Dragoncrest Cliffs Upon the seas

Etienne found solace in the silence that was away from his family. Though he loved them, gods he loved them so much it hurt. Sometimes, they were too loud, their emotions to many, and it jumbled and confused him. He wanted to make sure everyone was happy, but he could feel Mireille's stress at something, Sobo's quiet steady anger, the despair that lay heavy like a blanket on Njord at the best of times. He could feel this, and it bothered the boy. So he sought a place to just exist. Where the vibrations that filled the ground beneath him was nothing more than Prey and silt.

@Rhaegal he thought on the new man that had made his home in their shores, and the other one. The wolf that Suzu had brought into the fold, the Rykor. He didn't know how he felt about others who were not family making their home here, but he supposed it was to be expected. Njord and Meerkat were not technically family. But they were to him.

rhaegal wanders the shores of the cliffs; focusing on the mercurial lullaby of the sea as the low tide licked at the sands. he weaves along knots of seaweed and discarded bits of saltbleached driftwood, pawprints erasing the little pitter-patter of sandpiper's prints in the sand before the frothing water rushes up to erase them both.

it's a quiet day, broken only by the lonely call of a circling gull above.

up ahead, a figure catches rhaegal's eye: though, embarrassingly, it is only as he drew nearer that he realized it was a bairn and not a mound of sand.

a low chuff is offered to the young bairn to garner attention.

Etienne had been so motionless in his silence, that he felt as if he was one with the surf. That was until he felt another presence and lifted small masked head. Golden eyes cutting across the beach and waves, to come upon the darker and older male.

He was given a chuff and Eti dipped his muzzle down.

You be R'aegal, yes? I be Etienne, but you can jes call me Eti, everyone does.

Eti returned his gaze back to the sea. He felt as if he needed to fill the silence, but he didn't know this wolf enough to speak at length about anything. At least not yet, because he didn't know how the wolf was.

aye, rumbles rhaegal at his approach. i'm rhaegal. he stifles the worst of his surprise, sure that word has gotten around and beyond that has participated in a pack event where surely the young lad had heard his name. he forgets, strangely enough, that sapphique is a very tight-knit pack, composed mostly of family.

nice tae meet ya, eti. rhaegal says with a bow of his head. what brings ya out to tae shore? he asks lightly, conversationally.

A small smile curled around his maw. He had an accent like, Njord. He liked that accent. He had one of his own, but there was something different about this one. It reminded him of something and yet it was it's own thing as well.

I be escapin' Eti says quietly as he continues to stare off into the sea foam. The wind brushing along his fur.

He meets the other's gaze for a brief moment. Too many vibrations wit' my family. I needed to clear my 'ead. Solace in silence, but you be okay. Just one. You like it 'ere so far, Mr. R'aegal?

escapin'. murmurs rhaegal, tone contemplative. it seemed such a thoughtful concept for one that rhaegal assumes is so young. but then again: hadn't he strove to get away as a bairn? from his parents? from the other bairn's?

s' good to escape once and a while. rhaegal agrees, gaze peering out to the waves. there was something that he found incredibly soothing about the sea: even when it was at it's most turbulent. he would always love the sea, as mercurial as it was in it's nature.

aye, rhaegal responds with a sage nod. i like it here a lot.

Eti nodded his head and held up a paw, then another. I can feel vibrations. Yer's, Manman's, Suzu, the eart', everyting. It is sometimes too loud, too, too.

He frowned in thought. Too much? His tone questioning if that was the right words.

Eti nodded his head. Yes. I love my family, and I want dem 'appy, but sometimes I want it so much. I can't let dem do t'ings dey need too.

A furrow in his brow. I don't let dem do deir own lessons. Granme Roz, says dis is not good. Dat I need to let dem make dey mistakes. So w'en i can't 'andle it. I leave for a time.

Etienne smiled out over the sea. He too loved the sea where they made home. It's a good place to leave. I'm glad you be 'appy 'ere.

the young boy is wise, rhaegal deduces. much wiser than rhaegal was at his age. it was humbling to witness, to hear him speak of vibrations. seven seas, there was a good chance the boy was wiser than rhaegal was now. you're a wise lad, for one so young. rhaegal mumurs, wondering how many times he's been told that. if being told that was the reason that he seemingly strove for unrealisitic perfection.

it's normal tae want tae protect your kin, lad. rhaegal says; contemplative and attentive even as his gaze lingers upon the ever mercurial waves of the sea. but you cannae keep them from living their lives. for experiencing things: good or bad. they gotta make their mistakes, a soft pause, a crinkle of his eyes. and so do you.

he hadn't asked for wisdom but is was offered softly all the same: for the lad to take or not take.

aye, agrees the leviathan. reminds me of my birth place.

Etienne often felt that he was too old for his age. And a lot of that had to do with the trauma of his brother getting taken away by an eagle. Granted he was fine now, but he didn't remember them. And his entire family had been absolutely grief stricken and listless. It had a way of changing the way a child thought of things.

Eti shrugged. Don't know about dat. I jest listen.

The man reiterated what his granme had said, and he frowned. A sigh stirred past his lips and he nodded. I know, but it's not very easy to do so. Especially, I worry about Suzu all de time. All de time.

