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  • Beqanna

    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


    [private]  Stuck underwater [Oceane]
    #1

    Help me out before I drown
    Save me now before I give up


    He had stood in the shallows of the cove for a long time after Oceane had finally left. The moon had moved high in the sky by the time he finally dragged himself from the water and went to stand at the mouth of the cave. He had not said anything after his truths fell stripped and exposed at her hooves, as she still offered him acceptance despite the promise he could not pledge. She had spread the beautiful feathers of twilight and taken to the sky and only then did his words come back to him. Words of a deep seated loyalty that settle even deeper than the heart of glass that aches in his chest, the flecks of his eye a burnished gold as he watches her glide over the moonlit canyons. Despite her refusal, he does owe her. And he finds that he does want to give something back to her in whatever safe way he can.

    Standing at the cavern mouth, he finds himself suddenly unable to enter. The dark craggy walls and dankness make him suddenly break into a cold sweat, hearing the soft cackle of a Dark God who lurks just beyond the darkness. He feels the shame of his fear as it spreads like wildfire within him, knowing that there’s no way he can step hoof or paw into the claustrophobic dankness of the grotto. Remembering only the slick walls of his cell, the cruel bite of steel against his skin as he pressed on the bars, the smell of dampness, fear, and excrement. In the light of day, he thinks, I’ll explore it. Maybe Leilan’s magic might extend from snow to some sort of light source that could fill the cave at night? He makes a mental note to ask the next time he sees the scaled stallion.

    He breaks from the cavern and instead settles himself on cold sand, his legs folding wearily beneath him as the silver glow of the white moon blankets over his tired figure. Despite her encouragement and the gentle sounds of the tide, he does not sleep. Instead he thinks of a malicious Dark God, of the glass heart in his chest, and the raw laughter from a beautiful winged mare.

    - - - - - - - - - - -

    Time passes in Loess and the seasons change from cool autumn to a cold winter. A light dusting of snow covers his backside as he lounges in the cove, dark clouds rolling overhead and promising a more severe snowstorm to come. He hasn’t seen the Loessian Queen since the day he came here but he doesn’t take it personally, knowing how busy running a kingdom was. It doesn’t stop his thoughts from straying to her constantly and wondering how she is. He blames it on his lack of social life and scarcity of friendships. When he doesn’t think of her then he’s thinking of things that would be best left forgotten. Time can be a healer but too much of it can be a cancer. Too often he is left alone with just his troubled mind for company, the scarcity of stimulation becoming a problem. He had started exploring the rest of Loess but he still avoids much of it’s population, unsure of bringing too much attention to himself.

    So when she finally comes, he is ready. Ready to tell her of his own offer, of the idea he’s had to pay her back. Because he wants to use himself for her but on his own terms, in a way that benefits them both. “Oceane.” Her name is a warm breeze that passes through his lips as he watches her approach. His flaxen mane now takes the scent of salty sea mist as it falls in a disarray along his neck, ruffled by the chilly draft that sweeps in from the coast. “It’s good to see you.” He means every word.


    Ledger



    @[Oceane]
    #2

    oceane
    a little white light
    in a sea gone black

    The Southern kingdom has grown busier since the sun’s return, keeping Oceane busier and busier. She throws herself into the work, juggling diplomacy both in and out of the areas that call her Queen. Tarian’s communique regarding the change in the Pampas’ leadership has had her most curious, but she has opted to give the new Prince a bit of time to settle in and spruce the place up before she calls upon him to meet ─ which means that now everything else that has been tugging at her attention is quiet, if only for a short while, and her mind has instinctively navigated its way back to the polar bear she’s been trying not to think about in the northern canyons of her home.

    She has avoided him for a few reasons.

    She had wanted to give him the space he needed to grow comfortable with his new home in the canyons ─ but she also hadn’t wanted to give him the opportunity to tell her that he was leaving, that Loess wouldn’t work for him, and Oceane didn’t think he was the type to leave without telling her before he did so.

