tiamat

the Ocean’s Light

Of course, there is no way that Tiamat would be able to know the strained relationship between Essetia and her companion—the sea maiden would have never guessed it to be possible, truly, as her mind is far more sheltered and her bond far less matured. She and Nimue have felt nothing but love and adoration for one another. It is all she knows—why would anyone else’s relationship with their companion be much different? A smile, bright and effervescent, curls comfortably across her lips, blissfully ignorant of the other mare’s demons. “A pleasure, Essetia and Romul,” she nods to the mare and the pale wolf, who is now approaching them to join his bonded.

The intensity of the other pair’s curiosity of Nimue does not go unnoticed—rather, it is almost something that the blue Lady has come to expect when meeting strangers. She shakes her head lightly when the bay asks for forgiveness, the gesture complemented by a breathy chuckle that blows easily through her lips. “There’s no need for apologies—there are many who have never seen her likeness before,” Tiamat reassures her newfound friend (because her heart does not know how to protect itself, does not know how to not welcome someone into her warmth and generosity).

“She’s called a Leviathan; very similar to the whales of the ocean, as you can see. However, she will mature to be much smaller, and can survive on land as well as in the sea. I’ve only ever seen one other Leviathan myself,” her smile softens wistfully as the length of her lion tail, wet and streaming with fine torrents of water, rises from the ocean to brush gently against Nimue’s underside.

The young Leviathan is very aware that it is she who is the topic of their conversation, and naturally a shy creature, she becomes sheepish beneath their gazes. Crooning a low set of trills, she moves from her bondmate’s shoulder and floats to the protection underneath Tiamat’s stomach, staring out at the strangers from between the blue mare’s forelegs. Nimue’s attention is primarily drawn to the wolf—his golden eyes are so intense—and the little orca’s instinctual wariness of a predator wars with her bashful curiosity (she has never seen a wolf so close before).

Feeling her companion’s emotions through their bond, Tiamat’s smile deepens, curling into something reminiscent of a playful smirk. Exhaling slowly through her nostrils, she allows her eyes to wander for a moment out across the glassy waters—so clear, surreal, like they have been taken to another world of starlight and black velvet—and when she turns her gaze back to Essetia, the glow of her sister stars is mirrored in her own pale eyes. “What brings you to the Halcyon Flats tonight?” She inquires innocently, her voice nearly breathless.

“Speech.”