"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
There's something profoundly heavy about grief in the midst of winter. It's draining, both physically and mentally, and it makes for a cold melancholy that never quite goes away. Even when she is not gripped by a wave of anguish at its peak, it's still there. And Oceane, who had been a wanderer for the two years prior to Castile's invitation to Loess, has found herself needing to wander - and so it's time, she supposes, to lean on the shoulder of a friend that she has not seen in far, far too long.
And it's time that she fulfills the promise to visit her friend's tropical island nation. Leaving Beqanna's mainland by air is wretchedly cold at first, but as she nears Ischia the air grows warmer and the thermals wrap Oceane in a warm embrace. Her feathered wings stretch wide as the heat of the tropics seeps into the chill that has resided in her bones for far too long.
She lands upon the sandy shore of Ischia with a loud call towards the verdant jungle before her; though she aches to run straight in and search for Aquaria, she all-too-clearly remembers her encounter with Ivar the last time she'd found herself here. And so she waits in the sun, her amber eyes closed for a time, and revels in the warmth.
She'd spent her morning in the water, swimming hard along the currents that wrapped the island. The Alliance had not gone well. Not at all. And while her face was emblazoned with a new vivid red marking, that was all she'd received for the trouble of going. Titanya seemed to have been faring much better, and she took that as a sign of the differences in their natures.
Still, she had wished the best for the tigress mare, and hoped she'd see her again when things settled back down. It never seemed clear how long Titanya would stay in Ischia. Some days She seemed bored to tears, others the nereid would come across her traversing the cliffs with unbelievable grace, in pursuit of some bird that thought it had chosen a safer place to nest.
Aquaria hadn't lingered, though. She'd said her goodbyes and returned home. She'd taken her time crossing the straits. Nearly there, and she'd realized why she felt so awful for being one of the first eliminated. It had felt like doing something. It had felt like action. Now she was going home to what? An island that every day seemed to need her less. A family that was quickly outgrowing their matriarch.
So she'd paddled slowly by the sand bar. Let her fins drag on the waves, and had put off the moment when her feet would finally touch the shore. It was not to be put off forever, though. The sand, the sun, the wind blown palms. They were hers, and she couldn't abandon them. Tempting as it was, some days.
Which left her now here, today, soaking wet and muscles aching with exertion, because nothing was worse than standing still. She'd been through too much to just fade away into the sand. When the clarion call broke through the trees, she answered it. Then broke into a purposeful canter so as not to keep her guest waiting.
A serene expression lifted her face, which shifted into something far more sincere upon seeing who had arrived. "Oceane?" She called out, bewildered. If that was indeed who it was... Well, it had been such a long time! The pale mare trotted up to close the distance between them. "It is you, isn't it!" She chirped, smiling broadly.
Oceane takes advantage of the little time she has before Aquaria arrives to appreciate the Ischian shoreline and its serenity. The waves, rhythmic against a warm sandy shore, offer a calming backdrop to the tropical birds that sing in the midst of their jungle trees.
As beautiful as the scene is, the opalescent woman does not linger in her observation of it - ever the attentive leader, Aquaria wastes no time answering the call of a visitor on her shores. Oceane is overcome with warmth at the sight of the finned woman and the first genuine smile she's displayed in months finds its way instinctively to her lavender lips.
“It's been too long, my friend,” she greets the woman as her trotting narrows the distance between them. With a friendly nicker, the Loessian Queen reaches her muzzle out to nudge at the amber champagne cheek of her friend. “Did you get yourself into some trouble recently?” she inquires upon inspection of the Ischian woman's new crimson marking, curious if it had been borne of the Alliance that still rages in the Plains.
Tarian, it would seem, was doing particularly well.
“I've missed our talks, Aquaria. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally visit.”
11-19-2020, 08:59 PM (This post was last modified: 11-19-2020, 08:59 PM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
Oceane was much unchanged from Aquaria's memory of her. She returned the easy greeting, her own muzzle pressed along the pegasus' cheek for a moment before breaking away again. "It has," she agreed, regretful. When they had last met, their sons had been children. Now the nereid's children were off seeking their own fortunes, and she didn't doubt that Alcinder was doing the same.
