[private] they let the waves carry them wherever they please

[Oceane]

oceane

with tremulous cadence slow, and bring
the eternal note of sadness in

'Storms do not scare me,' she had told him beneath the Loessian nightfall, a promise just for him. One that she did not make lightly. And Soran had stayed, just as he said he would. And he had held her beneath the harvest moon, as he said he would. The next morning, the scar-sluiced stallion had remained in Loess, and Oceane had thanked him quietly, her voice still heavy with sleep. That had been the last time she had felt uncertainty about the future she saw with Soran.

Though she tends to avoid affection, she had no qualms expressing her gratitude.

Oceane's nacreous body didn't outwardly show its condition until late ─ until after she had returned from her visit with Leilan in the midwinter. After she had agreed to leave Alcinder in the care of the ice-dragon for a years time. She trusts the King of Isle and the friendship between them, otherwise she would not have allowed for her prepubescent boy to reside with him, but it did not make it any easier for her to leave without him.

To think that he is old enough not to need her daily was, and still is, a difficult bite to swallow. They, she and Soran, had been distracted soon after ─ not entirely, but in a very big way ─ by the realization that she was heavy with foal.

Oceane had told Soran, in no uncertain terms, that their child would be born in the canyon den to the north of Loess. She had wished it so deeply for Alcinder, only to have the boy born on the forest doorstep of his father's bride.

And that's just where she had birthed him. Beneath the pondside willow.

Entirely spent, the woman grooms her newborn sun with closed amber eyes. She has already memorized him ─ lustrous purple and blue and grey, a shimmer in his mane, his father's eyes. He is perfection.

And upon her lips drift a sleepy smile as Soran's familiar hoof beats draw her eyes open. Oceane watches him wordlessly as he takes in the sight of his new son.

And then ─

"Give him a name," she whispers.

"@[Soran] & Altum! ♥"

n | v

[Altum]

the skies are wide & the oceans are deep

Regret is something he carries much of.

Regret for not taking opportunities he should have.  Regret for not speaking words he knew needed to be said.  Regret for getting too attached. But this?  Soran could not regret this.

That did not mean there wasn't any worry though.  It trailed after him like a distorted shadow that wavered at the sound of her voice.  However, that did not keep him from expressing his own gratitude.  He was still hesitant, unsure, concerned (it was all a tight ball that sat in his gut) but he stayed and kept his promise.

No matter what, Soran always kept his promises.

Even when she had left to attend to other things he had stayed, knowing she would come back expecting him to be there.  To imagine her amber gaze with sorrow and disappointment at finding him missing was something his mind couldn't take.  That was all it took really to make him wait for the sound of her and Alcinder's wings.

Things turned out differently.

Alcinder wasn't his; was not his child and was not someone Soran had a right to worry for, but when Oceane had told him of the truce Soran hadn't been able to stop his worry.

That's all he ever found himself doing now: worrying.  When she revealed to him only what a mother could know though, Soran felt something else. His smile had been warm, gentle, and unable to be smothered.  That is when he gave her his thanks.  His thanks for her kindness, his thanks for giving him the privilege, his thanks for giving him a child.

For one to even believe he wouldn't welcome her desire for the child to be born within the secluded canyon den, they would have had to be foolish.  Of course, he agreed; gave no protest when she was giving him something so treasured in return.

When the day came, Soran could only look on with pride shining his eyes, and undying care and devotion.  The boy was beautiful, perfect, wonderful.

The sounds of a child giggling inside his mind did not with it memories of fire or strangling rope, only memories of joy, peace, hope.

Give him a name.

Kind smile upon his lips, he brushed the velvet of his muzzle against Oceane's cheek.  It was near her ear that he whispered the name of their child; it was within her ear that he wanted the name to first be spoken out loud to the world.

"Altum."


~


Blissful contentment is what he felt as his mother groomed him.  It felt warm and nice.  Here he was safer, this he knew without needing to be told or taught.  Everything was new and needed to be explored.  He could come to learn it, in due time.

(Within his heart the ocean lapped at the edges of his heart while the sky graced it with the warmth of the sun.)

Altum.

Blue eyes opened, and no matter how soft the name had been spoken his little ears twitched at the gentle voice of the one he knew to be his father.  Looking up at his parents, neck quivering slightly as he got used to the movement, Altum watched them with an innocent look only such a newborn could possess.

His father looked to him then, eyes kind.  He murmured words to Altum's mother, one's that the boy wasn't able to completely process.

(Words of gratitude, adoration, care, joy — "Thank you, he is perfect.  You've given me something I never thought I could have.")

Whatever words were spoken mattered little to the boy.  That natural inclination that told him to rise come to life inside his chest and Altum answered its call without protest.  On gangly legs, the boy tried to lift himself.  Innocent determination overcame him, taking away his attention from his mother and father.  The main goal he was after didn't involve them.  He could feel their eyes on him though.

Watching, waiting.  He could do this.

Stance spread out, Altum managed to stand.  However, there was clear uncertainty in the way his legs shook and in how he didn't dare move.  He had done it though.  That's all that had mattered.

The graceful branches of the willow danced across the sun's rays and as Altum took a careful step he wobbled.  There was a chuckle from his father, soft and revealing just how in love the man was with his son.  A dark muzzle moved to carefully brush against the underside of Altum's head, the color of the muzzle was slightly similar to Altum's own.  It was a gentle show of support that gave Altum something he didn't know he needed.

His steps were steadier now, but still, his knees wobbled as he moved closer to his mother, seeking out the comfort Altum knew his mother could only give him.

She would be there to give him the encouragement, love, and security he would only ever need.  His father would be there to give him the support, strength, and guidance Altum didn't know he would need in the future.  These weren't things secluded to only one or the other, of course, but they were the things each would give to him in their strongest form.

A gentle whinny left his lips, and while Altum had already been close to his mother before he found that his few short steps had moved him wonderfully closer.  Between his mother and father he hesitantly came to rest.  He hadn't known moving could be so tiring.  So there he rested.

Unbeknownst to him, his father was smiling down at him, only glancing away from the boy to brush his forehead against the side of his mother's neck.

"He's absolutely wonderful."




@[Oceane]

s