"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
Despite the earthquake that had disrupted the land, Tephra had been quiet. The newly-formed island had mostly escaped any other kind of extreme changes, and for that Casimira was grateful. The landbridge—not exactly passer-friendly and more than a little treacherous—did not bring many visitors, but, neither did the skies. It was as if the entirety of Beqanna had settled into a hush, afraid that sudden movements might once again stir the land into shifting and reforming, and there was never any way to know what the outcome might be.
She did not mind the lull, though. Her mind was a loud place, with far too many thoughts and worries that never seemed to fade. For her kingdom to at least be quiet was more than she could have hoped for. She was content to walk the coastlines, to slowly wind her way through jungle paths and along the lava-fields that her mother used to warn her to stay away from when she was a child. Her residents were quiet, too, made up of mostly smaller families that kept to themselves, such as Magnus and Isle, and Nightlock and Wonder, along with both their children. It was the kind of peace she had always hoped to find, the kind that had so often escaped her.
She wished that she could have accepted the peace for what it was instead of looking at it like a warning. Instead of wondering constantly when it was going to end, or what kind of turmoil would spring from the serenity.
This afternoon she finds herself along the western shore, facing Ischia. Unlike the new, flooded coast that faced what had once been Loess, this shore remained largely unchanged. Staring out into the bright blue of the waves as they rolled almost lazily across the sand it was easy to pretend that nothing had changed; that Beqanna had not been rocked, that her mother had never died, that she had never run into her previously unknown father unexpectedly.
In that hypnotic way that only the ocean can do she lets her mind be scrubbed clean, exhaling a soft sigh into the salty breeze.
Lillibet still searches for her family, but the act of it has become less frantic. They sit in the back of her mind always - Link, Oceane, and Ledger - but enough time has passed since they'd disappeared that she has lost the energy to gallop across the whole of Beqanna shouting their names. But that is not to say that she has stopped wandering. An agreement had been struck with Herrin, their destination decided, but they've yet to make their way to the desolate canyons together.
And so she roams, this time methodically over the treacherous land-bridge where her home had once stood. She tries not to wonder what portions of Sylva and Loess still remain to help those without wings or fins to cross from the mainland to Tephra, which landmarks from her childhood would be sitting quietly off to the side where the deep sea now laps.
Lillibet is winded by the time she arrives safely at the newly-created shoreline of Tephra. Her pearl white coat glistens, dark with sweat that draws chills across her frame whenever she's met with a sweep of the wind. The volcanic island of Tephra is warmer than the common lands she'd made her home for the winter, and with her arrival comes a quiet sigh of relief. The warmth reminds her of Loess in the summer, though admittedly it's more humid on this side of the world.
The bygone princess of Sylva continues through Tephra, her stride leisurely, in hopes of crossing paths with someone who may have seen her family since the rise of Baltia.
Eventually, the western shoreline greets her. An ivory woman stands alone at the water's edge and Lillibet guides herself towards the stranger. Where once would have sat a pompous smirk now rests an apologetic smile as she nickers to draw the mare's attention to her. She'd never been a fan of Oceane's diplomatic teachings, but the young woman is not naive enough to cause issues where she may be ale to find help.
"Hello there," she comes to a stop a few yards from the stranger, "I'm sorry to interrupt you. I am Lillibet, of Sylva."
Sylva, beneath the sea.
I do not want to move mountains;
I want the mountains to see me coming
and to crumble.
She is stirred from her thoughts by a voice, the waves seeming to raise it up and carry it towards her rather than drowning it out. With an angling of her head she takes in the girl with a stare that is more piercing than she means it to be, the paleness of her blue eyes against such a stark white face seeming to lend an edge to her gaze. Despite being queen it was not often that others sought her out, especially not strangers, and she is both curious yet mildly suspicious, and it shows in the formal yet somewhat guarded smile that she offers the younger girl. “You’re not interrupting anything,” she says in a voice that is softer and kinder than her face—the sharp, clean angles seeming to hint to the draconic features hidden just beneath the surface—portrays her to be.
Casimira has never been cruel or unkind, but life has never been charitable to her in turn. Instead of all the injustices turning her hard it had turned her cautious, and she met everyone with the same reserved nature.
Kind enough to never appear rude, but careful enough to never be taken for a fool.
“Lillibet,” she repeats her name, having now turned to face her, and she dips her head in a cordial greeting. “My name is Casimira.” Her title is left off, still finding it awkward to introduce herself as queen in situations where it did not seem necessary. This did not have the air of a political meeting, though she supposes she could be mistaken. Instead she focuses on how Lillibet says she is from Sylva, and a frown forms in her brow. “I’m sorry,” she offers sympathetically, her glacial colored eyes seeming to soften as she remembers the same earthquake that had made Tephra an island had also made other lands apart of the ocean. “Are you looking for a place to stay?”