    Despite being both selfish and strategic in this regard, she has also been struggling with the way her heart yearns to be near the scarred man. Despite the negatives he so adamantly clings to, she remembers the charming way he’d held himself in Icicle Isle and in the Meadow, too, before he’d tried to turn her offer of a safe home in Loess away. And with Soran’s indefinite absence, she finds it’s only natural to hunger for close company.

    But she gives in today, now that there is nothing else to distract her.

    And the way Ledger greets her, warm and much softer than she had heard him speak in the past, causes a flutter in her stomach that Oceane aptly attempts to ignore. “You as well, Ledger,” she responds with a polite but contained smile as her amber eyes sweep across the one-eyed man and the canyon walls that surround him. She wonders if he has been able to sleep in the large cave she had first pointed out to him, or if he has opted to sleep in the open beneath the stars, though she refrains from asking.

    “I hear you’ve been exploring Loess.” Is she guilty of asking the wildlife to keep her updated on the bear-shifter’s wanderings? Perhaps.




    @[Ledger]
    “”

    n | v
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #3

    Help me out before I drown
    Save me now before I give up


    Despite her cool, calm, and collected demeanor (how well she wears the crown, he thinks) he remembers her wild silvery laughter and wonders what else lays at the true core of her, past the skin of a ruler that she must present. Her molten gaze sweeps over him just as he quickly scans her, making sure she was uninjured and overall ok. Oceane seems more than capable of taking care of herself so he’s not quite sure why he feels a twinge of relief that she seems whole and healthy. She speaks of his roaming and the corner of his mouth tugs into a small smile. He wonders if she’s been watching him or just assumes that a man whose been homeless for so long must grow restless. “Just a bit.” He pauses, his voice gravelly and low but far from cold. “Anything exciting happening that’s keeping our Queen so busy?” He teases lightly, partly curious to what was going on outside of his cove. He waits till she responds before he finally broaches what he’s been wanting to say. “I’ve been thinking. I might step out of Loess soon.”

    He had seriously debated leaving Loess.
    It would have been the right thing to do. For her, for her people. Remove the risk.
    She deserved better than an unruly bear with a glass heart.
    If he cared at all about her, he would go.

    It’s because he cares about her that he stays.
    As a friend of course.

    Every day that he thinks to head back, his hooves start to drag in the sand. He justifies it, just another day to enjoy it before it’s gone. He’s not sure what day it changed, when he gave up fighting it. When his thoughts changed from “just another day” to “let me help her first before I leave”. It had been a long time since he had lost control of his emotions and his bear. Surely it would be ok to stay… just a little longer. He had done it before, perhaps he could do it again. “Years ago I served as a diplomat for the Heaven’s Gates, before the Reckoning and before I had the bear.” He had not spoken about his time in the Gates for a long time. He tried to not think of the ransacked kingdom he had gone back to after being spit out of Carnage’s cruel hands for the first time. How he had lost control with his new power on a beautiful innocent mare with big brown eyes that only held pity for him.

    Giving a shake of his unruly forelock, exposing the sunken smooth socket beneath, he sighs and continues. “I was a diplomat and guard for Tephra as well when the lands reformed.” He leaves out all that time in between, refuses to let the memories take control. “If I’m staying here for a while then I should be paying for my keep.” His good eye searches the features of her face, remembering the dream of where she had smelled like lavender and lilacs, and wishes thoughts like that would stop creeping in unbidden. Oceane was the first friend he had made in a long time. It wouldn’t do to think that way, as if his heart wasn’t made of glass. As if he could ever trust and love again (although he does trust Oceane to an extent). As if he had anything to offer to a mare like her.

    He doesn’t tell her about the nightmares, how he cannot face the darkness of the cave, how his mind has started spiraling with too much time alone without distractions. It’s bad enough, that she had seen him in the grips of his anxiety. He would not put all that on her, they were his demons to deal with and his alone.


