The same day that Lepis had sought out Aten and had informed him of her plan to send himself and Lethia on a diplomatic mission to one of the western kingdoms, the stallion acquired all the information he would need to share with Lethia and Ruinam when they got there. He shared what Lepis said with Lethia so that she would also be prepared to speak to the Island King, since this would be not only a nice little getaway for the two of them, but also a chance for her to practice diplomacy.
Aten gave Lethia a sun to rest before they sought out Lepis and took her up on her offer to watch over Owin and Popinjay. After dropping the foals off with the Queen, Aten guided Lethia down through Taiga and along the northwestern reaches of Tephra's territory. Their journey to the beach lasted for three suns, including the time they took to stop, graze, and rest. They needed to conserve some strength, for the last part of the journey to the resort would be a difficult one.
Especially for Aten.
The golden stallion could remember a time past when an island inhabited by mostly stallions lay off the coast of Beqanna, an island that could be reached during a certain time of the day when the moon guided the ocean's tide away and revealed the land bridge that lay underneath. If one did not wait, he or she would have to risk the swim, and Aten still was unsure about that even though he'd made enough progress to where he could walk forward on his hind hooves enough that his chest was completely submerged in the water.
Stepping stones... one day at a time.
Upon reaching the beach, Aten allowed himself and Lethia more time to rest, since they arrived when it was later in the day. It would do them no good to swim in the dark, so they rested while the moon rose to comfort horses to slip into their dreams. Aten, however, was a restless spirit, looking out to the ocean every so often and trying to steel himself for the journey ahead.
When morning came, after taking a short while to graze and drink fresh water so they had what their bodies craved, Aten guided Lethia down to the shore. He inhaled a large breath and stepped into the ocean to test the sand underneath his hooves to make sure it wasn't slipping; he'd encountered an incident like that before not far from the shore, an unexpected move like that could send a horse into a panic because they weren't ready to leave the ground that fast. It felt solid enough beneath his hooves, so Aten informed Lethia that it was safe.
The further they delved out into open water, Aten stuck close to the buckskin mare, at one point closing his eyes to reassure himself. He could do this... he had to... he had a mission to complete, and a loved one to protect...
If not for himself... for her... for the potential little flame that had begun to burn in her belly...
When Aten felt the sand beneath his hooves slip away as the water carried the horses up so they were floating and then swimming, it took every ounce of his control to not panic. He could do this... he would face those creatures again if he had to...
He would not let them hurt Lethia...
Aten was never more than a few feet from Lethia's side, both to be there to provide help if she needed it, and to reassure himself that she was still there and things were going okay. Whenever something under the water brush his leg, even if he clearly felt it move so he knew it was a fish, the stallion would begin to panic, but having Lethia there kept him grounded.
The swim from the mainland to the Resort was a decent distance since it didn't have one portion that extended closer like the Isle did, so the swim felt like forever. When the Resort came within eyesight though, and their hooves began to touch solid ground, the stallion breathed a huge sigh of relief.
They hauled themselves to shore, Aten giving his body a good shake to get rid of the excess water. The white sand was pushed aside by his hooves as they got further onto shore, and Aten turned to look over Lethia to make sure she was doing all right after that swim.
The pretty buckskin seemed to be all right, so Aten looked back towards the Resort, and stood tall. He tilted his head back and let out a call to ask for the leader to come if he could, and while they waited, Aten stood close to Lethia to help provide her warmth.
@[Ruinam] @[Izora Lethia]
Aten gave Lethia a sun to rest before they sought out Lepis and took her up on her offer to watch over Owin and Popinjay. After dropping the foals off with the Queen, Aten guided Lethia down through Taiga and along the northwestern reaches of Tephra's territory. Their journey to the beach lasted for three suns, including the time they took to stop, graze, and rest. They needed to conserve some strength, for the last part of the journey to the resort would be a difficult one.
Especially for Aten.
The golden stallion could remember a time past when an island inhabited by mostly stallions lay off the coast of Beqanna, an island that could be reached during a certain time of the day when the moon guided the ocean's tide away and revealed the land bridge that lay underneath. If one did not wait, he or she would have to risk the swim, and Aten still was unsure about that even though he'd made enough progress to where he could walk forward on his hind hooves enough that his chest was completely submerged in the water.
Stepping stones... one day at a time.
Upon reaching the beach, Aten allowed himself and Lethia more time to rest, since they arrived when it was later in the day. It would do them no good to swim in the dark, so they rested while the moon rose to comfort horses to slip into their dreams. Aten, however, was a restless spirit, looking out to the ocean every so often and trying to steel himself for the journey ahead.
When morning came, after taking a short while to graze and drink fresh water so they had what their bodies craved, Aten guided Lethia down to the shore. He inhaled a large breath and stepped into the ocean to test the sand underneath his hooves to make sure it wasn't slipping; he'd encountered an incident like that before not far from the shore, an unexpected move like that could send a horse into a panic because they weren't ready to leave the ground that fast. It felt solid enough beneath his hooves, so Aten informed Lethia that it was safe.
The further they delved out into open water, Aten stuck close to the buckskin mare, at one point closing his eyes to reassure himself. He could do this... he had to... he had a mission to complete, and a loved one to protect...
If not for himself... for her... for the potential little flame that had begun to burn in her belly...
When Aten felt the sand beneath his hooves slip away as the water carried the horses up so they were floating and then swimming, it took every ounce of his control to not panic. He could do this... he would face those creatures again if he had to...
He would not let them hurt Lethia...
Aten was never more than a few feet from Lethia's side, both to be there to provide help if she needed it, and to reassure himself that she was still there and things were going okay. Whenever something under the water brush his leg, even if he clearly felt it move so he knew it was a fish, the stallion would begin to panic, but having Lethia there kept him grounded.
The swim from the mainland to the Resort was a decent distance since it didn't have one portion that extended closer like the Isle did, so the swim felt like forever. When the Resort came within eyesight though, and their hooves began to touch solid ground, the stallion breathed a huge sigh of relief.
They hauled themselves to shore, Aten giving his body a good shake to get rid of the excess water. The white sand was pushed aside by his hooves as they got further onto shore, and Aten turned to look over Lethia to make sure she was doing all right after that swim.
The pretty buckskin seemed to be all right, so Aten looked back towards the Resort, and stood tall. He tilted his head back and let out a call to ask for the leader to come if he could, and while they waited, Aten stood close to Lethia to help provide her warmth.
@[Ruinam] @[Izora Lethia]