| Aurora Basin Phantom atk: 7.5 | def: 10 | dam: 2.5 |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16 hh :: 8 yrs HP: 60.0 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Glo |
In defiance of the melancholy that pervaded their haven, Roland was optimistic. It wasn’t in his nature, but he couldn’t bear to see Lena dismayed, and so he was determined and assured in his encouragement, for the sake of her heart, her morale and vitality, while crushed beneath the weight of the world above them. He could not bring himself to speak his fears, to see the spirit falter from her eyes or lay waste to her ardor for the sake of being frank. If he had only been speaking to himself he might have believed that they would never see the sky again, that the caves were to be their new home and after a time he would forget himself, let corruption seep into his blood and become something terrible. A wraith, perhaps. Who knew what could happen when one was starved of the sunlight they so required.
Roland often worried; often retreated into the stronghold of his own mind and acted upon supposition, speculation, and suspicion, leaving little room for faith or hope. He was fortunate to have stumbled into Lena’s path, to converse, cajole, and care for another’s well-being. Perhaps positivity would be a better fit than doubt; perhaps he had been dressing in the wrong guise all his life. His words of reassurance lifted some of the weight off his own shoulders, even if he couldn’t be sure of the future. Without her he would never have been inclined to hope, to trade desolation for delight and struggle to keep his head above the waves.
It was gratifying to see the smile return to her lips, to hear her laughter resonating with the water’s tumbling melodies. He relaxed, returning her smile with enthusiasm, teetering on the edge of the bank as if unsure where to venture next. It was for her sake, in the end, that he swallowed his cowardice and plunged himself into the waters, throwing away his worries in favour of the feeling of water rushing against his skin, a long forgotten ebb and flow. He still longed for the hot springs and the glassy lake of their home, thought of the howling winds and tumbling snowflakes, but chased away the wistfulness as quickly as he’d left behind the familiarity of firm ground. His mind could not wander where he cannot follow, not when he was searching for a glimpse of light in the darkness, some fragment of hope or confidence to cling onto until they could leave the caves behind.
So he rejoiced; blinked the spray from his eyes, flinched good naturedly when Lena thrust waves his way, and joined her in her euphoria. She surged ahead of him, dancing as smoothly in the stream as she did on land, while he churned the sandy stream bed and returned every splash with a grin. He had never felt like such a fool in all his life, and yet he was so at ease, so ecstatic to bring change to the monotonous rhythm his life had fallen into when living underground. He shook the moisture from his forelock and turned shining eyes upon her face. “So it is,” he concluded with a laugh. “Though the water is a little rough.”
It was unlike him to play. He hadn’t since he was a child, chasing figments of his imagination across great sprawling green fields or fledgling forests, but he tried to forget himself, his qualms and hesitations, and threw himself into their sport, pawing at the water until he was soaked from head to hoof and smiling as bright as the sun. The cavern was filled with their exaltation, their rapture, echoing off the walls and through the lights, and in his eagerness to draw Lena’s mind away from her worries, Roland was distracted from his own.
@[Lena]
Push your luck if it makes you a promise
that turns con men honest.
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Image Credit
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