    Ledger



    @[Oceane]
    #4

    oceane
    a little white light
    in a sea gone black

    She's unsure why she feels she must be so formal with Ledger, though she finds herself standing here with a proud set to her head and a polite, contained smile. But undoubtedly, if she stopped refusing to think about it, Oceane would be quite sure why - because it's easier to keep him at arm's length this way, to refrain from blurring the line between kingdom comrade and something that feels more promising and warm than friends. So she continues to choose a blissful ignorance, letting the tone of his greeting set her aflame in the chest before she pushes it away to address the inquiry he has presented.

    It's a welcome interlude from the attraction she refuses to acknowledge.

    “Quite a bit, actually.” The foothills, along with the Southern kingdom, had certainly shown proof of life over the last season. “We've received a new charge from Taiga. A young woman named Cheri that has already shown an unmatched desire to learn,” Oceane smiles wide at this, quite fond already of the obsidian girl. Cheri's desire to learn reminds the Loessian Queen of herself when she had first arrived to Beqanna, after shaking away the trauma she'd learned in the clutches of Nau-Aib. Once she'd realized what knowledge could unlock for her, there had been no turning back.

    “And our subsidiary, the Pampas, is under the protection of a new Prince, a name he has fashioned for himself.” This is of particular interest to Oceane, and she shows it in the curious glint of her gilded eyes. “I've yet to visit the usurper, though to be quite honest...” Her voice fades for a moment as the sudden thought that she should be careful what information she chooses to share rises into the forefront of her mind. But she gazes at Ledger, at the expectancy in his face, and can't find reason not to confide in him. “Well, I'm a bit excited. Tarian met with him upon visiting the Pampas, and it seems the new Prince intends to liven the place up. I'm sad to see Noah removed from the throne, certainly, but the Pampas has been quiet for some time now and I'm quite partial to seeing the South bustling.”

    She stops just short of saying that she hopes the new liveliness from the Pampas is not one that brings about unneeded turmoil and an apologetic smile forms across her lavender lips. “I must be boring you,” she concludes, giving Ledger an opening to continue speaking if he should choose to do so.

    When he does, Oceane misinterprets his first words and she can't hide the sudden crestfallen look that sweeps away the smile on her face. She rustles the wings at her sides with agitation before it dawns on her that he had not meant he would be leaving Loess permanently, at which point the new tautness of her muscles subsides and the worried furrow of her brow disappears once more. Oceane listens to the one-eyed man with the interest of a friend and a Queen, and she knows well before he finishes that she would be lucky to employ his services.

    “If you'd like to help, Loess would love to have you in that capacity. Though I hope your offer doesn't stem from any feelings of obligation.” Her amber eyes watch him with faux sternness before she cracks a smile and tosses her balefire head to remove the windswept forelock from her gaze. “Do you prefer guard duty or diplomacy, Ledger?”





    @[Ledger]
    “”

    n | v
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #5

    Help me out before I drown
    Save me now before I give up


    Just this simple exchange, speaking of Loess and kingdom changes, brings a warm rush of pleasure. It had been a long time since he had experienced such normalcy and he is grateful to slip into the warm waters of blissful chatter and pretend that life could be this simple. She speaks of a new arrival, Cheri, and he can’t help but grin at the smile blossoming on her face. Oceane thrives where others might buckle under the pressure of a crown. He had known many that had found ruling to be a burden, his father being one of them. The twilight mare seems to carry that heavy load with an undeniable grace while still finding joy in her role. That weird sensation flutters around his vapidly empty glass heart and his body shifts in response as he tries to dispel the discomfort of feeling so strange. He knows it has to do with her, it only seems to happen in her presence.

