"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
06-25-2020, 08:41 PM (This post was last modified: 06-25-2020, 08:41 PM by Halcyon.)
halcyon
a tight-pressed line keeping a wildfire on the inside
The leaves on the mainland have begun to change. Halcyon knows this because he finds the energy to make a weekly swim across the channel ─ just to check. Uncle Pteron had promised to bring his family to the island kingdom at the turn of the season and now it's finally time. The tiger-shifter is halfway through his third year, and has used his young adulthood to explore his own independence, ensuring that he spends enough time in Ischia to help protect the shores and enough time across the salty arroyo to offer a home to those who seem to be looking.
It's also a great excuse for his frequent trips ─ his dam has much on her plate, with her duties as Dame and as a mother to his younger siblings, and he had very intentionally kept from mentioning Pteron's agreement to move to Ischia in the autumn. He had simply told Aquaria that his uncle had been noncommittal at the request, though not unkind, and that Halcyon had intended to visit him again a few months later.
On the subject of his new twin siblings, the young man hasn't yet questioned where they had come from ─ much like Cormorant, they had just appeared, and so continues Halcyon's skewed perspective on childbearing ─ which, in turn, makes him quite giddy for Uncle Pteron to meet the both of them and Cormorant.
Not to mention the family that the man had mentioned ─ Aegean, and their children.
Surely, Aquaria would be proud of his recruiting skills, and ecstatic to see Pteron once again. “Mom,” he greets her in their small cove, a warm smile on his feline face, “Come with me.” He turns leisurely on his padded paws and falls in step with the finned woman, leading her, meandering, towards the eastern shore. He had smelled Pteron on the wind, his predator's nostrils extra beneficial today, and leads his mother towards the water in hopes that they will arrive just before Pteron and his family reach the shoreline.
06-26-2020, 06:48 PM (This post was last modified: 06-26-2020, 06:48 PM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
Aquaria was tired. Then again, she was always tired these days. It took all of her energy to keep up with her daily tasks, twin foals in tow. There was no alternative though, not in her mind. Nor anymore. Her heart beat on in double time whenever they left her sight, and she was forever on the lookout for signs of watching eyes in the shining waves. At six moons old, the twins were growing restless with their mother's nervous hold on them.
Even now, as she watched them kick at the sand and shells in their cove, she could tell that they longed for wider ranges. Their elder brothers had begun their adult wandering. Both Halcyon and Cormorant had taken to leaving the island regularly, which made her hold the youngsters all the closer.
With thoughts on the tasks waiting for her that day, the seamare snorted in surprise when a striped figure emerged from the deep green jungle. "Halcyon!" She whickered, trotting up to her pantherine son. A curious smile softened her mouth at his request. It wasn't often that her eldest tried to surprise her, but the joyful gleam in his eyes was infectious. Whatever the surprise was, it had brightened her tiger's spirit in a way she knew could only be good.
Chuckling softly, the pearly seamare nodded to the bored twins. "Come on, you two. Big brother has a surprise." Her translucent tail swayed in the breeze as the twins bolted ahead, she and Hal taking a more relaxed pace. He was guiding her up a familiar path, the well trod trail that would open out on to the main beach. Certainly not where she was thinking they'd be going.
She cast a wondering look to the young tiger prowling alongside her, blinking languidly. "What are you up to, my love?" The trees were breaking over their heads now, the loamy soil becoming sand once again. On the beach, Marianas and Kaimana ran for all they were worth, stretching their legs like they were born to do. Wistfully, she smiled at their antics.
Warbird had come, and seen the children safe. Then without much more ado, he'd gone again. It was better that way, she told herself. She'd already raised two children herself, and they'd turned out to be sons any mother would be proud of. These two would be the same, she would make sure of it. Fathers be damned. She kept saying it, over and over.
and since you’re the only one that matters,---------------- ----------------tell me: who do i run to?
