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    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    She sells seashells by the sea shore // Any
    #1
    aquaria
    - THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -

    The return home had been a difficult decision to make, one that the sea mare had dwelt on longer than perhaps she should have. Once more she was being pulled in two very separate directions. This time, however, it was not only the choice between the oceans and the land that she struggled with, but between two loyalties that she'd never expected to find. 

    Home. There would always be home calling her back, the island tugging at her as insistently as the waters that surrounded her. She'd never imagined that she would find reasons not to return to it. Not until she'd come across Oceane, the clever mare who's friendship she'd fallen into quite suddenly, and who's turbulent life had drawn not only Aquaria, but her sons in as well. When first Alcinder and then Oceane herself had been captured by a kingdom the Ischians knew nothing about, when silly, brave, unthinking Cormorant had traipsed after his new friend, she'd known she couldn't leave. 

    But now her son was returned. Alcinder was returned. And Oceane, clever as she was, had gone quietly into her captivity. Pearl white Aquaria felt an ache deep in her chest as days went by, knowing every day passed was a day she was ignoring the ties to her own home, to the loyalty she had so recently pledged to Eva and their island. Their own herd may need guidance in the coming days, and she knew she couldn't abandon them. 

    She'd found her boys, together, and had explained to Halcyon's understanding and Cormorant's outrage, that home needed them. She had found Alcinder, and promised that they would visit again, that she knew he'd be well taken care of by his kin and that she knew Cormorant would see him again. It was one of the hardest conversations she'd thought she'd ever have. 

    Then they'd been off, back the way they'd come without the addition of the companions she'd thought they'd be bringing with them. This journey had been far more subdued, more so when they passed through Taiga and upon questioning a stranger, found that Pteron had left. Had not been seen there in some moons, and that a stallion named Aten now governed the redwood land. Her heart stuttered at the news, confusion and hope vying inside her at the news. Was he home, waiting for her to return? She barely allowed the thought room before squashing it back down. 

    That was a kind of naive hope that she'd learned very rarely bore fruit. She had Cormorant. And... She glanced at the prowling tiger, so far grown in the time she'd cared for him. So much a part of her now. The memory of their first day in the kingdom of Loess brushed her mind, the absolutely alien figure he'd become to greet Oceane and her new son. Alien and familiar and not something she'd allowed herself to dwell on much since. He was hers, blood be damned. 

    If he was Pteron's also, well. Blood be damned twice over. 

    By the time they returned home, she felt exhaustion in every inch of her. It had been a long journey, several days of walking and traveling on variety of terrains, the landscape so little changed she had to wonder. Had they been gone a whole year? Had time sped by so quickly as that? But spring seemed to have landed, exactly as it had on their way east, and the sons who traveled with her were larger, held much more stamina than the ones who had followed her then. Too long, they had been away too long. 

    Her eyes glossed in the sunlight when Ischia's sand spread beneath her feet again. The boys were quick to run off, to return to their haunts and to inspect their collections and treasures. What would be left, after a year. Cormorant's sullen temper from the trip evaporated at the sight of their home, and she knew they had done the right thing. They would be alright, her little family. She only hoped Oceane's would fare as well. 

    Back on familiar beaches, the pale nereid drifted like debris on the waves, uncertain what, if anything, had changed. Coming to a rest beneath an accommodatimg stand of palms, she breathed a lungful of fresh, salty air. Savored the tang of the breeze. Wondered when, exactly, she had come to expect the world to be so cruel.

    - MY ONLY RIVAL IS WITHIN -
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    #2

    Like every day, I wake after baking in the sun for my nap and then decide to wander about looking for company. Whether I find no horses and only trees won’t deter me too much - though there was the growing desire to get to know more of the other inhabitants of these islands. To become a part of the herd or community or whatever they called themselves. It was hard, when all I wanted to do was spend time with my family (especially with Eva being pregnant and so soon to popping).

    Luckily for me, my wandering puts me right within eyesight of someone I have been meaning to meet. I don’t know for sure that this is Aquaria, but I’m pretty sure. Except for a recent absence - noticed only because it happened to be right after Lilliana had suggested I say hi to her - I had seen the fin-decorated mare around Ischia since I arrived a few years ago. Most of the inhabitants were technically strangers still, but it was easy enough to pick up their names here and there. The isles were only so big, after all.

    I didn’t hesitate in going over - already forgetting about the fact that she’s been gone and maybe hoping to see one of her friends instead of a stranger. Though I still felt like I stood out among them, these shores felt more and more like my home with each beautiful sunrise. “Hello!” My antlers and mane were tangled with seaweed - the result of my most recent attempt at swimming before my nap - but I felt like it added to the island look so I didn’t try to scrape them off just yet.

