at Ledger’s grab for political knowledge.
Oceane bites at the inside of her cheek to suppress a grin and turns her amber gaze expectantly to Leilan, curious if he’ll question why the bear-shifter hadn’t simply asked his opaline companion for information on the kingdoms.
Honestly, of all the faces he’d expected, Oceane hadn’t made it to the top of the list. Not because they had any sort of a bad relationship, but because of the fact that she’d kept to herself lately, and he’d figured she had a reason not to mingle. Still, the company she brings is welcome, and with someone who looks like a new recruit at that. He doesn’t have that typical Loessian smell - in fact, not much of a smell about him, even now that the bear has returned to a horse-shape.
”Not a problem. It seemed the Isle could use the facelift, so I just went for it.” In truth, the excess magic that had been given to him had needed an outlet, stat. Better to make a maze and a portal, than to have himself burst out in a similar way that the dragon had once took over Castile. ”If you need some brought down south, just say the word.” He grins and gives Oceane a sideways look, knowing full well she wouldn’t appreciate winter taking over her desert territory for a full year instead of just the cold season.
The meadow, huh. So he was a new recruit after all, then. The ice-scaled mage shakes his head with a humorous glint to the eye. ”I could ask one of our Taigan citizens to check it out if you like. I’m not sure if my plant-healing skills are good enough for prickly pears yet.” Oh, wait, he hasn’t told her yet. ”So far teleportation and anything ice-related seems my best bet.” he tries to explain, adding a mental note for her as well. The fairies have granted me something new in exchange for the sun. A wink follows, but he focuses on Ledger again quickly. It’s not only impolite to talk privately, but he’d asked a question, and it seems that the other stallion hasn’t been briefed just yet, which is surprising but maybe their separated arrival does have something to do with it.
”Icicle Isle is the kingdom of the North, with Nerine and Taiga as it’s territories. Oceane leads the Southern kingdom of Loess, with Sylva and the Pampas under her command as well. A little hot for my taste, but we get along well enough.” He tilts his head and nods west. ”The volcano kingdom of the West is Tephra, hosting two island territories, Islandres and Ischia. No quarrels with them either.” His tone is light when he shrugs and tilts his head. ”Our history with the East is more complicated. Yet Hyaline is the kingdom now, and more friendly bonds have been forged I believe. Pangea seems more quiet these days, and I believe one of my friends has set his eyes on Silver Cove. Call it a lull, these days.” The former ice dragon perks his ears, inquisitive. ”I guess that’s what happens when there’s a common enemy.” And now that it has fallen away... who knows?
seek it out and ye shall find
@[Ledger] @[Oceane]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
Help me out before I drown Save me now before I give up
The sheepish grin spreads as she throws back her head and lets out such pure laughter, god he likes it when she laughs. The thought sobers him immediately, unable to help the walls and barriers that instantly spring up as he realizes how much he does like her company. That was an unsafe thought and nothing good could come from it. He’s thankful that she engrosses their host in conversation as he shifts and pulls himself together, missing the way she side-eyes him when he falls back into old habits. She quips at him and he easily banters back. “Ah, perhaps I should look harder next time.” Diplomacy was an easy shield to wear when needed and when he was in the right state of mind.
The other two joke for a minute and he allows himself to be distracted, looking to the others enjoying the festival and enjoying the cold air that breezes against his short fur. There’s a moment when he wishes to look back at Oceane, to see her in this new relaxed state that he hadn’t really seen in her before. However he stands to her left with the empty socket exposed to her, unable to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of an eye so he instead looks to the roan stallion which is much less inconspicuous.
It takes a moment for Leilan’s words to land but his brow raises slowly as he finally puts it together. Oceane leads the southern kingdom of Loess. Oh. Well that explained a lot didn’t it. No wonder she held herself the way she did, how she offered him the spot in Loess without a worry of what the kingdom thought. Because it was her kingdom. Of course it was, of course. It seems they had both been hiding obvious truths.
He takes the information given and stores all of it away for further processing. “There’s nothing wrong with a lull. Peace can be hard to come by.” He finally says after the break down in politics, a knowing tone in his raspy voice. Images of the burning tree in the Gates spring to mind, of a dark cell beneath the Mountain. A bitter taste spreads on his tongue and he can’t help the way the gold flecks in his dark eye seem to molten. “It never seems to stay quiet for long anyways.” He says with a shrug of a scarred shoulder, knowing too well that there was always something dark lurking around the corner.
This was a happy occasion though and he refuses to be the downer of the group. Not today when the northern lights dance above his head, with the company of others that don’t shy away from what he is or know the pain he has caused. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind bringing some of that snow to Loess after all Leilan. There’s a cave there with my name on it and I plan on making it comfortable.” He hadn’t meant to take her offer. He hadn’t meant to let anyone know if he had. But he can’t help but try to catch her as off guard as she had just gotten him. And maybe it's because he's not so out of place here and maybe it's because he knows there's plenty of others with magic that could stop him if he loses control but most likely it's because he's feeling normal for a change that he shifts back into the bear and sits back on his haunches, rubbing his two front paws together like a mischievous child. "Now what is there to do at this party?" It had been a long time since he had allowed himself any fun, maybe he could have just a little today.
It has always been easy for Oceane to fall into amiable conversation with Leilan. She remembers clearly the day she had met him in Loess, the way both he and Castile had offered each other skeptical glances; Leilan had been right to be suspicious, but despite his reservations with the former Southern dragon-king, he had still been warm with her.
