Something kept him in the same place, for the first time in — actually, he couldn't remember. Had he ever settled like this before?
Panacea couldn't shake the looming feeling that it wouldn't last, but neither could he seem to tear himself away from the beach. This place called back memories he couldn't quite grasp. Sometimes, if he really thought about it, a specific image came to him: a huge boulder, split down the middle, the base yawning into a dark opening.
He wasn't sure what it meant.
To soothe himself, Panacea crept past the shoreline and into the water. Swimming always eased his mind. At least for a little while.
Exhausted by tending to the growing needs of rapidly growing children, Suzu pattered along the shore in the shallows as the waves tugged and pulled at the sand beneath her feet. Having lived all of her life at Sapphique and along the cliffs, she’d never known true silence- but even hearing only the waves and the occasional screech of a gull was as close as she’d get and compared the the constant, too-loud shouting of children…It was peace.
The Sound was a safe enough distance that she felt she could eke out just a bit of time to herself and if one of the kids did follow her, they’d be safe. The beach had belonged to her ancestors, once, or so she thought. Svalinn reported regularly about the sound as he resumed his vigil for his daughters.
She passed the bobbing figure in the water off as a sea lion at first. When she glanced out again and noticed the longer profile of the creature’s face, she realized that it belonged to a wolf. She flicked her ears forward and gazed out into the waves- secretly hoping that she might be the one to have finally found one of Svalinn’s long-awaited children.
Sorry this took me so long, I was waiting for the Val thread to get a bit further <3
Someone was watching him. Panacea turned after a few moments, eyes finding the girl from where he stood in the water. He didn't recognize her — but something about the way she looked at him seemed... expectant. He started toward the shore, a little wary.
But he relaxed when he caught a familiar pack scent.
Hey,
He called out, tail settling into a slow sway as his tension faded.
Expecting someone?
Certainly not him; Panacea had never seen this girl in his life. The thought made him a little sad, if only for the knowledge that no one was actually looking for him. No one was expecting him. No one ever would.
When the wolf swam toward the shore, Suzu waited, trying to identify if there was anything familiar about the wolf's scent that might help her figure out if they were perhaps one of Svalinn's daughters. He pulled himself from the water, and highlights of gold glistened, wet, in the sunlight. Suzu felt something in her chest flutter at the sight of the wolf's form- so sleek, trim, not overtly masculine or feminine but ultimately, genuinely appealing. She swallowed hard when she was spoken to. She blushed, realizing it was likely she'd made a mistake.
"Oh, I, uhm," She faltered, and threw on an anxious grin. The water dripped from his fur, but she sensed the blood that ran through his veins was saline. She brought her gaze back up to his eyes when she realized she'd been watching the water drip from the gilded fur off his shoulder. "I t'ought you might be someone," She finished, as smoothly as she could, until she realized how ambiguous that sounded. She was mucking this up, bigtime. Pull it together, girl! "I don't t'ink it is you. But you could 'ave been- dere is someone looking for-" She blurted hastily before she sighed softly and swore under her breath, softly. "Awh, fuck..."