The silvern damsel stood mostly statuesque in the wake of the boisterous tides. The turbulent waves swanned up from the sapphire reaches of the ocean, straining to engulf her hooves before retreating back when they failed to do so. Froth effervesced along the edge of the waves as they enveloped the hard, dished sheath of the mare's feet, the moonlight kissing her coat of roan with a dulcet glimmer.

No creature of the astral realm accompanied the dame. Only the timeless, roaring voice of the sea existed to serenade her, as she peered out across the diamond-threaded body of water. Her ashen accented wings were fueled delicately along the sweeping contours of her back as she awaited her lover to find her. She had teasingly asked him to do so before embarking off toward this watery realm, and not a doubt existed within her that he wouldn't be able to. He had a certain niche to find her wherever she went, and if he chose to bring Cirrus then she had no objections.

Duties were done and dusted (literally) for another day. The stallion’s coat always seemed to take on a red tinge by the conclusion of a patrol, especially if he had some frequent landing and taking off within his desert home. The wind whipped his mane and tail about, his pelt itching as the sandy particles crawled along his skin, small muscles along his back twitching as he tried to rid himself of the sensation. As his broad wings held him aloft, he found himself once again trailing in the aroma of his beloved, and he knew the direction in which she had flown, smiling as he thought it appropriate; he was definitely in need of a bath.

So towards the ocean he flew, eagerly now that he knew his mate would be there. Nevermind that his wings ached from being in use all day, nor that his knee and rump still complained every now and then from somewhat recent injuries – happiness allowed him to focus upon this that were far better than focussing on one’s pain. The last time they had ventured from their homeland together, flames and lightning had licked their heels away from the lands, Azzuen could see the charred patch of earth below him as his flight soon angled away from the Heavenly Fields, a sadness creasing his brow momentarily, before he continued his flight.

A deep, rolling trumpet was made as his athletic build peaked over the sand dunes, wings stretched out to their full lengths, he gained speed without care for landing yet – the ocean was his aim. Laughter mixed in with his call, as he spied his beautiful dove in the shallows of the surf, his path quite close to her, but he went deeper still into the ocean, yearning for its cool embrace to wash the workload of today’s duties from his charred hide. With a splash he collided then with the ocean, managing to find a spot that when standing upright, allowed the water to splash over his back with every other wave. Wings were held aloft, though their waterproof capabilities meant that it mattered little if they did get saturated.

With great strength he turned his bodice around, half-swimming, half-walking in the buoyant liquid towards his madame, eventually finding enough purchase upon the sand beneath to trot towards her. Cresty nape accentuated his masculinity, his damp muzzle reaching out to find hers in their silent, intimate greeting which he loved so dearly. With his sonorous voice he spoke lovingly to her sculpted ears, seeking the warmth of her body with his velvet maw all the while.

“My love, this beach is truly a place of beauty, when you stand upon it.”

She was not taken unaware by his trumpeting baritone. She needn't move a muscle to know the accustomed call, but even so she turns her gracile tiara in his direction, peering toward him with an emphatically coy expression. A soft, hushed nicker hies from her throat, her head hoisting and setting with the rise and fall of the trembling note. She bumped her muzzled against his fondly, eyes of liquid topaz squinched closed as she relished in the gesture that had become a ritual between them.

Radiant irises came into view once again with the reception of his vocalism, a genuine smile peeling her lips into a perfectly concave arch. Her beaming eyes honed the expression as she gazed into Azzuen's own indigo optics.

She hummed in pleasure, the tympanic allure of her voice thrumming gently against her svelte bosom - suave and solacing as it vibrated her bodice with warmth. "I missed you." She uttered - a mere whisper; an acquiescing serenade composed in the tempo of a musical horn. Any moment she was deprived of his presence slunk by with tedious inflection, every minute diffused with the inherence of an hour. At least, that's how it was as of late. With the weaning of Cirrus came the of so familiar languish of pregnancy, and yet tallsun still remained to inhibit such acts of love.