Lillibet maintains apologetic eye contact with the beautiful stranger just long enough for her to be reassured that her intrusion wasn’t that. The woman’s voice is softer than expected, and there is a certain comfort to that as Lillibet stands to be weighed by her intentions. A small smile cracks the stone of her fatigue-induced indifference as she turns her gold-flecked eyes to the expanse of the ocean that sprawls out before them. “It’s nice to meet you, Casimira,” she returns out of habit, and though the words are not untrue there’s a soft uncertainty to them. She would not be here had her home, her parents’ kingdom, not sunk to the bottom of the deep blue sea.
“I don’t think so,” she answers with a quiet sigh as she forces her honeyed gaze away from the tumult of the ocean waves and back to the expectant face of the ivory woman beside her. There’s something unique about the sharp angles of Casimira’s face, but Lillibet can’t quite place what it is. “Thank you,” she adds with a flick of her ear and a polite nod of her gold-striped head as she backtracks, having realized she hadn’t acknowledged the woman’s apology, “for your sympathy.” She knows that it’s truly all anyone can offer her. Their words. Nothing could pull the Southern kingdom out of the ocean or return her family. If her mother, a genie, couldn’t have pulled their family from the depths ─
“I think I’m just… searching still.” She shifts her weight, the glow of her ivory frame bouncing against the stone beneath her. “Have you lived in Beqanna all your life? Do you know Oceane, or Ledger?” Had she listened to any of her mother’s teachings outside of the history of the South, Lillibet would already know about Casimira, but instead she stands here on square one.
I do not want to move mountains;
I want the mountains to see me coming
and to crumble.
They are lucky that the flood had stopped at Tephra; and why it had, she will never be sure. The earthquake that had rocked Beqanna from the core of the mountain had been powerful enough that it could have flooded it all, and she is equally surprised the volcano here in Tephra did not erupt. It could have been an event equivalent to the Catastrophe she had only heard stories of from her mother—of the storms and earthquakes that tore Beqanna asunder, with a chaos of magic that brought her mother back to life right in the middle of the upheaval. It had been just one of many events that had changed the very makeup of the land, altering kingdoms and destroying all the residents had previously known.
The fact that all that had been lost was one kingdom and her two lands was, in its own way, a miracle, but she knows it is likely not seen that way by all.
It would be difficult to see a miracle when it was your own home sitting at the bottom of the sea.
She nods her head in understanding to Lillibet’s response, but extends an official invitation regardless. “You’re welcome in Tephra any time,” though she thinks it would make sense for the girl to not want to live where she has to imagine her home resting beneath the new waves.
She asks of Oceane and Ledger, and while the last name is not familiar, she knows that the first belonged to a queen of Loess. Despite her history with the southern kingdom, Casimira did not harbor ill-feelings towards them — the tension that had once existed between the two kingdoms had seemed to dissipate over time as thrones switched hands, and now there were not many around to still remember when the two had tried to tear each other apart. “Oceane was queen of Loess, yes?” She says, just to ensure she is not misremembering, but she shakes her head apologetically. “I did not know her personally, I’m afraid. And I have not heard anything of her since…” she lets her voice trail off, her eyes shifting to glance in the direction of the flooded coast. She looks back to Lillibet, a tight smile finding her face, because while she is not sure of the girl’s relation to the two names she had spoken, she can only assume she cares for them in some way. “I’m sure she’s fine, though. The earthquake and the flood was disorienting, but I know there are many that escaped.”
“Thank you,” she whispers again before clearing her throat and turning her gaze to the coastline before them, finding it easier to pretend there is something of interest to view upon the tide than allow her vulnerability to show in honeyed eyes that threaten to well with saltwater of her own. She’s sure the woman beside her, Casimira, no matter how harsh the lines of her face or the cut of her eyes, would understand ─ but she reserves her sorrow for herself, and sometimes for Fyr, if only because he, too, understands the loss. “Tephra is beautiful,” she adds as an afterthought in an attempt to keep their conversation more casual than she had initially steered it, “A friend of mine once told me that he’d like to fly to the top of the volcano just to look inside.”
She smiles slightly at the thought. Were she privy to Casimira’s magic, she would ask if the dragon-shifter had ever done just that. But instead she chances the question about Oceane and Ledger, and finds that it’s difficult to breathe as she awaits the woman’s reply.
The young woman is pleased to hear that the ivory woman beside her knows of her mother ─ but the emotion is short-lived, and all she can do is nod in understanding. “Yes, she was Queen before abdicating and moving to Sylva─” Lillibet smiles and shakes her head, knowing full well this woman had not awoken this morning to have a conversation on the history of the South with a stranger. “She’s my mother,” the young woman says to clarify before steeling herself against the emotions that will inevitably rise with Casimira’s reassurances. “I hope you’re right,” her response comes with a resigned smile before finally her amber eyes return to the ivory woman at her side.
“Did you… did you lose anyone? When it sank?” As far as she knows, Tephra and its subsidiaries had been relatively untouched ─ but that did not mean all of Casimira’s loved ones had been safe from the dark God.
I do not want to move mountains;
I want the mountains to see me coming
and to crumble.
