Her name bobs through the dark of her thoughts, like a buoy adrift, always staying above whether in storm or calm. Each time its called, it's like the buoy is washed over by the always comforting lighthouse glow, a quiet reminder of the hope that lingers even in the places we cannot always see.

Hope, or a warning?

Her lashes flutter, so heavy as they try to lift. She rouses as her name continues to beat out a song, the ringing of that buoy's bell as its rattled back and forth. "Mmfff," she mutters, groggy and with it, reluctant. "Why," she wants to ask of whoever is calling for her, why are you calling, why are you here, why is it so... heavy? She blinks, then stiffens, eyes widening into blue which the rest of the blue immediately drowns out. She makes to back up, but where her legs thrash there is only water, which spills effortlessly away from the assault, then flows right back in. Snug, but cold, the depths hold Ampere, not letting her sink, but neither letting her rise.

Captivated.

That's the word that best explains Ampere as her seeing eyes finally see that whom has called her over and over, perhaps who has always called her in these depths. The beauty that greets Ampere is so stunning she can't describe it, and her heart hurts for it, to know that nothing like this could ever exist again. In front of her was everything that Ampere had ever felt, ever wanted, ever needed. This, this entity of all was what Ampere saw and others seemed to be unable to, what Ampere fought for while others fought against. This, oh this was beautiful not just in its staggering appearance of both impossible magnitude and incomparable exquisiteness, but even on principle alone this was so elegant and complex that it broke Ampere up even witness it.

Her glorified agony was interrupted by silver darts that rushed past her. Startled, Ampere turned, watched as glittering fish spun around her, drawing trails of sterling currents that made Ampere laugh in wonder and delight. They drifted close to her and she leaned out, trying to catch one in her teeth, but it wriggled free. In its absence The Whale came, running along her with a caress that should have startled Ampere, but she melted into the giant embrace, because it was tender, it was comforting, it was the love that Ampere had always been looking for it and it felt so much better than anything ever had up there. This was easy, and it didn't hurt- all of that should have in and of itself been alarming, because Ampere knew better than anyone that things had to hurt sometimes in order to feel good, except now that they didn't, she forgot, or she chose not to notice. Either way Ampere leaned into The Whale as she pressed up against her, and there Ampere was content to stay forever, folded into love and temptation until she suffocated, a smile on her face.
"Can I?" she asked in response to the query, unfazed by the bubbles that drifted from her mouth as she spoke, or the way the water did not seem to muffle the sound. All Ampere noticed now was The Whale and her all encompassing gifts.

---

Meanwhile, where Ampere really drifts on sand and sea, where the herd had stood and chains had been slapped but not broken, she did not see the look of Gaucho's departure. She did not see him turn off the light, however gently it was done. A lighthouse gone dark, or just empty while the shore sits in tide, waiting for a new bulb and a new need?