She ran her velvety maw along his nape, tracing the fine groves of his muscles. "How fares my one and only?" A deep, hearty nicker then resonated through her svelte anatomy, her teeth busy kneading his toughened, ebony hide. The churning motion of the tide caused her body to sway in earnest: a calming movement.

The brute held the gaze of his beloved with earnest, embracing her feminine form with his cresty nape, not wanting to release her forevermore. Alas, forevermore was unlikely to happen, what with the need for sustenance they as mortals felt, he settled for a few silent, still minutes of holding her near. The sultry tones that whispered their ways towards his auditory canals did wonders for the stallion's heart, he could feel it accelerating just at the thought of what her harmonic voice inspired. He wondered idly, if the heartbeat he heard thrumming in his ears could be detected by the miss, if the simple response his body contained only for her was even known by her?

The aging of their youth brought much happiness to the stallion, most foals of the wild were fortunate to make it to weaning, theirs had flown to the weaning stage and successfully continued to thrive past it, strong and vibrant was her life's spark, Azzuen was proud to call her his daughter, and Cassiopeia his mate. The stallion, being the male donor to the situation, only ever got to see his daughter when off duty, though she did sometimes accompany him on patrol, which he relished as well. He knew only vague memories of the bond that exists between a lactating mother and her foal, and knew of them only because of his experiences with his own mother - but they were memories so long ago made, he could only try to imagine the unique loneliness she was experiencing.

"I am well," deep, fathomless tone rumbled in response, the stallion almost purring from the delicate massage she wrought across his hide. The tide tugged upon his bodice too, and he swayed with it, they were together, in motion and in stillness, a dynamic harmony written beneath the stars. "How did I ever become so lucky? To have you as my mate.." He was baffled by it, though he worked hard to make himself feel worthy of her love, he was surprised still when he did receive it. "Only more than that.. You aren't only my mate, but my other half. I am incomplete without you." He mused curiously, speaking to himself as much as to the mare who held his heart so dear. Never before had he experienced this perfect synchrony of feelings with another, and being the somewhat simple stallion that he was, it never ceased to pleasantly amaze him.

She found her mentations wandering once again to the subject of foals, an expression indicative of longing pinning her svelte brow in an angular arch. What was going on with her? Never before had she yearned for a child as much as she did now, even after her initial pregnancy had already gratified the inaugural urge. She would have to wait, this she was certainly aware. The yearning would irrevocably deaden by the time Frostfall came to pass and would resurrect during Birdsong, when the world was repleted with a new-found luster. Not a single doubt shrouded her mind that her lover would grant her motherly desire then, and not sooner.

For now, as she always had been, she was content in his presence; content to relish in his unrelenting affection; content to embrace the beauty of the night with him. Her hormones were powerful over her body, and she was impatient for Frostfall to transcend across the world. She fleetingly recalled the previous Frostfall, when they had stood upon this very beach - it had been before the conception of their daughter, and before they were even aware of the feelings they shared for one another. She smiled as she leaned against the ebony stud, eyes closed as she continued to knead his knotted flesh with ivory teeth.

This all elapsed in a matter a moments. He spoke then, his chest reverberating with the deep, hearty baritone. Some of the vibrations were transmitted from his dark form to her own dark anatomy. Although the silvern mare was not able to detect her mate's heightening pulse, her own had begun to flutter through her slender body, blood coursing through the tubular veins in a greater abundance than before. "Luck has got nothing to do with it, my love." She responded to his first statement, and then listened as he continued. I am incomplete without you.

She exhaled softly, a puff of air whirring from her nostrils. "Azzuen, you are the half that makes me whole."

