once upon a time we burned bright

the Rift

[OPEN] once upon a time we burned bright

Roland Posts: 230

Aurora Basin Phantom atk: 7.5 | def: 10 | dam: 2.5

Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16 hh :: 8 yrs HP: 60.0 | Buff: NOVICE

Glo

#17

02-09-2015, 12:07 AM

The ocean shifted restlessly around them, sand and silt brushing against Roland's limbs as he waded deeper into the water. It was colder than he'd expected, an unpleasant bite against his skin as he pushed onwards with a clenched jaw. Lena was pressed against his side, her steps slow and laboured, but purposeful nonetheless. The Thief watched his step, sinking into sand until the waves reached around his hooves, swallowing up footprints and smoothing over the trodden shoreline. He remained silent when they drew to an unsteady halt, the scent of salt filling his nostrils, churning his stomach.

He looked out across the endless expanse of water, watching as it rolled and pitched against the wind, never steady, never still. The sound of waves rushing against the bank, of the breeze skipping over the ocean's surface, should have been calming. Roland could have been at peace, gazing into the emptiness between sea and sky, wondering at what might be out there, whether some distant shoreline lay beyond the curvature of the earth. Instead he was exhausted, frayed. Lena kept him upright as much as he supported her, holding fast against the rhythmic push and pull of the tide. His mane was wet with sea spray, slicked against his neck and tracking rivulets of salt water down his golden skin. When he had taken his fill of speculation, he blinked water from his eyelashes and turned his head, meeting Lena's gaze with a growing sense of concern.

An entire sea of emotion swelled behind her eyes, and Roland's heart ached to see it there, unspoken and unalleviated. The waves rolled rhythmically against his chest, brushing icy tendrils across his stomach and stealing his breath away, but he hardly felt them. He welcomed the cold, willed it to wash away the stain of heat and flame he feared would never be scrubbed from his skin. The burn still pressed at his cheeks, his throat, as if the inferno was still thundering through the air around them, hungrily seeking out anything it could obliterate and crush beneath its ashen fist. The Thief started when Lena's voice broke the silence, lost within her gaze and the guilt he found there.

Her apologies and reparations were unwanted and unneeded. Roland tilted his frame towards her, hooves digging into the ever shifting sand pulled by the ocean's tide. A shiver wracked along his frame, but he barely paid it any mind as he met her gaze with unflinching steadiness. "The blame does not rest on your shoulders," he assured her resolutely, fiercely. He could have, he would have forgiven it all even if it had been her doing. And perhaps he would have been wrong to; the Thief would never have surrendered so much trust, so much faith to another living being years before, but he had no such concerns now. The wounds he carried were few and of little consequence when compared to the harrowing scars upon her frame, etched in dark, ashen lines across the curve of her sides. The sacrifice he had made was small, insignificant beside hers. He should have done something. No matter how foolish it might have been to blame himself, how could he be forgiven for standing back, obediently hovering out of harm's way when he had suspected the danger?

The Mender leant into his shoulder again, her gaze hidden once more from his view. "I'm glad you're alright," he murmured against her neck, hoping that she would not let the guilt weigh too heavy upon her. They had both escaped alive, and he thought no less of her because of what had happened. He had known the potential dangers that came with accompanying her on her quest, but he had accepted them gladly, as he would do again if she requested it. The Thief watched the waves froth and flow around them as he curled against her, wishing that her misfortunes could be undone.

@[Lena]

Push your luck if it makes you a promise
that turns con men honest.

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