"Anandi," Samaira says, testing the name in that smoky, accented voice of hers. "It is a wonderfully unusual name," and she wonders if all those who call the sea home have such monikers. The pegasus glances at her bonded as all attention comes to him from below. He stares down over the cliff with wide blue eyes, "She will make a meal of me," he says with some measure of unease, "don't let her come up here."
Samaira turns her gaze back to the green-eyed girl, "His name is Alaunus, he is my bonded." She is considering rescinding her offer for his sake, because she knows all too well what it feels like to be hunted. She understands the way his heart beats a little quicker and what it means to be prey. But then Anandi is announcing her departure from the water. "It seems we have no choice now," she says to the young heron.
She rises from the ground as Anandi scales the side of the cliff. Samaira is quite amazed to be honest, for that can't be an easy feat for someone used to walking on land, let alone one who lives their life in the sea. Pressing away from the edge, she flattens her wings against her side and waits to take her in from up close. And, then, they are almost side by side, there at what seems like the top of the world.
"Yes, from up here everything seems so much smaller. Except the sea, which only looks broader and more endless," Samaira says, glancing away from Anandi's captivating gaze and out over the ocean. "I can never decide if I love it more from here or on the beach." The thought is said idly, but the earthen woman realizes it is true.
Some days she wants to be where the water kisses the land, embracing it again and again, letting it rush up around her hooves and drown all her thoughts in its war-drum beat. Others, she loves to be here on the cliffs, looking out over it as the sun shines off its surface and its soundtrack is more a melody alongside the peace of the breeze and the birds and the sky.
When Anandi takes a step closer, Alaunus shifts further behind Samaira, pulling her attention back to the moment. He is no small sea bird, with a wingspan farther across than Samaira is tall at her shoulders. But she can sense his nervousness even without him voicing it. Her bonded had not been present the last time she had met a horse of the sea, she remembers.
"Steady, Alaunus. If you wish to fly ahead and stay in the sky, go. I will be alright." The young heron bobs his head and with a few beats of his wings is airborne, circling higher until he is riding the wind above them. Samaira watches him for a moment before giving her attention back to the woman before her. "Does that mean you wish me to call you a friend?"
Samaira remembers the man without a name that came from the sea. He hadn't been so amicable, and it makes her both curious and uncertain. "If you are ready to walk, I can lead the way to the Court," she offers, waiting for the sea-girl's okay before beginning to turn away from the cliff. Her moon-bright eyes linger on the floating orb of water that had come to life from the other's skin. "Is it magic?"
It may seem like a silly question, but the only magic Samaira has encountered in her life is Alaunus' healing and the forbidden magic some warlock had wielded and used to give Cassius wings of shadow and smoke and darkness. A shudder passes along her spine, remembering her horror as he unveiled them to her. There is quiet for a moment, as she attempts to shed the memory. Above, Alaunus' shadow falls over her, calming her.
"I met one of your kind, once," the pegasus woman says, alluding to the sharpness of teeth she got a peek at earlier, "or, if not your kind exactly, something similar to it." And Samaira wonders if she will ever see him again. He had returned to the sea. Would Anandi, as well?
"Speaking."
Samaira turns her gaze back to the green-eyed girl, "His name is Alaunus, he is my bonded." She is considering rescinding her offer for his sake, because she knows all too well what it feels like to be hunted. She understands the way his heart beats a little quicker and what it means to be prey. But then Anandi is announcing her departure from the water. "It seems we have no choice now," she says to the young heron.
She rises from the ground as Anandi scales the side of the cliff. Samaira is quite amazed to be honest, for that can't be an easy feat for someone used to walking on land, let alone one who lives their life in the sea. Pressing away from the edge, she flattens her wings against her side and waits to take her in from up close. And, then, they are almost side by side, there at what seems like the top of the world.
"Yes, from up here everything seems so much smaller. Except the sea, which only looks broader and more endless," Samaira says, glancing away from Anandi's captivating gaze and out over the ocean. "I can never decide if I love it more from here or on the beach." The thought is said idly, but the earthen woman realizes it is true.
Some days she wants to be where the water kisses the land, embracing it again and again, letting it rush up around her hooves and drown all her thoughts in its war-drum beat. Others, she loves to be here on the cliffs, looking out over it as the sun shines off its surface and its soundtrack is more a melody alongside the peace of the breeze and the birds and the sky.
When Anandi takes a step closer, Alaunus shifts further behind Samaira, pulling her attention back to the moment. He is no small sea bird, with a wingspan farther across than Samaira is tall at her shoulders. But she can sense his nervousness even without him voicing it. Her bonded had not been present the last time she had met a horse of the sea, she remembers.
"Steady, Alaunus. If you wish to fly ahead and stay in the sky, go. I will be alright." The young heron bobs his head and with a few beats of his wings is airborne, circling higher until he is riding the wind above them. Samaira watches him for a moment before giving her attention back to the woman before her. "Does that mean you wish me to call you a friend?"
Samaira remembers the man without a name that came from the sea. He hadn't been so amicable, and it makes her both curious and uncertain. "If you are ready to walk, I can lead the way to the Court," she offers, waiting for the sea-girl's okay before beginning to turn away from the cliff. Her moon-bright eyes linger on the floating orb of water that had come to life from the other's skin. "Is it magic?"
It may seem like a silly question, but the only magic Samaira has encountered in her life is Alaunus' healing and the forbidden magic some warlock had wielded and used to give Cassius wings of shadow and smoke and darkness. A shudder passes along her spine, remembering her horror as he unveiled them to her. There is quiet for a moment, as she attempts to shed the memory. Above, Alaunus' shadow falls over her, calming her.
"I met one of your kind, once," the pegasus woman says, alluding to the sharpness of teeth she got a peek at earlier, "or, if not your kind exactly, something similar to it." And Samaira wonders if she will ever see him again. He had returned to the sea. Would Anandi, as well?
![[Image: 13481303_KpOIcOG7drxHK9U.png?1556314753]](https://file.toyhou.se/images/13481303_KpOIcOG7drxHK9U.png?1556314753)
we'll fulfill our dreams
and we'll be free