    It’s becoming impossible to deny his admiration and attraction to Oceane or to deny that he can feel emotions besides the anger that had once consumed him and burned him alive from the inside. He had thought the glass heart would make him as hardened and frozen as the icy tundra that Leilan called home. Now though, that alien feeling that keeps whispering around the fragile yet thick crystal in his chest, tells him otherwise and it is terrifying. Terrifying not to know what it could mean, what might happen if that feeling grows. If it will literally shatter him to pieces.

    “You’ll have to watch that one, young and free for the first time usually means trouble.” He chuckles softly, amused but unable to keep the flicker of sadness from the gold flecks of his dark eye. The branded stallion had never had much of a childhood, had never had anything but rainclouds over his shoulder during most of his young adult life. It’s not his own experience that makes a pang of regret bounce off the cage of glass, it’s the thought of his lost children. Did Joaquin and Joplin ever get to experience a happy childhood and the thrill of adventure for the first time? Or had they grown up like him, scared and miserable.. Because of his failure and actions? Oceane offers the much needed distraction of the Pampas and he listens to her speak of it's new Prince, not missing the curiosity that tinges her words and the glint in her amber eyes. “You’re intrigued by him.” He muses with another soft laugh, not offended in the least by her slight pause and not reading anything into it. He regards her information for a moment before responding with a slight shrug, “Livening up the place could mean a variety of things. It would be wise to reach him first before others do while sussing out his intentions.” He doesn’t doubt her competency to rule her kingdom but he offers his advice just the same.

    I must be boring you. He shakes his head slowly, the warmth in the dark eye brightening. “Never.” He responds quietly, that peculiar sensation back in his breast. However she’s given him an opening and so he takes it. He is not ready for the look on her face as he starts to mention his intentions. She seems almost.. upset. As he finishes his spiel, she seems to relax and it is only then that he realizes why. Had she been unhappy to think of him leaving? That sensation seems to grow in intensity, enough to make him exhale sharply as she speaks and almost misses what she says. Her forelock is thrown, wild and unruly, across her forehead as she accepts his offer and relief floods his system, a ghost of a smile back on his lips as the queer emotion lingers and reverberates through the heart of glass. His gaze darkens slightly as he considers her, as the words escape him low and husky before he can reel them in. “I want to do this Oceane.” He exhales again, unable to remove that sensation from his breast. “Would it be such a bad thing if I wanted to do this for you?”

    A soft flick of snowy tendrils brush across his hindquarters, suddenly unable to shake the discomfort from his heart. “I prefer diplomacy. But if you needed the bear then you would have him.” His gaze molten as he looks directly into the depths of her own sparkling eyes, aware that his words are filled with more meaning than he had expected. Aware that it’s not a lie. For Oceane, this mare who had taken a risk of friendship for him and seen past his many flaws, he knows in his soul if she needed him as his worse self than he would take that risk. For her.


    Ledger



    @[Oceane] <3
    #6

    oceane
    a little white light
    in a sea gone black

    Oceane chuckles, the sound warm and debonair, though her internal reaction is not so different from Ledger's. If only they could both find it in themselves to drop the act of tiptoeing would they see their youths were not so different. The Loessian Queen herself hadn't escaped the confines of her motherland - nor the torment of the King, the deaths of her first two children, or the torturous magic of his royal arithmancers - until well into adulthood. But despite this, she knows the one-eyed man's statement to be true and so she responds the way she is expected to. “Perhaps,” she agrees as she thrusts the melancholy from her grasp and focuses actively on exuding warmth. Though not intentional, her efforts come across as something quite demure, “There is such a thing as good trouble, you know.”

    She trusts Cheri and the upbringing that Yanhua had provided to her, but Oceane will not deny the girl the freedom to create herself in her own image. Mistakes will be made - of that much she is entirely certain - but there is no better way to learn than to immerse.

    She shifts gears, confiding in the flaxen-tressed man her excited hope for the Pampas and its new Prince. “Yes,” she confirms without delay that Obscene's presence has piqued her interest before flicking an ear at the sudden and unexpected agitation she feels at Ledger's advice. It would be wise, he says, as if she did not know wise from unwise on her own, and she bites the inside of her cheek, allows herself a moment to settle, and returns the grin to her lavender lips.

