Desreal: To Aquila, love always

Kahana is driving him nuts right about now. Previously she was dancing between his legs in a constant game (like someone stabbing a knife between their fingers who is positive they won't miss the gaps) but now she's taken to hanging from his tail, like a monkey on a vine, swinging from side to side with it as it moves. He stops suddenly and she is somewhat unprepared for the change of pace and looses her grip in his tail, falling to the floor with a thud. He smiles amusedly, turning his head to watch her shake herself off before she turns back to glare at him through her little dark bandit mask. He giggles, lowering his head to her level, gently nudging her proclaiming, "Well that serves you right didn't it!" And then (like the mature, wise seer he is) he proceeded to stick out his tongue at the young polecat. Kahana simply scowled more at him before darting forwards and flinging herself onto his withers (digging her claws into his skin as she settled), deciding to not speak to him until they were back in Solira.

He is grateful to feel the hard ground give way to the soft shifting sands he is so used to, perhaps it will always remind him of Leviah and Oreallo, but the smell of the Soliran ocean remains unique. Today however, Solira smells differently - it looks differently and not just because he has been away for a while. It is not the same happy lively place it was when he left to go to Desreal, and then he knows they have been punished in his absence; it still smells a little like charcoal and burnt flesh mixed together with that salty sea air he knows so well. He feels a sudden wave of shame, of guilt that he was not here when his country could have used his help. In his defence (not that he would even consider it an excuse) he was trying to persuade their country's queen to allow him to free her from the shards when their punishment had been bestowed upon the ocean and so he had continued with his daily to-ing and fro-ing without realising quite what had happened. Then he had been called upon by the elements to undertake his quest - he had waited so long to reach this stage and so he could not resist the call; in hindsight he knows the rainbringer would not have allowed him to have resisted it.

And so it is only now that he returns to see the remains of the scorched land, realises the extent of the damage that he had not been here to repair. Solira is regenerating, that he can see, but the guilt from knowing he could have helped (knowing there are injured and deceased that he could have helped, could have saved) momentarily threatens to overpower him before Kahana dashes from her resting place to bite him sharply on his ear pulling him out of his spiralling thought cascade. The slight pain causes him to shout upwards at her, receiving only giggling laughter in return; "call it slight retribution for earlier" Kahana smirks across at him. The polecat sits up on her hind legs atop his poll, making him look odder than usual, as if he is wearing some sort of odd weasel shaped hat, her eyes scouting across the landscape, just watching before she pipes up, "this is where you live?" and then almost immediately afterwards squeaks with excitement as she spies a small gathering ahead of them. The skewbald turns to look in the direction she was facing, smiling as he realises the group is comprised of both those very familiar to him and some relative newcomers.

It is hardly surprising that Aquila is the one he heads to first upon his return, delighted to see her again. He has missed her so much, but then he feels the familiar pull he has come to recognise as being due to the shard's presence, but fainter than he experienced when beside Saphira - shakes his head lightly as he realises she is a slave to the shards again. "Aquila, love. I've missed you so much." His muzzle brushing along her sides gently, whilst internally head slapping himself for not being there to protect her. "I can severe the tie if you need to be free..." His words are carefully chosen, without blame should she choose to remain a slave to the shards - he knows she became one last time to protect their family but that doesn't mean he has to like the idea. He still refuses to really speak with Elemmire despite the fact she now lives amongst the Solirans for the simple reason that he knows it was her that made his girl a slave the first time. Even when she lost the shard and Aquila was free, he still could not find it in himself to let that particular detail stay in the past. For a seer who considers himself to be forgiving and understanding, the skewbald at times can be particularly stubborn and unrelenting like an unmovable mountain.

But he does have his reasons. He knows of Andürien, the rainbringer showed him her fight in glorious technicolour blow by blow detail when he first became its guardian. He knows what the stone could have made her do if she hadn't fought it and sacrificed herself. And he desperately does not want that to happen to his eagle. His eyes have a gentle pleading in them despite his intentions to not try and influence her decision, his mind racing ahead even though all he wants to do at this moment is stay happy and content, just delighted to be near her again.

GUARDIAN OF THE RAINBRINGER
WATER III & LIGHTNING III