Her eyes rolled heavenward for a moment, exasperation filling her at her friend's innocent question. "You could say that." She said, mouth twisting wryly at the memory of her resounding failure in the Alliance. The blood red token was simply a reminder of her own hubris at this point. It was silly. It really was, but she'd wanted to do well. Wanted to prove she was strong.
It hadn't gone that way, and she was struggling not to feel like it was just one more stone on the pile marking her ineptitudes. She exhaled heavily. Shook her head, as if she could physically rattle the thoughts from her mind. Ah, but she was being rude. With a wan smile, she shook her head again, softer than before. "Don't blame yourself. I should have made the trip to check on you long before now. I've become a bit of a homebody, I guess."
Had it been that trip so long ago that had dampened her desire for adventure? An uneasy feeling in her belly seemed to think it was. Once she'd gotten her boys home safely, she'd felt little need to venture off island again. And after her own trials by Ivar, well, she hadn't left home since. Not until being sent home from the Alliance with her tail between her legs.
Once a mare known for her daring and her defiance, Aquaria now spent her days at home. She told herself it was because she was busy. That the island needed her, her boys needed her. In reality though, she knew she was fooling no one but herself. The island did but need constant maintenance, and her son's were adept at fending for themselves. She stayed home because the rest of the world had become a risk she was unwilling to take. Not if it meant exposing her own many vulnerabilities like an oyster forced open.
It's easy to fall back into familiar friendship with Aquaria, and refreshing to have the opportunity to speak about something other than the destruction in Loess or the very real potential for a siege from Pangea, if things continue the way they have been. These are not troubles she can bring to Ischia's shores. Aquaria had already experienced enough at the hooves of Oceane, the two mothers endlessly lucky that their sons had found themselves in one piece following their captivity in the wastelands.
“Well,” she begins with a wry smile as her troubles are flung to the ocean behind her, “it does make you look quite fierce.” She laughs warmly before turning her amber eyes to the greenery at the edge of the beach, though her ears remain pointed towards the finned woman as she speaks. Offering Aquaria a kind glance, Oceane nods in understanding before pivoting her winged body so that she angles down the warm beach. “This island certainly inspires the desire to remain at home, I can't blame you there.” Everything about Ischia feels serene, though she would be naive to believe that is truly the case.
“Care to show me around? We could catch up along the way.” She awaits the Ischian woman's response quite hopefully, the loneliness she's felt over these past few weeks weighing heavy in her heart.
There is, however, once thing that gnaws at the back of her mind and though she'd decided to wait a bit before asking ─ “Is the kelpie still here?” She hadn't seen the rotten Ivar in years, and word was that he had disappeared ─ and truth be told, Oceane likely wouldn't have remembered him or the encounters she'd had with him, had Gale not mentioned Isobell just the other day.
11-24-2020, 09:54 PM (This post was last modified: 11-24-2020, 09:54 PM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
Aquaria found herself fumbling. Friendship had come easy to her once. Every stranger was a new opportunity to learn about the world, about those who occupied it. Education came at a steep cost. Yes, there was good out there. Kindness, sweetness. The other edge of the sword was less forgiving by far.
She blinked silently at the sea-toned mare. Oceane was one she'd long thought of as a good soul. Time and distance shouldn't change that. It shouldn't, but a leery "what if" hung in the back of her mind. It had been years since they'd last met. Years of radio silence. Why now? What had changed?
The pearly nereid smiled thinly at her guest's comment. Fierce? Ridiculous, more like it. But it was kind of Oceane to say otherwise. She joined the mare in looking at her home, the water sprawling on one side, before the jungles swallowed up the scene on the other. "It's does that," she replied, watching the water lap at the shore for a moment.