Deep, warm, rumbling chuckles swelled up in his chest, responding to the loving, delicate words that spill forth from his beloved roan maiden. She speaks of their union as being nothing to do with luck - what was it then? Destiny? Fate? Azzuen was not sure if he believed in such things, if his lifeline was already written for him, and he just a pawn to walk through it until its end. But then, if that were the case, wouldn't it have been luck that brought them together, for wasn't luck just an extension of destiny, fate? Such ponderings were too deep and complicated for the stallion; he believed in the strength of his own wings, the resolve of his character, he worked hard to ensure the safety of his herd and his family -maybe he did feel like he earned Cassiopeia's love, though still he was pleasantly surprised by it almost every time. Perhaps it was simply old insecurities, or fear that all this time, she had been playing a trick on him, fooling him into loving her when she felt nothing but indifference towards him, that fuelled his constant wonder at her kindness. She was a rare gem, an honest and clean cut diamond, who had chosen him, and he could not fully comprehend why.

Leaning his broad cheekbone against her slender nape, he rubbed his maw along her, drinking her scent greedily. As always seemed to happen when they were left alone for more than a few moments, his loins were filled with an ache, a heat that needed to be released - but the last time they had come anywhere near that sort of interaction, both of them had fled the lands in a mighty hurry, escaping a raging storm that left their lungs full of ash and a slowly healing scar upon Azzuen's rump. Even so, the memory of such intense fear of potentially losing his lover did little to dampen the effects her presence had over him. A carnal grunt sounded within him, a strong foreleg struck out its hard hoof, to stir sand up in the water beneath them both. It was not nearly enough to dispel the energy potential that had stacked up within him, but he wasn't about to behave like a yearling colt who barely understood what urges it was he felt before his beloved... unless she wished to join in too.

"I am glad life brought us together, so that we can be a whole here, and not simply two halves spread across the world." A devious grin tilted his lips, the tribal markings upon his brow moving as they animated a quizzical, whimsical expression. Abruptly, his muzzle darted out to bump against her, never biting her (he couldn't bear to mark her hide) but rather firmly nudging the belle's sleek coat. He pressed his chest against her then, the guttural, husky tones that described his carnal urges vibrating from within him once more, before he ripped himself away, legs working hard in the ocean, wings held aloft so they didn't weigh him down as they got wet. Strong, powerful muscles directed his buoyant vessel towards the shore, as his hooves gained more purchase and pushing power, he leapt amongst the shallows, creating even greater splashes around himself with the water being less weighed down by the mass of the ocean. Pirouettes, bucks, and finally a great rear, with forehooves striking out valiantly at the ocean, he showered himself in the saline liquid, calling a deep, stallion's call to his lover, proclaiming his love to the ocean with desperate fervour at the same time.

She was silent. No words slid past her lips to permeate the air in avoidance of spoiling that perfect moment. It was one of those instants in which words were not necessary to express one's emotions. The synonymous gaze they shared was enough, she decided. That, and the carnal grunt that rumbled like shallow thunder in his cavernous chest spoke volumes of his virile urges.

She felt them to, there was no avoiding that irrevocable fact. Her tasseled tail swung coyly behind her sylphlike haunches, the long chords that sprouted from the end gently scanning the water's surface. She laughed softly as he pawed at the sand below the water's crystal depths, knowing all too well he wished to release more energy, more vigor, more spirit and forcefulness. She could see it in his eyes, and she responded by tossing her slender face in the air, being sure to avoid his own broad, chiseled facade. She was calm then as he spoke; mostly statuesque save for the horizontal movement of her maw against his tough skin.

He nudged her, and she peered toward him emphatically, nickering a smooth, suave tone. She followed him as he moved through the briny, saline solution, frolicking in the shoals. The beads of liquid clung to her coat, adhering to the downy plumes of her wings as they half-way unfurled. She fleetingly joined him, though not quite as fervently as he. Soon enough she trotted to the beach and proceeded to shake her svelte bodice to rid of the water.

All the while, she watched him, studying him, as she made her way toward the trees in the distance - a bit of privacy from the possibility of prying eyes. Slowly, she neared the palisade of trees, intention laced in every flexed muscle.