    He is only trying to help, after all, and though she was briefly rankled this is still a truth she knows and appreciates.

    I must be boring you, she returns, deciding to forbear any further comments she would have made regarding the Pampas for now. His one-word reply causes a flutter in her chest, but she ignores it with a quiet clearing of her throat and a flick of her ear, their conversation progressing swiftly into Ledger's offer to assist the Southern kingdom. He seems not to notice the way her expression had fallen, albeit briefly, though that doesn't stop the balefire woman from watching the creases at the corners of his lips or the tautness of his forehead for a reaction. After a moment, she realizes she's hopeful that he would want to remain.

    He speaks again. And his voice, suddenly husky, shoots lightning through her.

    Oceane's mouth is immediately full of cotton, and her stomach, butterflies. It's a feeling she hasn't felt in years; Soran, himself, had only given her a feeling of safety and while she had loved him - still does, in a distant and melancholic way - he had never lit a fire inside of her. She tries to deny herself this feeling, even now in the privacy of her home and the high walls of the canyon. “For Loess, then,” she breathes back, denying that Ledger would want to do this for her individually instead of the Kingdom as a whole. “The bear's only obligation is to enjoy the winter wonderland Leilan will undoubtedly provide,” The Isle's Freyr has a way of showing up when others need him, and despite his outward appearances Oceane knows him to be a generous being. “I'd like for you to visit Tephra,” he had dedicated his services there before, after all, “I've yet to meet Warden or Wishbone, and it's my hope they or some of the other residents remember you fondly.” She smiles, her amber gaze growing coy once more.

    “And... perhaps you could keep an eye on Cheri. Teach her. Just in case. She does not need a babysitter, but I do want her to be safe.”





    @[Ledger]
    “”

    n | v
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #7

    Help me out before I drown
    Save me now before I give up


    It’s hard to break from patterns that he had grown accustomed to. Tiptoeing around issues had become as common to him as breathing. It’s easier than tearing down the walls that he’d carefully placed, less painful to hide behind their protection. Still he cannot completely avoid the tremors of tension that seem to ebb and flow between them. Such as now as she looks at him warmly and he’s left to wonder at her choice of words. The dark eye holds her amber gaze as he asks her quietly, “I imagine you can get into all sorts of good trouble.” His intention is to tease but he can’t help the way his gaze seems to darken, the gold flecks only hinting at what his thoughts had turned to.

    Surely some light hearted banter couldn’t lead to any harm could it? Justifying his denial and continuing to dance around that flare of light that flickers in the cold hard glass. It dies slightly as her expression seems to cool under his advice. Internally he scolds himself for not thinking more clearly, Oceane was a proud and regal woman. He had not meant any slight to her and he far from thinks she is incapable. A muscle in his jaw tightens slightly as he takes a few steps closer to her. “Forgive me Oceane, it was not my intention to imply that you don’t know what you’re doing.” His muzzle extends to briefly nudge her shoulder, a light touch and nothing more. “I’ll remember to keep my advice to myself unless asked for.” He ends with a slight smile, the mahogany of his gaze searching the sunset of her iris’s in earnest.

    They move on from his indiscretion and there’s a moment as his voice, rough and husky, reaches her and something flickers over her expression. It happens so quickly he’s unsure of what it was. All he knows is that it’s a look that makes his stomach twist with apprehension and as she breathes ”For Loess, then.” it leaves a slight ache deep within his branded chest. A wounded feeling, how his pledge to her is easily swept to the side. As if he hadn’t said it for her at all. “For Loess.” He agrees but the words seem strained and his smile fades slightly, lips pressed tight against his humility.