“I've always been appreciative of the help you've offered in the past, Leilan,” she answers his grin with one of her own, the carefree expression doing wonders for the opaline face that had been furrowed with worry for so long, “But that is one offer I will have to politely decline.” And though she jests, there is truth in her words - Leilan hadn't cut her off, nor had he closed the doors to a friendship with Loess even after Castile had razed his home.
He had even housed and taught her son, whose lingering scent she can still smell in the breeze, though she can hazard a guess that he had inherited his dragon-father's affinity for wandering.
“Well, perhaps if you could teleport them to me. I'd hate for someone to feel obligated to travel all that way for some fruit that will likely grow without help next spring, now that the sun has risen.”
And now, it would seem, he has helped the whole of Beqanna by returning their sun to them. Oceane raises a brow at the ice dragon as his voice speaks directly into her mind, relaying her interest to him but knowing that conversation should wait for another time. She gives no further indication that anything exists beyond the trio's verbal conversation, feigning concentration as Leilan begins to fill her bear companion in on the current state of politics, though her efforts are admittedly on the task of not looking too often in Ledger's direction.
She happens to chance a look at him with inquisitive amber eyes as Leilan tells him her own title before she shuffles her feathered wings and gives a small chuckle in response to the Freyr's quip. She intends to make a joke about fire and ice, though she finds herself distracted at the news he provides them of the East. “Who is your friend, Leilan? It will be nice to have him on my side of the continent.” Though she hadn't spoken with him directly, Oceane has no doubt that news of the South's quarrels with the East had made it out to the Isle.
It never seems to stay quiet for long anyways.
Oh, and she knows it. The reminder causes an uncomfortable itch in her legs and Oceane shifts her weight to rid herself of the restlessness, though the feeling of unease is fleeting as Ledger suddenly catches her off-guard. “Keep the snow to the northern canyons in Loess or we'll have a problem,” she tells him with mock terseness before her lavender lips crack a smile again.
He is an ivory bear again in the blink of an eye, at home in his element. His inquiry prompts some curiosity from the Loessian Queen as well, and she returns her amber gaze to Leilan with some amusement and a promise to catch up in private later, when he was no longer hosting such a large number of guests. “Yes, do you have any recommendations on where we should start?”
There’s subtlety between Leilan and Oceane, but there certainly is between her and Ledger too. Leilan has little clues about their first meeting, and if he had he would have laughed with the other stallion, because truly the irony is all there to be appreciated. Nevertheless, when Oceane declines the “help” and Ledger seems to want to accept it - predictably - he cannot help but gleam and joke with the both of them. ”Come now, Oceane, we do want Loess to be bearable for Ledger, or he’ll have to migrate with the seasons.” He tilts his head at the both of them, turning to the polar bear shifter. ”I’ll see what I can do. And if you change your mind next summer, just let me know.” the roan adds; honestly as long as he poses no threat to his citizens he has no quarrel with the man, and he can basically come and go as he pleases as long as that is the case.
The subject of prickly pears earns her a nod. ”I’ll ask. They might prefer the walk, though.” Loess wasn’f that far away from Taiga, in the end - besides, one of them still would have to agree to go in the first place.
”That’d be Chemdog. But you’d best stay away lest he adds you to his herd,” the gold-maned stallion adds with a chuckle. The male somehow doubts that she would, she’s had her share and her pick whenever she wants it. And giving up her title to become a herd mare didn’t seem like her best option.
Ledger then opts to proclaim himself a Loessian, which doesn’t surprise Leilan all that much, though from the subtle look in the winged mare’s eyes he deduces it is new to the both of them. The roan doesn’t really feel bothered to remark, simply following Oceane’s banter with an amused look in his eyes.
But where to send a bear and a mare? ”Several options. But perhaps you both like to start with the mirroring maze. For the Games,” at this he looks to the bear, ”no cheating. And join us for the dance, later? We’ll start when the sun goes down.”
seek it out and ye shall find
@[Ledger] @[Oceane]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
Help me out before I drown Save me now before I give up
A broad grin spreads easily on his lips at Leilan’s terrible pun. “I like you.” He states bluntly, genuine warmth reflecting in the gold flecked eye. “And he has a point.” His gaze turning back to Oceane with a slight shrug of his clawed shoulder. It wasn’t that he couldn’t live in warmer climates since he didn’t really spend that much time in his shifted state. However, the moment Carnage had placed the bear within him he had found it harder to stand hot summers and humid nights. He merely nods in acknowledgment of the offer to visit. Perhaps one day he would be able to accept but for now… He glances towards the party, towards the horses that gather by the flickering tree and race with laughter falling from their lips. Doubt flickers in his mind, how by even being here could be a risk. Still he doesn’t feel the familiar feeling of panic crushing his lungs. For now, he feels relaxed. Normal. Surely staying just a little longer will be alright.
Leilan lays out their options for fun. He pointedly looks at the bear with as he lays out the rules “No Cheating” and he chuckles lightly, using a claw to point to the empty socket where an eye had once resided. It’s hard to miss how the socket’s scars perfectly match the sharp claws he uses to gesture. “You don’t have to worry about that from me.” Whatever advantage he had in this form was canceled out by the disadvantage of his blind side. He looks at Oceane when the dance is mentioned and for a moment he wonders what she would look like dancing beneath the northern lights. Would she let her hair down so to speak like that? Pushing the image from his mind he lowers himself to all four paws. “Maze it is!”
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