Honey-brown eyes took in the strange surroundings, watching in mild fascination as the beach meet the waves, the water churning and crashing against the white granules of sand. From his spot paces away from the shoreline, Apollo stood, the salty wind tousling his mane in a dance of ebony shadows. His tail, likewise, played victim to the wind’s song, long strands becoming tangled and matted. Regardless, the stallion couldn’t seem to drag himself away from the sight before him.

The sun shone bright on the Endless Blue, the ocean, a place that Apollo had never seen before. Since he was a foal, the Unicorn tended to avoid large bodies of water unless it was for a quick drink. An unnatural fear had always risen in his breast whenever he had been forced to be close to the water, evolving from a nasty spill he had taken in a lake when he was a foal. His old herdmates, cruel and uncaring creatures, had pushed the overo into a lake in good humor, not knowing that Apollo didn’t know how to swim. The memory had haunted him to this day, the feeling of choking and drowning, of his lungs desperately trying to drag in air but only swallowing water instead…

Shuddering, Apollo shook his head to clear his mind of the horrid memories, his crystalline horn catching the sun’s rays in a brilliant display of colors. Despite the terror he had associated then, the Unicorn couldn’t help but be drawn in by the vast ocean. The froth of the waves seemed to speak to him, to call for him to grow ever closer, and almost unconsciously, he did. Black hooves stepped lightly in the sand, his tail swishing and twitching as the nerves began to surface, but still he didn’t turn away. This place, albeit strange, served a purpose… It was the meeting place, between Phaedra and himself. She had told him to come here, and so he did. Why? The overo honestly wasn’t sure.

Then again, when it came to Phaedra, there were a lot of things he wasn’t sure about. Like how the Pegasus beauty had been able to convince him to get high on glowing mushrooms with a few honeyed words and a flirty look. Would there be more instances like that, he wondered? Where he could be swayed to do whatever Phaedra wanted, simply because she asked? It wasn’t that he had a problem with it, but… Sometimes Apollo found himself wondering if he would ever get anything out of their pseudo-relationship. Surely they were friends, at least…?

Snorting deeply and inhaling the salty air, Apollo realized that he had finally stood right in front of the churning waves. They danced before his brown eyes, heavy with muddled thoughts, and ever so tenderly the stallion dipped one of his hooves into the retreating waves. It caused his hoof to glisten in the sunlight, and unwittingly, a chuckle escaped his dark lips. When another wave came upon the shore, the Unicorn did it again, splashing himself slightly but enjoying the coolness that came with the ocean water. Another laugh bubbled from his throat and he tossed his head in sudden joy, mane flopping gracelessly against his neck.

Pushing himself up on his back haunches, the black and white over reared, letting out a nicker of joy. This water was strange, for it wasn’t trying to hurt him… Perhaps he could learn to have fun in the waves, as long as he remained in the shallow end. Heaving himself up, Apollo pushed himself to the side, all four legs landing in the water and spraying his ebony coat with diamond-like droplets. It was in that shallow spot, where the waves gently caressed the white beach, that he continued to play like a foal, waiting for Phaedra to arrive.

[OOC: Here you are, Aud. :D Let the Apollo/Phae-ness run amuck!]

I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."