    It’s one blow after another, he’s not ready for the gut punch Oceane throws next although he absolutely should have considered it. Should have said something earlier. Now it’s too late. Tephra. She says and there’s a roaring in his ears. "Some of the residents might remember you fondly.” There’s a rush through his veins, the adrenaline kicked into gear as his lungs constrict and his throat tightens. It had taken him days to work up the courage to step on the black sands when he had first returned. Days to merely step close to the border to say his goodbyes to the wind and sea. Because he didn’t know if she still lurked there. He has no idea where Ellyse or Dahmer were and hopes to never find out.

    Going back there… The thought of facing them. How can he save his own pride now after offering his help? How can he ask her to send him anywhere but there? The panic rises and breaches like a tidal wave and he is no longer looking at Oceane, his gaze fixed on a point just beyond her shoulder. As if he can see Ellyse there, curled beside her dark lover, a smirk dancing on her traitor’s mouth. He can still hear her speak of Cheri but he cannot focus on this new request, not when the claws from the first have latched so firmly and deeply into him.  “Not there.” Is all he finally manages, every muscle coiled beneath the puckered pink scars of his ravaged chestnut coat. The gentle curve of his ears hidden beneath the mass of tangled snowy forelock, a wild look in his metallic fleck eye. “I’m sorry Oceane but I cannot go back there.” A rush of words in a sharp gasp of breath, unable to keep the sound of Ellyse’s broken promises from replaying over and over again in his head or the strong scent of copper (the soft drip of blood hitting sand) from his oversensitive nostrils. Anything but that. Anything.


    Ledger



    @[Oceane] all aboard the hot mess flirting express!!
    #8

    oceane
    a little white light
    in a sea gone black

    I imagine you can get into all sorts of good trouble.

    The way he says it, words and eyes both darkening beneath the brief implication, coaxes a low and slow exhale from the opalescent woman. For the first time since meeting the one-eyed man, she finds herself pleasantly abashed; involuntarily, her amber gaze averts itself and her striped neck curls until her soft muzzle sits at the muscle of her chest, masking the heat that has risen to her teal face with a quiet, polite cough.

    But when her gaze has returned to his handsomely weathered face and he has offered his advice on the still-unfolding situation in the Pampas, the moment swiftly takes its leave. Though despite the brevity of Oceane's discontent at Ledger's advice, he is ever the observant creature. And had she not already dismissed whatever negativity had blossomed internally at the unsolicited guidance he'd provided, the quick way he'd noticed her reaction would have solved the issue regardless. “It's okay. Truly,” she responds to his apology with a warm smile and kind eyes, her words continuing to offer an explanation for her sudden bristling at the very least, “I just wasn't expecting it. It's been a long time since advice has been offered to me without me needing to ask first.”

    Tarian and Fiorina would both offer advice happily if asked, though Oceane cannot recall a time that either of them had simply provided it.

    Ledger's soft flaxen muzzle is unexpectedly at her shoulder, causing her balefire skin to twitch beneath the warmth of his maw and the tickle of his whiskers - and yet, Oceane leans into it. But the touch is short-lived (too short) and just as quickly as his breath had brushed against her does it leave her shoulder. In its place remains a ghost of his touch, and the desire for more.

    But she has dampened his smile again, this time by attributing his loyalty and his generosity to Loess and not to her own self. Oceane stalls here, wondering if she should backtrack in an attempt to tell him explicitly that she appreciates his willingness to be here for her. With her. Instead, she trudges forward in an attempt to avoid a conversation that would involve her diving too deep into the tendrils of new feelings that have begun to form.

    Tephra, she asks of him, and immediately regrets it.

    “Ledger,” soft and apologetic, she takes a small step closer to the scarred stallion, though she does not entirely bridge the gap. Never been skilled at displaying her affection or consoling those she cares for, this one. “You don't need to apologize,” she adds quietly before tucking her nose beneath his chin and lifting it back up. The touch is fleeting, but her gaze remains warm even as she pulls back from him. “I didn't think... anyway. Leave Tephra to Cheri and I. Perhaps you could check out Icicle Isle's subsidiaries, Taiga and Nerine.” She pauses and adjusts the glowing feathers involuntarily at her sides, and when she speaks again it's with a tenderness that isn't often there.