The motions of the belle responded to his own, mirroring his thoughts and desires, the carnal urges mounting within him. He watched her, as he always did, drawn to her curves, hungrily absorbing her swaying bodice, his loins seemingly doing their own thing, giving his mind many an unholy idea as to his mind's eye. Teeth ground against each other as he contained himself, as his hooves met the sand again, powerful forelegs pawed over and over at the sand, expelling energy - and yet encouraging more energy to build up at the same time. These exercised were doing little to discourage the raging hormones that coursed through him, rather they seemed to be piling up higher and higher - still he pawed at the sand, digging a trench that the ocean's waves swirled into, a snort exploding from his nostrils as his beloved mate rushed past him.

Actions stopped, wings tucking in close to him as haunches lifted his front half and pivoted him around to watched her dark, roan form disappear into the trees. The intention, to draw him nearer to her, to share this experience... it was obvious, and Azzuen paused a moment, like a deer hesitating before the high beam of headlights, disbelief blinding him. But soon enough his stallion-esque excitement kicked in, the cover of the trees swallowing his dark form as well, his masculine frame finding Cassiopeia's with ease, his gentlemanly control becoming obscured by a time of private, loving pleasure.

** ~ **

They were upon the beach, dark forms lying side by side, Azzuen's left wing stretched out over the form of his beloved, sweat drying upon their coats, sand combining with the skin that laid against it. Azzuen was satisfied, he certainly hoped that his beloved was satisfied. A deep sigh preluded the hearty chuckle that echoed from his maw. Lips gently caressed the ears of his mate, breaths blowing gently over her chiselled tiara, lovingly doting his attention upon her. There was not much more that could improve this night for him, and he longed to know if there was anything else he could possibly do for her. Nudging her, his gaze implored her silently, speaking the satisfaction he felt, gently inquiring, hoping that she felt the same way.

[ Hope my little bit of powerplay was OK… I can change it if you want/need Phantom <3 ]

They were perfectly in sync - every movement, every emotion, every breath. Their heartbeats thrummed in a synonymous tempo, throbbing incoherently between their lungs - so it would seem, at least. With every thrust, she could feel her heart soar, the frequency of her respiration climbing, and then plummeting. Was this what pure bliss felt like: to be intertwined (more or less) with the one you cherished more than your own aliveness? Indeed. This is what propelled her every whimsical motion; every breath and every graceful stride; each humming cadence of her heart.

It was him - without him, who knows if she would even be there - in Helovia. Without him would she even have the capacity to go on? She recalled the story he had told her of his dam, how she had sacrificed her own life so she may join her partner in the afterlife. She knew now what such strong emotional bonds felt like. If his presence were to ever go void in her life, she pondered if she could even go on; endure the vacancy he would leave in her heart.

Surely, no other could accommodate such a vast, gaping wound. Ears flopped lifelessly with pleasure as they lay sprawled out in the sand, sweat adorning her body much like a second skin. Would a foal result from their amorous behavior? She would not object if she did happen to fall pregnant once again. They would have many foals. She doubted Azzuen would object to such a thing.

As she nibbled lovingly on her ears, her cyan eyes began to flutter shut, darkness surrounding her. Peace, tranquility; complete, enrapturing elation. It had taken quite a bit of energy to support the weight of her lover - quite literally. How lucky she was to have found a stallion so kind and wholly adoring.

She knew not many were blessed with a love like this. Smiling, she expelled a gust of wind from her body, her lungs falling gradually as they emptied. With his gentle nudge she felt a quiesce nicker vibrate her plus bosom - a declaration of her entire, spellbound satisfaction. Arcing her head back so that it rested upon his neck, she sighed with content. Laced within that breathy gust was a light, airy phrase, quiet and lulled, though genuinely sincere in every tiny fiber. "I love you, my sweet Cepheus." An affectionate moniker; a celestial myth come to life, embodied. He was her Cepheus: her devout lover and dearest, most cherished companion.

Her eyes squeezed shut. "Always." She whispered.

[ ooc ; It's perfectly fine. <3 ]