[private] there's a place off (oceane) avenue

[Fiorina]

don't be afraid of the fire, I'd never let you burn Fiorina wasn’t sure when things shifted but it felt like something had changed in Nerine. Or maybe it was just her who has changed? She was not really the best at introspection, though, so she was pretty comfortable blaming outside forces for the fact that she has been restless ever since her quest. She would curse the fairies, and did so frequently, but she was also a little concerned they might take her sight away again. Every time the bones of her wings rattled against her armoured side, she added a new curse to her arsenal. She just did it quietly. With her stomach full on this early morning, Fiorina stuck to the open spaces around the river instead of lurking in the shadows of the forest. As she wandered, her black eyes watched as the stars slowly disappeared in the sky. The firelight from her horns would be less noticeable once dawn fully broke. A small smile plays across her face as she remembers meeting Oceane - and how Fiorina had adamantly refused to believe she had fire burning on her head. Well, how was she supposed to know she had spontaneously sprouted fire horns while she was blind?

art by Reitro

@[Oceane]

[Oceane]

O C E A N E

"I see they gave you your wings," Oceane's disembodied voice greets the familiar xenomorph warmly, having happened upon her during her early morning trek through the River. The flicker of fire-antlers, just barely noticeable as the sun began to rise, had caught the invisible woman's attention and drew her nearer despite her current predicament. Pleased to find Fiorina once again in the common lands, especially following her own introductory rendezvous with the fairies, Oceane had approached immediately. "But the question is - did they give you your sight back?"

She grins. Despite her initial - and justified - concern, Oceane has learned to appreciate the freedoms that come with being perpetually invisible, including but not limited to wandering through kingdoms that are not her own, eavesdropping on the conversations of strangers, and unsettling those she chooses to converse with. Though she doubts the bone-winged mare will feel unsettled by her imperceptibility, she does suspect a certain amount of ire or amusement will follow.

"I decided to speak with the fairies myself and... well, they didn't take my sight." She laughs quietly and stretches her wings before returning them, neatly tucked, to her sides. "I should have learned from your experience." It did appear that Fiorina had come out the other side successful, though - the wings that rest upon her armored sides are unique, and quite striking paired with her body plating and knife tail. She would have been an intimidating sight, had Oceane not broken the ice between them months ago already.


Oceane is invisible until the completion of her current quest.

@[Fiorina]
""

a little white light
in a sea gone black

n | t

[Fiorina]

don't be afraid of the fire, I'd never let you burn As though she had called forth the other mare with her thoughts, Fiorina’s attention snaps to the sound of Oceane’s voice - and she frowns when she cannot see the other mare. A soft chuckle escapes at the question of whether she had been given her sight back and she shakes her head a little, sending sparks flying up from her horns. “Well, I thought they had…” She peers into the air, wondering if she stares hard enough if she will catch an outline or a shimmer. But it is only the winged mare’s voice that gives her a clue to where she stands. Oceane explains quickly enough that she had gone to see the fairies as well and understanding washes over the armoured mare. “Ah.” And then Fiorina is grinning too. “You absolutely should have learned from me, though I would have much preferred not being seen to not being able to see. I don’t think they appreciated my anger about my experience.” She stretches one of her bone wings, looking at it with obvious disdain. Sure, the bone wings rather completed her look and suited her but she wanted to be able to fly. Selfishly, she was a little happy that she could not see Oceane at this moment and would not have to look at the mare’s beautiful feathered wings for at least one conversation. Being invisible had a host of advantages and she wondered whether Oceane was taking advantage of that. But instead of asking after that information, she asks the other question on her mind - not really caring whether it was any of her business or not. “What did you go to the fairies to seek?”

art by Reitro

@[Oceane]

[Oceane]

O C E A N E

A gentle, short-lived breeze catches the sparks that fly from Fiorina’s horns and carries them toward the river. The squall collides cooly with Oceane’s intangible sides as she watches the sparks float away, ruffling unseen feathers and reminding her that she still exists despite the absence of her opaline body whenever she happens to glance down to the space her lavender hooves should be.

Like the breeze, Fiorina’s confusion is fleeting ─ it’s soon replaced by a grin that mirrors Oceane’s and with genuine amusement the Loessian Queen laughs aloud at her own folly and at the truth behind Fiorina’s thoughts on the matter. "Yes, despite accidentally frightening a few people, I do think I much prefer this to being blind," she pauses briefly before offering, "I was a bit fearful that I would be stuck like this, so it’s nice to see that your vision has been restored." However, the xenomorph has instilled a new concern in the balefire woman ─ what if the fairies found a roundabout way to grant her what she had asked for? Fiorina had sought out wings to sate her urge for flight, and yet they had given her bone wings instead.

"Did they enchant your wings so you can fly?" She asks, tentative but hopeful for the woman who stands before her, remembering clearly their last conversation when she had been abrasive and standoffish until her curiosity about flight won over anger.

When the armored woman inquires about her reason for journeying to the Mountain, Oceane balks for a beat. Her amber eyes inspect her acquaintance's face closely but, despite the small seed of uncertainty she feels at revealing this information to a daughter of Anaxarete's hellhound, there is a certain amount of distant fondness she already feels for Fiorina. And the xenomorph mare had offered the same information to Oceane ─ her reason for visiting the Mountain ─ without prodding, prompting the Loessian woman to return the favor, if not a bit gingerly.

"Protection for Loess," she finally reveals with a twinge of sadness blanketing her resolve, "My predecessor and his downfall soured Beqanna's view of the Kingdom. It's been nigh on impossible to recover since, but I am hopeful."

She pauses again, musing with pursed lips for a moment. "It just felt like time for me to seek outside help. There is only so much one can do with a single warrior when placed against the might of another Kingdom."


Oceane is invisible until the completion of her current quest.

@[Fiorina]
""

a little white light
in a sea gone black

n | t

[Fiorina]

don't be afraid of the fire, I'd never let you burn Her smile sours a little bit at Ocean’s question - though she appreciates the hopeful tone. Fiorina does not want to admit that she had tried, just to see, but had only succeeded in scraping her knees and her pride after a short and awkward fall. “They did not.” And Fiorina’s bitterness about this fact is evident, filling those three words to the brim. “Perhaps they might have but after they took my sight… I wasn’t very… friendly with my language towards the fairies. A poor decision, probably. But it had felt good at the time.” And, though she is quite upset with how things had turned out, she knows she wouldn’t have reacted any other way. It was rude of them, to take her sight. To rob her of seeing Drear as a foal, of the precious little moments you take for granted. She tilts her head as Oceane explains the reason for her quest - eyes focused on where the voice is coming from and a smile begins to spread. “Well, if you were looking for warriors you could have just asked.” The knife tail flicks a little behind her in a harmless action (though Fiorina is aware that she does not have to move much at all to appear threatening - even if that’s not her intention right now). “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m built for fighting. And I’ve grown tired of Nerine.” The truth of it was she had never quite settled there anyway. She had gone to that region to keep an eye on Lilliana and Ruthless, but the little bird was often away and Lilliana’s forest home was too claustrophobic for this fire-wreathed mare. “Maybe I can't match what the fairies can give you but I'm one more body, at least?”

art by Reitro

@[Oceane] idk why this took me so long this reply has been living in my head since you posted and I only just got around to actually writing it down