Stavanger Bay dreams, like coins down a well

He led them up along the coast.

Though Everett’s path had ended in futility, Evander felt his brother’s pain as though it were his own. He did not mock his twin by choosing the way beside the sea. Evander had sensed the longing to stay even as Everett had handed the reins of their journey to him.

They could not stay, not in one place. That truly was futility. But they could still search the coastline, and why shouldn’t they? Tybault or Ophelia could be here, and it was easier to cross sandy shores than the mountains that seemed to divide the land, anyway.

And, of course, it ghosted his bother with something of a smile.

He could not burn that hope so quickly. Slower was better. Any faster, and it might ruin him.

They came to a pause at far reaching bay, and while Everett searched the higher hills for something to eat, Evander decided to scout the waters.

This can be deleted if you're not ready, but aaaahhhh I couldn't resist!!

He didn't stop at the island, as he'd planned. He'd meant to. But then he was there, at the shore just before the sand bridge, and he realized he just couldn't. Something had been rubbed raw within him, something that chafed and burned at the thought of seeing anyone at all.
There was no point in visiting a pretty girl if he was just going to be a downer the whole time. So he moved on, following the edges of the land in the opposite direction. It felt like wasting time on purpose. Maybe that was what he needed just now.
He didn't expect to see something familiar as he wandered. Someone familiar. That grey-on-gold fur, that slim dancer's build; it was impossible to mistake. Maybe someone less familiar with the twins would have had a hard time telling which one it was, but Tybault knew.
Evander? Was all he could say for a moment, when he was close enough. Then: What the fuck?

I am here for this!! <3

He had to admit it, the ocean was pretty. Pretty enough to distract him from any kind of hunt, and playful enough to have him snapping at the waves instead of chasing after anything of actual substance. If only the Gilded Sea had been like this! He remembered games in the tall grasses and dances in the pulse of the wind, but this water moved with a power like the wildfires. Yet there was no fear here. Perhaps a younger Evander might have even believed that in finding this place, they had reached Mother Rain's very own throne.

Evander's steps eased from play to a familiar dance he'd once helped orchestrate with Ophelia before the fires had stolen her spirit away. They were not better times, but in ways, they had been simpler. He kicked up the waters and churned up the sandy shore. One set of pawsteps, where he knew many more should be --

Evander?

The crash of sea water distorted Everett's voice. A few more steps and he'd greet his brother, unashamed that he'd given up the hunt for some good fun -

What the fuck?

What the fuck was right. That - wasn't Everett.

Earthy brown, with a gilded face. Eyes that had always judged him.

Tybault? Evander blinked, eyes wide, and recollections of Everett's vision flew through his mind. The ocean, the seabirds, a golden dance. Tybault. Here. Had he seen -- ?

Evander shook himself - of course not - and danced his way up the shoreline on sea-soaked limbs. Tybault! he said again, a laugh now in his voice as he let his brother's vision melt from his memory, and allowed Tybault to fill his centre stage, you're alive! he said, and waggled his brow at him, wholly in jest, and well enough, it seems, to throw off my groove!

Evander was dancing. In the water. Well, of course he was dancing, he'd always been a flowery fucker. He and Ophelia both. Tybault rolled his eyes, but he was grinning too, because now he was thinking of Ophelia and how much she would love to dance in the water too. She would have told him to lighten up, to sing for them.
And, well, he was a little glad to see Evander, too. Even if that meant Everett was skulking around somewhere nearby. Pffft. You really think I'd be the first to die? He eyed Evander, his expression making it clear who he thought would go first. Then he remembered Rose, and immediately sobered. I mean - well, you know what I mean. Anyway, uh.
That was when Tybault realized how much he was really feeling about this. He blinked, and suddenly his eyes felt warm. Fuck. No. He was not a crier. The tears faded almost instantly, but they'd been there for a moment, and no doubt Evander had seen.
Are you - did you follow me? He hated how vulnerable he sounded just then. He hated how much he wanted the answer to be yes.

He, too, first thought of Rose - not only his sibling, but his littermate. The one who had seemingly drawn the cosmological short straw between the three of them, in life and in death.

But life and loss were easier when you danced your way through, and Evander tried to lighten the heavy mood that so suddenly settled around them.

I know, I know, you mean dear old Ev, Evander made to sling his arm around his brother in a wolffish sort of side hug and nodded sagely, And I don’t blame you. I nearly drowned in a puddle on my way on over.

He hadn’t seen the tears in his brother’s eyes, but he heard them in his voice, and something in him broke. Of course, he knew Everett had come here for reasons beyond finding Tybault, but Evander told the truth of his own motivations when he said, Of course we followed you! loud, as always, Well, at least till we lost your trail. Felt a bit like a wild goose chase after that, but a Medeiros never gives up. Or… y’know, something like that. He grinned at his brother, and laughed, boy, you don’t know how good it is to see you again! I missed your pretty mug!

I came up with this on the fly so it can absolutely be changed if you don't like it!

He'd forgotten how much Evander was like... well, like Rose. It was funny, really. He didn't think either of them had ever known it, and he wasn't sure he would ever have the heart to break it to Evander himself, but the two had always been as alike in personality as Everett and Evander were in appearance. Slight differences, here and there, but largely the same.
It was a shame they'd never really gotten to know each other.
He laughed when Evander joked about drowning in a puddle, and laughed harder when he said a Medeiros never gives up, and thought that both of those things were absolutely ridiculous but absolutely accurate. He did not laugh when his brother called him pretty, though. I'm not the pretty one, He grumbled, but it was good-natured (for Tybault, anyway). Unsure what to do with the hug, he half-returned it for a moment and then simply let it happen. It felt weird. Joking was easier. 'A Medeiros never gives up!' Our new family motto? Do you think we're cool enough for a family motto?
It was starting to really sink in: the answer was yes, they were here for him, for Ophelia. But Tybault didn't want to deal with that just yet. He didn't think he'd ever spoken with Evander like this, not for more than a few moments before they each seemed to remember where they stood with one another. He wanted to let this last a little longer.