The peace that descended upon Ampere wrapped her up in a warm cocoon, one which swayed with the lulling hands of the tide. Her body eased into the ground she laid upon, each fiber of every muscle unspinning from the cords of duty and anger and fear. Ampere had managed to capture these moments from time to time, but she was always forced to find them, like catching fireflies in the dark for hope of light. She had never been able to make it happen before.

It felt, good.

A small smile found its way to her lips as the tiger mare finally accepted her. The coocoon around Ampere sighed in relief, a wash of warmth exhaling around the throat of the dragon. Blue eyes dared to flutter open as Maren went on. She was admittedly afraid to let go of her mind's ocean, too reluctant to return to hard reality that existed around her - she enjoyed the sand feeling like silk rather than grit. Yet, much to Ampere's delight, even as the scenery of the desert before her slipped back into view with blinking blue eyes, she could still hear the distant roar of the waves in her head, could still feel the supple rolls of the beach beneath her legs which remained curled beneath her. Was this the power of peace made, rather than stolen?

Ampere hummed gently with grateful acceptance, turning only slightly towards the grinning Diviner as she set to work. In Ampere's breast, loyalty flared, surprised as always by her friendship which she found in the strength of those willing to resist her surface sparks.

Maren spoke to the fires and Ampere waited, her breathing calm and even, her pulse steady and slow, her eyes focused and expectant. Somewhere inside of her the held breath, the racing pulse, the panicked gaze all remained, but the waves pulled it into an undertow and there the surf buried it in old sands since lost from the shore. Ampere waited; the fire flared.

White light extended out and Ampere's head dropped in anticipated hurt, but none came. It was remeniscient of the guiding glare the Sun had given her when she'd been trapped underground those seasons past, when desperation and despair had stained her dark until he had pulled her free. She gasped, ready, willing... yet forsaken.

It is not the image she wants, not the God she seeks or the answers he keeps. She stares anyway, transfixed by the power and the importance it radiated out with each flickering image of flame. Though no smoke emenated, it seemed veiled all the same, and as its glow and its message faded, Ampere felt no certainty.

She sat for a moment, basking in the silence, eyes tracing after images of light that had just been. She stared still, even when the eyes of the other shifted to her, so heavy Ampere could feel them pushing her into the sand... sand which was abruptly itchy again. She wanted to turn and glare at those eyes, at that mare, at the Diviner which would not even manage the purpose of her title. A rebellious fire burned through Ampere with unfounded rage, leaping from the ocean's depths like an ancient thing roused from long slumber. Yet Ampere held herself still, because hadn't she expected as much? Hadn't she warned Maren of this? Hadn't she known?

Yes, she thought, eyes unblinking so long they hurt. Still, she had hoped for more.

Maren's dry voice rasped upon her ears and at last Ampere turned to look at her. A perceptible loss could be seen in her eyes as she settled them on the mare, even more so in her voice as she spoke. "It's nothing you can help me with now."

Ampere rose, not even bothering to shake off the sand before lifting her wings to depart. She would dwell on the fires message later when she moved on from her selfishness, but for now she had forgotten it, leaving its decoding to the mare who's job it was to unravel the secrets and the absences of their god.

(Was thinking we could end here with Ampere leaving? Unless you wanted to continue on more, but Ampere probably won't stay much longer if at all. Thank you!)