Stavanger Bay Shaded me on summer days

He could leave. He toed the imaginary line between the ship and unclaimed sands. He tried to imagine that expanse ahead of him was something magical. That it was freedom and independence. That it was the gate to a new life where he was happy and where all the follies of his past and all the pains that went with them had been left behind here in Ironsea. He could leave. But he could not imagine those things and his paws were stone heavy.

The sound of the waves rolling on the beach was trance-like. Raptor could have lost hours staring down the empty shoreline awaiting a spark to ignite life in his breast once more, but movement from the corner of his eye interrupted his stupor.

"Roz?" He squinted into the sun at her back.