It had been Pteron’s intention to tell the children about their move to Ischia before nightfall. Yet the hours had slipped away so quickly, as they so often do with such past times. So instead, Pteron had suggested in a soft whisper (so as not to rouse the pale twins between them) that they talk to them after they’ve seen their new home for themselves. Surely they will fall in love with the place quickly, and be elated at the prospect of moving there long term. He lets this thought comfort him as they make their way through the early dawn light, Asena mumbling blearily about fireflies, sounding only half awake.
By the time the family of four arrives on the white sandy beach of Ischia, having traversed the sandbars at the lowest tide, it is mid-morning, and the sun illuminates the tall peak of the volcano behind them, a reminder of their origin.
The first Ischian he sees has fins rather than a mane and tail and is a soft shade of brown. He is the same age as the cremello overo foals beside Pteron, and surely belongs to Aquaria, who is just now coming out of the trees. Halcyon accompanies her, and Pteron says their names softly to the twins so they have time to remember them. He has shared stories of them both, and Asena visibly perks up at the arrival of these two, both of which her Papa speaks of fondly, and her long prehensile tail switches excitedly against Pteron’s feathered wing.
Pteron has not allowed himself to fret overlong about this reunion. Halcyon had successfully recruited him, but Pteron had not truly needed much convincing at all. He has always been fond of the tropical island, and without other loyalties to bind him he is free at last to choose where to lay his head. That he has chosen a place so near to Aquaria seems only right, as he still considers her a friend. More than a friend, if Halcyon is to be believed and the rumored Cormorant is Pteron’s son. His olive eyes flick once more toward the champagne colt, but he is too young.
Just before he tries to catch her eye, Pteron says in a voice loud enough to be heard over the surf: “That is the Dame Aquaria.” Halcyon is recognizable even without an introduction and Pteron doesn’t know the boy playing along the beach. The pegasus turns back toward Halcyon and Aquaria then, saying: “This is Aegean, and our children Aureus and Asena.” with a gesture to each as he names them. “I am excited to start mentoring Halcyon, as well as whatever else you would have of me as a resident.” Only then, with his intent plainly in the open, does he meet her violet eyes.
I should have loved a thunderbird instead at least when spring comes they roar back again
Aegean is peaceful as they wake in the early morning light and begin the trip to their new home. There is nothing simmering in his blood—nothing to speak of anxiety or misgivings. He had voiced his potential concern of how the reunion may for Pteron but the pegasus had helped alleviate them easily—and who was Aegean to disagree? If Pteron believed this would go smoothly, he was inclined to agree.
He certainly had no reason to be anxious of his own accord.
So he smiles as they make their way down the beach, watching as their children groggily follow behind. Asena, naturally, shows her excitement first and Aegean smiles down at the girl—thrilled to see her so clearly happy to see the Ischians. Aureus, however, is more withdrawn and he regards the group with his typical somber face, the seriousness of the youthful features grave, although Aegean knows that the boy is simply studying them as he usually does all things. It is not an unkind thing, although it looks harsh.
To ease his shy son’s arrival, Aegean begins to craft an illusion of forest creatures. The deer walk up his son’s side and the rabbits hop around his feet. His son smiles up at him, more genuine than before, and Aegean lets the creatures begin to wander forward before they explode into a display of aquatic counterparts. Fish begin to swim through the air—brilliant in color, swooping around the island residents. They swim in lazy circles above them before dipping underneath Halcyon’s belly, touching his nose, and then swimming upward into the sun, slowly disappearing into the rays of light.
Aegean reaches over to brush a light kiss to Pteron’s shoulder as he introduces them before bringing his dark purple gaze to them. “I have heard so much of all of you. It’s a pleasure to meet you finally.”
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead (I think I made you up inside my head.)
a tight-pressed line keeping a wildfire on the inside
Halcyon's face betrays his excitement ─ as he leads his mother with his twin siblings frolicking ahead, his predator's grin refuses to subside despite his attempts to display a more relaxed facade during their trek. The tiger moves languidly next to his finned mother and the pads of his paws falling with hardly a sound against the comforting loam of the island, an unmistakable consequence of his practiced stealth. Patrolling the island had allowed him to focus on these things, and now he is more predator than ever. Except for those moments he shifts to show his equine self in the Field, Halcyon has become one with the fierce nature of his feline form.