    “I'm sorry for whatever it was that hurt you. I hope you'll find that you feel comfortable enough here, with me, to continue to be truthful when I've asked something of you that might make you panic.”





    @[Ledger]
    “”

    n | v
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #9

    Help me out before I drown
    Save me now before I give up


    He cannot quite meet her gaze and avoids it until her muzzle tucks beneath his, lifting his haunted eye to her worried amber ones. Her steady warm look and her soft touch are more comforting than he expects and he slowly breathes her in, closing his eye, and softens the jagged edges of his anxiety that claw within his chest. Too soon she pulls away and how easily she excuses his behavior and shoulders yet another burden that she should not have to.

    The shame easily washes through the remnants of his panic. He had wanted this responsibility, had wanted to show her he was worth the risk, worth the trouble. For a moment he means to dissuade her, to at least try and attempt a Tephra visit if only to prove to himself that he would not remain broken in Ellyse’s shadow forever. The words never come and his gaze remains hollow as she ruffles her feathers.

    How he wishes he could be a stronger man.

    She is steady in the face of his storms and her tender tone coaxes him to step towards her, to close that gap between them. This is perhaps more terrifying then facing whatever remained in the ashland but her scent is like a balm, gold flecks sweeping over her features before he presses his ravaged face into the curve of her neck and buries himself into the soft waves of her violet mane. That’s the fragrance of purple he had dreamed of, he realizes, the floral scent of violets and lilac. He breathes her in and murmurs against the cool shimmer of her skin. “I do feel comfortable with you Oceane.”

    Pausing, he pulls back from her with regret as his nerve leaves him. Burying himself within the silky strands of her feels safe, feels like a lost home that he’s never known. “It’s not that I don’t want you to know.” He admits, hesitates, as his dark eye lifts back to hers. “I try but…” A snort of frustration, nostrils flaring as once again the words lodge in his throat. “I wish I could just show you.” He mutters softly. It would be so much easier even though he wouldn’t wish his living nightmares on anyone.


    Ledger



    @[Oceane]
    Does Patrick want to try out her Genie powers on David? Tongue
    #10

    O C E A N E


    Despite whatever burdens Ledger feels he has saddled her with, the weight that Oceane carries never feels heavier. There is an implicit trust she feels while in his company; it has developed swiftly, perhaps due in part to the candor and authenticity with which he emotes in her presence, and so she feels no reservation when dismissing his apologies. She has demons of her own ― ones that she had forced herself to come to terms with when she'd taken the helm of Loess, but not everyone is lucky enough to heal the same way.

    Into her opaline neck he collides, causing Oceane's breath to hitch in the back of her throat and her toned muscle to tighten beneath her radiant coat. Only after a moment or two pass does the Loessian Queen allow herself the pleasure of relaxing into his touch, to smile at the words mumbled into her skin, but then it is gone.

    Her gaze flicks away from him, sheepish until he finds words to give her once more, and only then does her honeyed gaze return to Ledger's singular eye.

    I wish I could just show you.

    Funny thing, wishes are. Especially in the presence of a Genie. Even one who doesn't yet know what she is.

    Loess begins to dissipate around them. It ushers in moments of Ledger's past ― wherever it may be he feels his story begins. The moments he remembers are jarring, heart wrenching, terrifying... they leave her gasping as she stands within these spaces he'd once lived and in these moments he had once experienced, each one that passes finding purchase in her mind with its sharp claws.

    Her eyes, ringed fearfully with white, seek out the flaxen stallion and she leans into him in the midst of the chaos, hoping for it all to be over soon.



    ― @[Ledger] ―
    ""

    a little white light
    in a sea gone black
    n | t
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by




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