Then, something easier. Her tour guide smile hitched back into place, serene as the day. "Of course," she chimed, steering them towards the largest opening in the jungle wall. "There's plenty to see." Her purposeful steps came to a halt quickly at her companion's nd next question.
Ivar. She'd very nearly forgotten Oceane had experienced the notorious stallion for herself once. A feeling like cold water draining from her head forced her to pause before finding her voice again. "No," she murmured, eyes fixed on the trees ahead. "No, he hasn't been a problem for a while now, thank the stars." Almost two years now. It had been almost two years since she'd last seen her daughter.
Clearing get throat roughly, the mermare forced herself to breath. Oceane was not here to watch her break down. She could do this. She could give a tour, be a good hostess and get through this day like she had every one that had come before it.
"Come on, then. I'll show you the waterfalls." She offered, moving again to show off the island. It was a walk she could complete in her sleep. If only.
She doesn’t catch it at first ─ perhaps attributes it instinctively to the time and space that had grown between them ─ but Oceane soon comes to feel there is something different about her finned friend. Something distant. But it disappears at the mention of the tour, replaced with enthusiasm that appears genuine, prompting the Loessian woman to brush it off as paranoia on her end. So she smiles in response to Aquaria’s preparedness and begins to follow her across the warm sands of the beach, only for the pair to be waylaid by her own inquiry. Oceane’s amber eyes flick succinctly to Aquaria’s face with curiosity. Certainly her own encounter with Ivar was worthy of a distasteful scowl and, ideally, the banishing of the kelpie beast, but it had been years ago. The Ischian woman’s reaction tells Oceane there must be something more.
“I’m glad to hear it,” She offers quietly, but bites her tongue otherwise and falls dutifully in step beside the pearly nereid, a pleasant smile finding her maw at the mention of the waterfalls. “That sounds wonderful,” Oceane tosses her head to rid her eyes of a tousled forelock as they move into the jungle greenery. As they walk, the opalescent woman fills in her friend on the past few years ─ Soran’s arrival and the birth of their son, Altum, Castile’s disappearance, Alcinder’s decision to live in Icicle Isle with Leilan ─ but leaves out the harsh realities involving Loess and Pangea. She has no desire to revisit the problems that are waiting for her back on the mainland, nor does she want to add to the distress that still lingers at the edges of Aquaria’s expression.
Tropical avians greet them as they embark further into Ischia and Oceane finds herself with her head upturned for the majority of the trek, her amber eyes eagerly watching the birds and her ears trained upwards to listen to them speak. It’s been a long while since her Zoolingualism has been used outside of the familiar fauna who call the foothills home.
After a time, her attention reverts back to Aquaria and, prefaced by a brief pause, Oceane finally breaches whatever discomfort the nereid is trying so hard to veil. “You seem troubled. Please don’t feel obligated to share, just know that I am here if you need anything.” She offers a sad smile and twitches a singular ear towards a yellow bird who sits overhead that had just muttered something about Aquaria’s daughter.
12-08-2020, 03:31 PM (This post was last modified: 12-08-2020, 03:31 PM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
They walk on, deeper into the heart of the island where the light turned green and filtered through lush foliage. Aquaria listened as Oceane took control of the conversion, offering appropriate comments and smiling when the pegasus spoke of her family's growth.
Cormorant too had traveled to the frigid north, and seemed to have found contentment there. He didn't visit as often as she would like, but often enough to appreciate the robust stallion her son had matured into. She only hoped he was finding happiness wherever he was now.
Racous parrots, noisy as ever, barely registered on the nereid's awareness anymore. They were the eternal soundtrack to the island, along with steady beating waves and rustling palm fronds. It made her smile then to realize that her friend was so intrigued by the jewel tone birds.
They lived complicated lives up above. Raised chicks, found love, found rivals, fought and cared for one another like any horses. Surely they felt loss as well? When a beloved mate fell ill, or a sweet hatchling joined the food chain as a serpent's meal, or simply stumbled from the safety of the nest too soon.