    Besides, my mind was elsewhere!

    Like not thinking about whether my first question was rude or not. “Are you Aquaria by any chance?” I cut myself off there, figuring if this wasn't Aquaria I could still salvage the conversation without launching into admiration for our mutual friends.

    v e l k a n

    artwork by reitro


    @[Aquaria]
    Reply
    #3
    aquaria
    - THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -

    Fitful musings come to a halt as the nereid found herself the object of another's greeting. Her furrowed brow softened into a kinder expression as the black stallion approached her where she stood on the warm beach. She couldn't place him, not that it was surprising. After a year long absence, it would be odd if she did recognize every single horse she came across in the secluded isle. 

    Noting the jagged black antlers that rose from his brow, the flecks of deep green and the bracing scent of sea salt, he seemed to be rather at home on the shores of Ischia. Perhaps more so than the marine mare did herself recently. 

    "Hello," she returned the greeting warmly, amethystine eyes blinking slowly up at him. He was too thin, almost skeletal, and she found herself frowning slightly at the realization. She nodded absently at his question, examining him more thoroughly. "I am, yes. You need to eat more." Her mothering tone came out, baffled at how one could live someplace so verdant and still look malnourished. It was as though he'd turned his nose up at all the good things to eat here and decided to subsist on salt grass. 

    With a tiny shake of her head, the pale mare sighed and rolled her shoulders, feeling tightness with every muscle stretched. Her expression turned apologetic after a moment. "Sorry, that was rude of me. And I haven't even gotten your name yet!" She winced, sure she looked like an absolute sunfish. The rigid fan of her mane flared a bit in agitation as she tried to regain control of the day that so far seemed to be slipping by without care as to if she was keeping up or not. A sunfish, indeed.

    - MY ONLY RIVAL IS WITHIN -


    @[Velkan]
    Reply
    #4

    Neither of my mothers ever used a mothering tone on me - the few occasions when they did speak to me - so the tone in this near-stranger throws me for a loop. My smile falters a little bit, but I am quick to recover it. Most adults don’t mention my appearance - I guess it’s rude (which it is a little bit) - but I had just gotten a similar comment from my young twins lately. Foals always ask, always want to know why I’m different. I don’t tell them the truth, not all of it, just as I won’t now. I’m not going to make any friends by being all ‘well you see I was born to be a monster!’

    My expression is warm and soft now, though, as I attempt to assure this finned mare that there are no hard feelings. “Unfortunately I can’t seem to keep on weight - no matter how many juicy fruits I eat - but don’t worry - it looks worse than it feels.” There’s never been much discomfort when it comes to my oddly bony body, except when sleeping. Nothing but soft sand or the lushest grass will let me be comfortable if I want to lie down (and I always do!). And the aches and pains I feel during winter have blessedly been eased by the tropical temperatures of Ischia, further cementing my desire for this beautiful place to be my home.

    Now my grin brightens and turns a little boyish. “I’m Velkan, and it’s so nice to finally meet you! We have a mutual friend - well maybe a couple, but Lilliana told me I should say hi to you the next time we crossed paths.” The shining smile in my dark eyes makes it clear, I hope, that I’m delighted that we’ve finally got the chance to do just that.


    v e l k a n

    artwork by reitro


    @[Aquaria]
    Reply
    #5
    aquaria
    - THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -

    Her social misstep had been an honest one, and she looked at the bony black stallion with a doubtful "Hmm," in response to his blasé reasoning. Still, as much as she was curious, he didn't owe her any kind of answer, and she knew it would be rude even for her to try and pry anything else from him. 

    Concerns set aside, she let the embarrassment go and flowed with the conversation instead. He's unique, even on an island populated by unique horses, and she found herself wanting to know more about the stranger. He would be frightening anywhere else, but between the brilliantly illuminated landscape and his buoyant charm, well, "hungry" had been the first thing to come to mind. Now that she was having a better look at him, she took time to admire the fine gloss of his hair and the cheerful flowers and greenery strewn throughout it. She was brought to mind of mangroves, spindly and dark with unending life held in their roots. 

    His introduction is as effervescent as the sea mare was beginning to think he naturally was, and a carefree smile of her own bloomed in answer. "Eva's Velkan?" She asked, intrigued to finally meet this friend of a friend. Of several friends, it seemed. A giddy toss of her head accompanied a bubbling laugh, leaving the golden web of her mane curved to one side. "It's nice to meet you, too! I hope you've been enjoying the island. How is Lillii?" She asked, thinking of the mare she hadn't seen in years. 

    That was the way of things, though. Lives spun apart just as quickly as they came together, and she could hold her loved ones together in one place no easier than the moon could touch the waves.

    - MY ONLY RIVAL IS WITHIN -

    @[Velkan]
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