W'at was your birt' place like?

well, you're certianly wiser than i was at your age. rhaegal offers in a low chuckle that rumbles in his chest. aye, it's never easy. he agrees solemnly, thinking largley of the coup. it hadn't been his place to intervene and so: he hadn't, even if it had killed him. even though it still haunted his slumbering hours.

it's nae easy, but sometimes by interferin' rifts are caused. those arenae easy tae repair. spoken from one who had experience in that particular area.

my birth place? it was an island far away from here, rhaegal says. `twas like sapphique. nae a whole lot of assimiliating i needed tae do.

Eti chuckled. No. I jest pay attention dat's all. I don't want to upset manman or granme anymore dan I 'ave to. So I jest watch.

That was the truth of it. He didn't like to see them upset. So he was the epitome of good boy. Or he tried to be at least.


Really so Suzu mig't 'ate me someday if I interfere too much?

Eti looked out over the land and then back tot he man. You from w'ere Mr. Njord was?

rhaegal disagrees with etienne's humble protest. for a cub: he was pretty mature. but, he does not argue for he suspects that any further attempts might very well lead to that path.

at the boy's question, rhaegal visibly hesitates, tilting his head left and then right, shoulders rising and falling in the deep inhale and resulting exhale.

maybe. he offers. he doesn't know the boy's siblings and doesn't feel comfortable saying for sure. but he draws from experience: he, personally didn't like being told not to do something, even if it was born of worry for him.

you couldn't make someone do something you wanted to do. you could try to advise them but there was a fine line between advice and force. i cannae say for sure, he offers, deliberating. it's ok tae advise, he gives voice to his thoughts. but be conscious of the difference between advising and trying tae force.

this line oft crossed by his father, along with his grandfather valtyr's death murder was what had ultimately driven rhaegal away from the island.

aye, rhaegal murmurs in confirmation, voice a low rumble as he tries to push those memories away. njord's my uncle.

Etienne would have liked to have a little more fun like his sister and brother could do. But there was a semblance of control he didn't like to let loose. It was hard for him. He had been able to as a very little pup, but after Requiem was taken. Well then he just couldn't fathom anymore. He wanted to keep everyone safe and happy.

I just worry. Did you know my brother was taken from us, by a big eagle! We found 'im alive a long w'ile later. 'e doesn't even remember us. And I always just afraid somet'ing else gonna 'appen. Do you know 'ow sad my manman and granme's and Suzu was so scared.

Eti frowned and shook his head. But You is probably rite.

Mr. Njord is nice. Lots of de women were mad at 'im for leavin' but it sounds like it wasn't 'is fault. But dat dere is grown up stuff. Dat little boys s'ouldn't put deir noses in.

he was a serious lad with a lot of trauma: something that rhaegal himself could relate to, in a way. he had no siblings so, on that respect, he couldn't totally understand. his littermates had either been born still or hadn't lived past their first few days. the seadragon is quiet for a long moment, considering his words. his initial urge to speak sounded callous, a little too much like his father for his liking, so he takes the extra time to think about it.

i dinnae ken that, speaks rhaegal. that's terrible. he murmurs, tone apologetic; sympathetic. a brief moment, punctuated by a sharp, hissing breath as flashbacks of seeing his grandfather's broken and bloodied body; a successful coup and the loss that had filled rhaegal with such rage and sorrow.

a slow blink towards the sea, restless as she always is. you cannae stop bad things from happenin'. nae all the time. rhaegal says softly, treading carefully. it's nae fair and it hurts, but life ...it's full'a bad and good things.

a silence that feels awkward to rhaegal cracks from the seadragon to the lad. lulled into obedience by the ever present roar of the sea. in this, rhaegal finds comfort, as wild and mercurial as the sea was.

aye. agrees rhaegal with a small twinkle in his eye. i dinnae ken him very well, but i'm hopin' tae change that.

Etienne was glad he had siblings and he knew he'd probably have more. And if he was honest he couldn't wait to meet them. It was going to be the best time. He'd be able to take care of them, keep them safe.

Eti smiled at the way the other spoke. He liked the accent and the way words fell from his lips. Like a hug. His own accent was that of his granme's and manman's mixed together with his own words.

Eti nodded. That is what Granme Roz tol' me. She say dat, but not like dat, but i knew w'at 'er meant.

Eti smiled up at the male and nodded. I 'ope you do.

she's a smart woman. rhaegal tells the lad; absently but truthfully, all the same. the seadragon is content to let silence linger between them, offering a small, half smile to etienne.

aye, me as well. is all the sveijarn offers in regards to getting to know his uncle better. no doubt he would, with time. another deep breath is taken, salty sea brine stinging his nose.

well, drawls rhaegal. i'll let you get back to your escaping. a boyish grin is offered, and if the lad lets him, a soft bump of his shoulder against etienne's.

Eti agreed. All the women in his damily werr smart, specifically the Matriarchs.

Eti nodded. T'ank you. he would allow the bump and he'd move on to escape the wonders and sounds of the world. Though his mind would also be chewing on all he had been told.