[open] Saw you act unusual; (Aedan, Any)

[Narcisus]

Aedan hadn’t fibbed; the way back to his (my) home had been a ‘journey’ alright. Day and night we walked, and not once was I left to feel lonesome or ignored. My ceaseless energy didn’t tire out Aedan like it had my mother, who seemed to wake from some daydream when she was around me too long, and my endless supply of self-happiness didn’t seem to annoy him either. I was more and more excited each day, just thinking about how far we’d come and how close we were to this ‘island home’ of ours, and after the first couple of days I fell asleep quickly enough, unafraid that I’d wake up to abandonment. I told @[Aedan] everything on the way, or as much as I could remember in my short span of life so far. What mother looked like and how she’d left me … I mean, disappeared that day in the Den. How I’d gotten bored with the babies sucking all the fun out of life and decided to leave, which led me to Sixteen in the meadow.

That was pretty much it. Afterwards it was just me pestering him with endless questions about this Island. What was our new home called? Did he have a pretty wife? What were his other children’s names, my new ‘siblings’? On and on until, at last, we got to the end of the world and there was the ocean in front of me, vast and limitless.

“Oh my wow.” I’d said, looking at it all. My wings, still somewhat useless but growing, fluttered over my sturdy little back. “How am I s’posed to get across?” I wondered to Aedan, maybe the millionth question I’d asked since starting this ‘journey’. I hoped he wasn’t regretting his decision by now.

Narcisus

For Aedan, the plot, or anyone who'd like to help Narc with his ocean-crossing problems <3

[Gale]

Gale run away with me-- lost souls and reverie running wild and running free   The brindle stallion and his avian companion keep watch over Islandres not only to catch intruders, but also to know when one of the residents of the small territory has left and watch for their return. Aedan has been gone for some time, but Vita and his children remain and seemed unworried, so Gale is unconcerned as well. When a gentle call from the black osprey informs him that Aedan – and a stranger – are preparing to return, Gale turns from his low flight along the island’s western shore and crosses the expanse of water that separates his home from the mainland. It’s an easy flight, buoyed by the warm spring wind off the sea, and he lands elegantly a few paces down the beach. A stranger, he thinks, but a young one. One  of Aedan’s children, Gale wonders briefly? But no, the starman seems devoted to his winged lady, and this colt looks nothing like him. Buckskin and winged, he looks almost like Eyas. Gale looks him over again, sure that he’d been mistaken. His blue eyes trace the familiar shape of his face, and it is the shared blood of Beqanna’s dark god that he sees most strongly. That is what had caught his eye, he is sure. That the boy shares Eyas’ coloring is only a coincidence, and that he does not search the boy’s past sight for a glimpse of his mother is simply because he’s being polite. It is. He is in time to hear the boy ask how he’s supposed to get across, and Gale’s mouth turns upward in a smile of greeting to Aedan and the boy. “Do you know how to swim?” The pegasus asks. “The current is not too strong this time of day.” @[Narcisus]

[Narcisus]

@[Aedan] had taken to me quickly, almost apologetically as most horses do when they’re aware I’m alone in the world. I’m a foal after all, just a youngling out of his element far beyond the reaches of safety and security, but I never act unhappy about this. I worry occasionally, sometimes I’m afraid, but I never sour or cry. Not once on the journey back had I been mean or unwilling with my new caretaker. Just like with mother and all the other babies in the den, I’d been extra sweet all the time. I’d needed them, like I needed Aedan in order to survive making it through the forest and across more than half of Beqanna.

I do not need the stallion that comes coasting out of the blue sky, more like the air and the sea than anything I’ve seen before.

“Does it look like I know how to swim?” I ask him sarcastically, grinning madly at my own little joke. Aedan’s shoulder is nearby for protection, and I turn to it instead of looking this newcomer in the eye. My guardian will protect me. Mother had made so many excuses for me. Sixteen had been a friend when I had none. This other pegasus stallion would be the first of many who’d immediately see me for who I was on the inside. I didn’t waste my cute looks on him, not when I could save them for convincing others I was a buckskin cherub.

“I’d rather fly, anyways. Teach me that instead.” I demanded, then looked up to Aedan with a dazzling smile. Please? I begged him, using the perfume of my charm, my magic, to create the illusion of a helpless infant where a nearly-grown colt should be. I’d used my wings a handful of times along the way, getting no further than a turkey’s flight above the ground. Aedan had no wings... this new, nameless horse did.

“I saw you earlier. You teach me.” My head swung around to get a good look at @[Gale], ears lowering childishly.

Narcisus