[P] dance with the waves

[Maeve]

the fire healer

There is something about the sea that makes me feel both curious and scared. For one, it's just so BIG! You can't always see much past the horizon either, so it looks like it goes on and on and on…

I mean, it's pretty. I like the way the sun shines through the water and makes a dappled pattern. It's also cool to see sunsets because you really get a good view of all the different colors. I think my favorite is how the moon and moonlight look.

So when I look out at the rippling water now, I think of all these things. It's midday, so it'll be awhile until I see my moon friend up there, but that's okay. I'm just enjoying the light breeze and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. At this part of the shore, I can see wayyyyy out in the distance is some land. I think Momma Morr said that's where Dusk Court live, but I can't remember. I'm still learning about all the Courts and the lands.

Suddenly, I can see a large bird flying over the horizon. It seems to be coming this way so I look on to try and figure out what kind it is. Though, as it gets closer, I realize it's no bird at all, but a pegasus! I'm even more excited now because the winged horses are my favorite. I always wonder what it's like to fly and I'm a little jealous of their wings.

The girl that flies over me is a dark gray and she's wearing a bright orange scarf. I've never seen her before, but I hope maybe we can be friends.

"Whoa! You have pretty wings!" I call out, hardly containing my excitement. "Who are you? I'm Maeve."

"Speaking."

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@Charlotte <3

[Charlotte]

i'm a dreamer, born to rise

One thing Charlie has learned to do while flying is scanning the world around and below her, cataloguing everything that she sees and hears, tune into her senses. That’s how the pegasus sees the little girl long before she yells to her. But when she does, Charlie can’t help but huff out a breath. It would be rude to ignore the filly, whoever she is, but the pegasus has plans at the docks.

She tips gently to the side and begins a slowly winding glide to the ground, Indy following after. The osprey perches upon her croup once Charlie lands, glancing down at the filly who… honestly looks way too young to be out by the ocean all by herself. At least when Charlie had been wandering she’d always had Indy with her.

“Name’s Charlie,” she responds, turning toward Denocte’s port. If she has to entertain this kid, at least she can continue to make her way to her destination in the meantime, “And thanks, I guess.” Her wings really aren’t all that fancy looking. Just roan colored like the rest of her, a little lighter on the underside.

“Where’s your mom… or, whatever?” Charlie cringes internally. She sounds old, and boring, like how adults used to sound to her when she was a kid. But her parents have pretty much always been absent, no solving that. She hopes this girl’s parents aren’t as careless with her. She’s not about to take up the role of babysitter, anyway.

@Maeve i think it's official charlie doesn't like kids rip

☸

[Maeve]

the fire healer

I'm even more amazed when the girl lands and her osprey takes perch too. It reminds me of how Rory will go with me places. He doesn't join me all the time, but it's fun when he does. "I have a bird friend too! His name is Rory. He's a hawk with similar colors almost. He's out hunting though so I don't know if he'll show up…" I find myself rambling, but I'm just so excited to meet someone with an almost matching bird.

I'm still in awe of the flying thing too. "I wish I had wings. Rory and I could fly alllll over the place!" I say while twirling in a circle with my head up in the air. It's the best I can do to mimic the motions of flying.

Of course, I'm used to the question Charlie asks next. I wander a lot, so I don't blame others for being a little concerned. I'll probably hear it from Momma later that I need to stop doing this. "She's doing Regent-y things somewhere. I may have… snuck away for a little. I was bored," I say, dragging my hoof in the dirt from embarrassment. She doesn't seem that old compared to me, so I hope she can understand how I feel.

I don't want to linger on the subject too long just in case she doesn't. "So, where are you from Charlie? Are you from one of the other Courts?" I hope she'll tell me since Dawn is the only other Court I've visited. I'd love to meet someone from another Court and learn more about them. Still, if she's from Dawn, I won't mind. Their lands are gorgeous and I hope I can go back sometime.

"Speaking."

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@Charlotte <3

[Charlotte]

it's time to
make a move

When Charlie lands, the kid starts to go on and on about some bird—a hawk, apparently—named Rory. She can only assume it’s the kids bonded, and even though she gets a pang of nostalgia for the days when it was just her and Indy against the world she also can’t help but wonder if this kid has an off switch.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but Indy isn’t just a friend or whatever,” Charlie says, as she walks along the shoreline. “She’s practically my sister, and she’s an Osprey.” She doesn’t much feel like explaining the difference between different species of hawks to a practical newborn, who really shouldn’t even be this far from the court, so decides to drop it there and hope the girl won’t ask any questions.

When they get on the subject of her mother, Charlie is suddenly a lot more interested. Regent, huh? This little punk is the kid of Denocte’s Regent? Charlie is somewhat familiar with the woman, as she’s spent much of her life in the Night Court’s streets. She can’t imagine how Denocte’s infamously, horribly ornery Regent, managed to convince anyone to knock her up.

