Kintla Flatlands Threw you the obvious, and you flew with it on your back

Set between BDP and RBF, making some vague assumptions. This is a spree for @Perseus, but @Makan is welcome to make a cameo appearance <3

The days rolled on. She did not die.

And if she was not meant for death, there was nothing else to do but pick herself up and go on. So she did. Stumbling and half-crazed, her furs disheveled, her eyes dimmed — but still so full of determination. Always that, if nothing else.

She was a Sea-Snake, after all.

And she thought she could smell the sea here. Alara drew to a halt, testing the wind as a hopeful light returned to her eyes.

Mountains in the northeast had course corrected his travels; before he knew it, he had hit another range further south. He had tried to avoid climbing them because he knew the danger they posed for even the most experienced lone and wary travelers, though with the towering stone wall in sight he knew he was faced with no other option. Returning to the coast was his priority. The ocean was his blood — now more than anything else.

. . .

Three days he spent in preparation, feeding and resting at the foot of the mountainside. The ascent would be treacherous, though it was the descent that concerned him. Loose stone and poor footing had stolen an uncle, one of the most skilled voyagers he'd had the privilege of working under.

Perseus' life was priceless. He could not afford to exchange it now.

He found relief on flat plains after no such threat had appeared to confirm his caution. Paused and panting, he surveyed the land before him and scouted what appeared to be some sickly, lethargic thing.

Good morn and good tidings to you, he called, wary though not yet on edge.

Truth be told, she scarcely saw him.

Alara blinked as the dark-coated stranger entered her focus — and nearly chose to pass over his existence entirely. Thus far no one had been able to take her to the sea. What were they worth to her, then? Another reason to weep?

Yet something in his eyes stopped her. Pretty blue eyes. She blinked again.

Do you know the way to the sea? Scarcely more than a rasping whisper. There was no energy in her for niceties. He would take her to the sea, or she would leave him behind as she had all the rest.

She glazed over him as if he were not there and a chill swept down the length of his spine. She was sick, in some way, whether it be of her body or her head. When she caught his gaze, a flicker of recognition sparked alight.

She was a Sea-Snake. And he knew her affliction.

Despite their appearance of neutrality, Tangaroa always felt fiercely protective of the Sea-Snakes; at least the ones who were in their favor. He felt it stir somewhere deep within the corridors of his heart.

The sea is north. He tipped his nose in that direction. He could smell it from here when the breeze carried it inland. We are not far.

He lowered his head with a wave of his tail and took a cautious step closer. I am going there now. Travel with me.

We are not far.

She could have wept; might have, were she not the daughter of sirens, a creature above the sorrows of the flesh and ever-burdened to walk through every storm with head held high. A broken heart might bring her to tears, but never the threat of her own death. Never that.

A Sea-Snake did not fear death.

She had to remember that.

Alara nodded once, chin lifting almost imperceptibly. North. My name is Alara, She murmured, a moment of lucidity breaking through. Dulled as they were, her eyes were hot with the pride and determination of a people that would never truly die. She did not know if his words were truth — but what option did she have now except to follow?

Her shadow; she wondered after him now, wondered if he would curse his failure when he knew what he had lost. But she would have her freedom. Alara was dizzied at the notion. She drew in a slow breath and stepped toward the man with eyes like an autumnal sea. Wherever he led, she would follow.

When she did not snap at his presence, Percy drew his head high and surveyed the valley once more.

That forest cuts straight through the mountain. Beyond it lies the sea. He knew this only because he had chosen to scale the wall behind him; perhaps there was a greater reason for this detour than he had initially believed.

Alara Sea-Snake, he assumed, my name is Perseus Tangaroa. Generations of politics, pride, and freedom laid the foundation of their relationship. Already, he felt like she was more than a stranger.

Let us go.

Alara Sea-Snake.

Her lips parted, a correction lingering on her tongue: Cyanea. It faded just as quickly. A new light glimmered behind the ametrine eyes as she studied him. Tangaroa, he named himself. Perseus Tangaroa.

And as his ancestors before him, he had seen the true soul of her. Sea-Snake.

Alara nodded again, this time letting the tension fall away from her shoulders. He would take her to the sea. She would be safe with him.

For now, she could do nothing but cling to those thoughts.