[open] and in my dreams i've kissed your lips a thousand times // Any

[Kagerus]

Kagerus

{ and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times }

I am not left to my thoughts for long; as my hooves exchange thuds for clops on my ceaseless journey round the southern lake - more of a pond, really - the sound of another approaching wafts to my ears. This new stimulus immediate revives me from my somber mood, as in truth, the melancholy had been coming mostly from loneliness; I welcome the idea of some companionship during these times. Even though the majority of Hyalinians had made the exodus to the Cove, it still feels empty sometimes - but we are all mourning the loss of our home, and for many, that means seeking privacy. I must respect that.

That being said, I cannot deny the joy I feel at the possibility of interacting with another of my species. Pivoting with perked ears and rolling, eager eyes, a smile bursts forth on to my lips when I spot who it is that approaches. A toss of my antlered head welcomes my son closer, my legs moving only a couple paces forward until he is pulling up next to me from his jaunty trot. I take a moment to admire the stallion before me as his weight settles, eyeing the definition of his musculature and the height that he has grown to; a trait he inherited from his father, Castile. I am nigh on a hand shorter than he these days; but I struggle to feel the difference, as when he presses his muzzle to my cheek, I cannot think of him as anything except the child I was lucky enough to help raise.

"I am doing as well as I can, son." The words are painfully honest, what parental filter I may have once applied to my words disintegrated in light of Velk's newfound maturity, and of course the vulgar nature of the plague. The world we live in these days demands brutal honesty, even between loved ones. Sighing quietly, I lean my head into his touch, closing my eyes and forgetting myself for a moment. After a moment, the black and white sighs, too, and withdraws to consider the southern lake with me.

"I hope you are doing well, too."

I am aware of the fact that both of us have been quarantined to the Cove, making us both stowaways in a world of beplagued misfits. Although his eyes have turned away, mine slide subtly over in my skull to watch the stallion; he, too, must be feeling the pressure of our duties here. And yet when he speaks again, it is in reference to the fact that he feels he has not done enough: a symptom of restlessness, of captivity, of fear. I nod my head gently at first, considering his words; then, I inhale, preparing my thoughts.

"I have a few things in mind, Velk... I think that kingdom visits may soon be in order, though reports from the outside have yet to confirm any significant settlement in any of the quadrants save here, in the East. We can teleport to the safe land via dream when the time comes." Out on the lake, a fish jumps. "But, I have been itching for something to do, too. This plague leaves me restless. What would you say to a challenge? It would be good to keep ourselves in fighting shape, in the case of threat."

@[Velk]