Good for her, she guesses. “If you have to call it ‘sneaking away’ then you shouldn’t be doing it, kid,” Charlie says in response to the filly’s statement. Charlie never had to “sneak out” because nobody was ever watching her, or telling her not to do things. If this kid has someone who does care about where she is, then maybe she should listen.

Unfortunately for the pegasus, whoever this girl is, simply does not want to stop talking. Which she would greatly prefer at this point. If she has a mother somewhere, then it is definitely not her job to babysit. “Yeah… I’m from Terrastella.” Charlie braces herself for more questions, because she knows they are coming regardless of what she wants.

@Maeve

☸

[Maeve]

the fire healer

I'm starting to wonder if Charlie doesn't like me too much. She's not like the others I've met who will stay closer to me while we talk and I have to follow her just to keep up. She seems too cool for me to just leave though, so I'm determined to stay and make her like me.

"Well duh! I know that. She's your bonded, just like Rory is mine, but they're still our friends. And she has wings like a bird does, so she's just a different version of one," I tell her, a little sassier than I normally am but still keep a smile on my face. I know adults sometimes try to act smarter than they are and it sounds like Charlie will be no different.

Only, she doesn't seem to be that old, yet she calls me kid. "Hey! You can't tell me you did everything your parents told you and didn't go exploring. There's so much out there, you'd be wasting time if you didn't break the rules a little," I say, now sticking out my tongue. Plus, with wings like those, she must've been more tempted to sneak out. At least, that's what I'd be doing with them.

"Terrastella? I was there for a little, it's pretty! Why did you come here?" I'm curious since we're not super close to that Court. I had only been there because the soldier guy and I had to pass through it to get home after the festival. I didn't really explore it much, but maybe Charlie could tell me more about it later. I'd love to hear any stories she has. But first, it seems more important to find out why she's here. I wonder if it's anything serious (or dangerous). Maybe she could use a sidekick.

"Speaking."

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@Charlotte <3

[Charlotte]

it's time to
make a move

Charlie’s expression doesn’t change when the girl starts to correct me. She’s kind of a know-it-all, isn’t she? Not a very redeeming trait, to say the least. If she can’t respect someone who is older than her just letting her know what is the difference between a hawk and an osprey, or a “friend” and a “bonded”. The pegasus chooses not to respond, though the thin line of her lips suggests she’d very much like to.

“Oh I explored, but my parents never said that I couldn’t,” Charlie doesn’t elaborate. Her parents never told her anything. Her father had disappeared when she had still been young, probably even this kid's age, and her mom… her mom is still around even know but has never been part of her life beyond making sure she didn’t starve before she could feed herself. “You have your whole life to explore, and do it right, without putting yourself in danger and worrying someone who actually cares about you.”

Maybe that’s why she feels the way that she does about this. Because this kid has someone who actually worries where she is, and cares about her safety, and is still going off on her own at an age where she is completely vulnerable to the world around her. She could get hurt, or killed, and doesn’t seem to care all that much how it would matter to her mother.

“I come here a lot,” the pegasus says, “Have been for a long time. I have someone to meet in the port.” And Charlie knows as soon as she says it that the kid is probably going to want to tag along, which is the last thing that she wants. She’s already thinking of ways to get rid of her before it’s too late. Too bad she just doesn’t have it in her to be outright mean to a child.

@Maeve

☸

[Maeve]

the fire healer

I don't really understand what Charlie is saying. For one, she makes it sound like her parents let her do whatever she wanted, but yet that meant I shouldn't explore on my own? Hmph, I always hate when adults think they know more than us kids. She doesn't even seem that much older than me! Besides, I don't know what could be so dangerous around here. I know this place like the back of my hoof.

"I've never seen you around before," I say, crinkling my nose at her when she says she comes by often. Although, when she mentions she has someone to meet, it makes me curious who that could be.

"I'll come with you! If things are so dangerous like you said, then shouldn't you have a partner?" I point out, a twinkle in my eye. I'm feeling pretty confident that she can't possibly say no to that.

But of course, I can't be that lucky. I hear my mom's voice calling me in the distance. "Ugh, that's my cue I guess. See you around, Charlie!" I say and run off. I don't think anything of how she might not want anything to do with me.

"Speaking."

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@Charlotte fin <3

[Charlotte]

it's time to
make a move

She has to hold back an eye roll when the kid says that she has never seen Charlie around before. Like she’s been around that long. Like she’s not barely a season out of being born, if that. “Maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong places,” is all she says, with no indication of what that could mean.

When she starts talking about tagging along, that is where the pegasus draws the line. “Dangerous for you, maybe. Nothing is dangerous for me,” Charlie quips quickly, “Besides, I work alone.” Other than Indy, of course, but she does not want some spring lamb ruining her day.

Thank whatever gods are still out there when the kid’s mother calls out for her. Charlie watches the filly run off and shakes her head. I sure hope not, she thinks, as she finally makes her way—alone—to the docks.

@Maeve fin

☸