Titanya's striped face flashes through his mind, and the young man's feline eyes flick to the lush jungle foliage in search of her prowling form.
“You will find out soon enough,” he tells Aquaria with a toothy grin and sideways glance. They come to the summit of a small dune and in the proffered view before them, beyond Kaimana and Marianas but before the azure of the ocean, stand Uncle Pteron and his family. Halcyon roars loudly for them in excitement ─ the sound echoes powerfully and the vibration in his chest draws laughter from his maw.
Despite his desire to jog across the warm sand, Halcyon continues to match Aquaria's measured steps and when they finally close the gap between old Ischian and new, the striped cat reaches his nose out to bump Pteron in the neck. His bright eyes meet Aegean and he offers a warm smile at his presence before turning to look at Aureus and Asena. He is fond of them already, overwhelmed by the feeling of family.
“I'm so happy you're all here,” he says as he rests his feline hind against the warm sand, “Thank you, Uncle, for agreeing to mentor me.” With that, he turns his bright eyes to Aquaria and grins that toothy grin. He nudges her upon the shoulder and chuckles before quietly whispering, “Are you surprised?”
07-14-2020, 06:23 PM (This post was last modified: 07-14-2020, 06:23 PM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
What she saw was not what she'd been expecting. A quartet of equids, pale as seafoam on her shore. Ghosts, she thought. They had to be. There was no other explanation, when the stallion at the forefront was one she'd long since given up as dead.
The phantom illusion was ruined when he opened his mouth. The others chimed in, Aegean and her own son making their introductions while the pearl scaled woman watched. Creatures foreign to their island emerged from thin air, spun into other shapes and eventually faded into the sunlight. Was it like the little watery figures she drew from the sea for her restless children? Figments of her imagination painted in crystal liquid to catch the light.
Halcyon's whisper returned her thoughts to the current place. With a flat nod, she turned to murmur back to the youthful tiger. "Halcyon. Later on, you and I are going to have a serious discussion about the definitions of the words "surprise" and "honesty"". Nostrils flaring like pink flowers blooming, she made no move to get any closer to the newcomers.
She did not miss Pteron's reluctance to meet her gaze, nor the affection that passed between he and his apparent mate. Aegean, who was himself painted so similarly to the mermare. Violet and white, with otherworldly airs. She smiled grimly at his greeting. "Funny. My parents considered the name Aegean for me, had I been born a colt. I can't say though that I have heard much of anything about you."
At last she let her own dusky eyes rest on the pale stallion who was the center of this reunion. An ache sat deep in her chest, one that had been weighing on her for long seasons. It had dulled over the years, had gotten livable as she had gotten on with her life, but now it flared back to molten life. "Pteron," she said, a dead man's name attached to the living being before her. "Well. I suppose I should be happy all of our practice paid off for you."
The same bland tone. Emotionless, because if she let emotions in, she would fall apart. Halcyon wasn't supposed to find him. He wasn't supposed to be here, let alone with a whole other family. Not when he'd had a perfectly good one here. Once more she found her eyes drawn to the white stallion. Aegean. Beautiful, mysterious Aegean. Had she only been a cheap imitation of this, of him?
Her ears tipped slowly backward, tremors of uncertainty making her crest stand on end. This was what Halcyon wanted. Maybe even needed. And Cormorant... She would have to find him. Speak to him first, and hopefully prepare him in a way she hadn't been for this meeting. With a switching of her rigid tail, the mermare nodded sharply. "Do what you must." It was what he did best, after all.
It was rude. She knew she'd been rude, and there was no helping that now. They were here, and she wouldn't kick them off island. But she also didn't have to keep looking at them. Not until she was ready. Wordlessly, Aquaria walked stiffly to the water's edge, and further. Until the waves closed over her head, and she could release the tears that had been threatening without witness.
