they'd taken their leave from the plains with joy, aditya feeling like a kid on his first adventure. the temperatures were climbing, and with them, his spirits. he was a chatterbox--probably driving his mate mad, poor thing--and his eyes lit like twin suns when he first caught sight of the sea, a glittering expanse before him. he closed his eyes, lips slightly parted as he took a deep breath of salt air.

they'd contemplated going northward first, but adi had reasoned there was no point--drageda, whom grayday and easy had met with, commanded the cliffs, and he did not much want to pay the prickly wolves of grimnismal another visit. so they started here, the isle of undersea in the near distance, an enticing dark mass on the horizon. he cast it a pining glance before returning his gaze to dawn, grinning.

"you might be fast inland, but i bet you can't catch me on the sand," adi teased, kicking a burst of the silken white-gold grains at her front paws in playful illustration. "i'll even give you a head start," he added, giving her a gracious bow of his head.

a bow that turned out to be a kind of feint, for he suddenly wheeled and took off, his banner of a tail streaming behind him. he looked back, letting out a wheezing laugh. "try and catch me, now," he called back, voice carried on the ocean breeze. he lunged forward, sand flying in his wake, fully expecting to be caught up by the much swifter dawn within a matter of seconds.

the farther they travelled, the lighter her heart became. it was so easy for memories of travel to fade when she suppressed them so vehemently (for fear of inciting some desire she would not be able to fulfill while the pack needed her still), and yet how quickly they took up in her heart as soon as the stepped foot from the borders! 

it was not the first time the sterling woman had seen the sea, and yet still she paused in her step at its vastness. she did not hold the same love for it that her sun-born mate did, and yet still there was respect for the great sparkling expanse. yet there was little time to spare the sea much thought, for her recent chatterbox of a mate had issued a challenge - one she responded to with a fast grin and a raising of her tail. "oh, really?"  she poked, banner of a tail waving, molten gaze set on him. she was about to rebuke his offer of a head start when he wheeled and ran, and in a moment she was in pursuit.

the evershifting grains did indeed slow her, as if the earth rearranged itself beneath every footfall. and yet in a few moments, she discovered just how to move easier atop the sands, and in a few moments she caught up to aditya with a few great leaps and bounds. with a sharp cry of "you're it!"  and a sharp prod to his side, she veered off towards the surf, sand flying up with every backward kick of her paws.

god, she was fast! it wasn't long at all before he felt her hot on his heels, and soon felt her touch, insistent upon his side. it knocked him off-kilter, leaving him dazed as she took off once more in a cloud of white-gold. with a rueful chuckle, he spun and engaged in hot pursuit, but knew the chase was futile. she was so fast!

"dawn! you win!" adi called out, breathless with exertion and laughter. he'd brought himself to the edge of the water, paws crashing through the rippling waves on the shore. the sea was cool against his legs, bringing to him a sense of energy he hadn't felt in so long.

he drew to a halt, panting, letting the surf whirl round him as he rested. whether she'd stop or not was up to her; he was content to stand here, one with the ocean, his pelt billowing in the breeze.

he did not dare look at undersea.

she laughed, freely, when her mate uttered his defeat, spinning once in the sparkling water but failing to offer a retort immediately. prancing through the lapping waves, she scoured the ground at once for some sharp scent that had suddenly become obvious to her then. she nosed once at the half-emptied shell of a crustation before deciding seafare was not for her, and returning t the side of her mate. 

tail wafting at her rear, she moved to stand shoulder to shoulder to him, allowing her gaze to roam out to where surely his rested. maw slightly ajar, panting, she was content in this moment not to ask just what he sought in the line where the sky met the water, but rather, trace the distant vastness in silence.

he did not move as she came to stand beside him, still looking out at the waves, golden eyes searching--for what, he didn't know. he felt the heat of her body close, heard coelacanth's words spinning in his head. i choose stockholm; stockholm choose me. you choose dawn, dawn choose you. his breath hitched suddenly in his throat, and he turned to dawn with a wag of his tail.

"how far south do you want to travel?" adi asked, his voice pitched high and chipper, hoping to drown out any lingering notes of sadness. the waves pulsing against his legs did well to soothe the pounding of his heart; though seelie was one with the sea, so was he, and her presence nearby did nothing to change that. he was indelibly bound to the water.

he pointed his nose in the direction they intended to go. "i was thinking as far south as moonspear's range. perhaps further, if the mountains don't stretch all the way to the sea." he hadn't seen a viable path, but then, he hadn't explored much of that area.

he nodded, thinking her plan a sensible one. he didn't want to be away from home for too long. sure, he relished in time away--but his duties were first and foremost with the wolves on the plains, as were dawn's. besides, too far south and he might start to encounter some familiar faces or landmarks. he was slightly afraid that he'd want to stay in that sunny place.

aditya watched dawn interact with the water, smiling. she was a child of the land, for sure; born to roam the forests and plains. still, the sea suited her; the silver of her fur was somewhat reminiscent of moonlight on the darkened ocean, or of the cliffs that lined the shores.

"well, let's get on, then," aditya remarked, eyes moving toward the southwest. with a muffled snort, he flicked his paw and sent a small spray of water her way, splashing her neck and chest. he bounced a little, tail dragging in the surf. "get used to it. you won't stop smelling like salt for ages," adi laughed, eyes sparkling.

she danced away, succeeding only in kicking up more water and drenching her limbs, but ultimately avoiding Aditya's own splash, somewhat. she huffed through her nostrils, tail curled tight, responding lightly, I can get used to it with a small, much less impressive splash in his general direction, she moved back up the shore, picking up an easy trot as the pair headed south. the their right; the sea stretched endlessly; to their left, the contours of the land reflected the light of a dying day in a thousand different shades.