For a moment, both mares were transfixed by the avian lives playing out above them. She couldn't understand them in the way that Oceane could, but a sort of kinship touched her for a moment, a link she'd never felt began herself and the parrots. The tenuous connection was pushed aside as the lull broke, golden eyed Oceane's kind voice a balm on her.
She brought her own gaze back level with the earth, all false brightness erased. "I'm tired, is all," she murmured, head shaking. Tired in a bone deep way, tired like she could never sleep long enough to ease. "Never seem to run out of things to overthink." She eased some of the tension from her shoulders, shocked as always at how tight muscles could get when you weren't paying attention.
Tail swishing lightly, she nodded back to the trail they'd been traveling on. "We'll be to the falls soon. We'd be able to hear it without the birds." She said without regret. Sometimes she enjoyed that the waterfall seemed to come out of nowhere, cloaked in greenery and bird calls. It made it seem more secretive than it was.
And that, most certainly, is the truth. Oceane can feel it in her bones, too. But despite the reservations that still exist, the inkling that Aquaria has decided not to share with her the whole truth, the opaline woman offers a warm smile and a nod of her azure and lavender head. “Perhaps someone should have warned us of that,” she offers up about overthinking, “before we agreed to lead our territories.” A quiet and tired chuckle finds her maw in hopes of relaying the lighthearted nature she wishes to maintain for the remainder of their conversation.
Her nereid friend seems to hope for the same as she coaxes their conversation back to the falls. Oceane nods her acknowledgment and continues her comfortable gait beside Aquaria, her ears flicking this way and that in anticipation for the waterfall. Mostly, though, she still hears the birds. “The wildlife here are fond of you,” she muses softly as her attention is drawn to small snippets of conversation here and there. It would seem that her friend's leadership has left an impression - and not just with the other equine who call Ischia home.
“Oh, wow,” Oceane breathes quietly when finally the lush jungle foliage opens up to a breathtaking waterfall. She halts just at the cusp of the clearing to take in the sight that has unfolded before her and gently lifts her balefire wings from her sides to feel the spray of the water as it collides with the basin beneath it. “This must be everyone's favorite place to gather,” she adds when finally her gaze returns to the champagne woman beside her.
01-24-2021, 11:44 AM (This post was last modified: 01-24-2021, 11:45 AM by Aquaria.)
aquaria
- THE TIDE IS HIGH, IT'S SINK OR SWIM -
Walking along, the island began to work it's usual magic on the seamare, and she felt the tension slowly loosening in her neck. It was never gone completely, but the beauty of the day was impossible to ignore. With an answering fragment of laughter, she shook her head at her friend's words. "Ah, I have nothing to complain about. There's an island under my charge. You faces an entire kingdom to keep floating. I can't even fathom it." She said, a touch of wonder in her voice. That much responsibility... Well, better Oceane than her, she decided.
At the comment regarding the wildlife, her wine-dark eyes flicked upward. The canopies were alive with birds and reptiles and myriad droning insects. "We're fond of them," was her simple reply. She hadn't done much as far as they were concerned, truth be told. The Islanders knew not to disturb the parrots during mating season, the assorted other inhabitant all more or less kept to themselves. She smiled vaguely at the treetops, wondering what secrets her friend was gleaning from their chatter.
Breaking into the open space where the waterfalls had carved out their home as always a breathtaking experience. Aquaria loved introducing new folk to the glory of it, the endless cascades that caught and danced in the light to the thunderous music of their own making. It was love at first sight, every time.
She watched Oceane's reaction with pleasure. That she was able to give the mare this one thing, this pure memory of her home, was worth the time and distance that so often seemed to define their friendship. Wordless, she moved up to stand by the iridescent mare, to take in the moment with her. She let Oceane be the one to break the quiet, and she nodded at the woman's observation.
"It's not really ideal for meetings," she said with a shrug. "Too loud. But for little things like this, yes. It's a wonderful place to meet." There was nothing quite like the backdrop of a thundering fall to set the mood for adventure. Or to make the end of an adventure worthwhile.
