Blackwater Islands the frozen sea

her people always favored the sea, and she was no different. when the siren heard that her cousins ventured out, following alongside more distant relatives; ruò followed along their steps and done the same, leaving the comforts of home. however nothing had changed, even amongst the family she was silent. while she never calls out, the sea will always call out to her.

it took some time finding a path that was not of cliff, as the wang woman did not want to see her sea, but feel it underneath her fur, and feel the sand between her paws. feeling the starlight shine down to her pelt and shimmer her skin. the night was here, and no other night was perfect but this one. frozen as it was, she still slithered through the cold waters, body weaving through the waves to reach the rocks. they were unsuitable for life, soulless rocks surrounded by water. and there, did she lay, wet but satisfied, as the waves slightly brush up against ruò.

The fiery coated wolf pushed on, moving beyond the point which he would normally turn inland towards home. He had found the Ocean Plateau, but what else may be on shore? East he kept forth, if only to perhaps single out any other place which might pull his interest...or anyone, perhaps. 

He had not seen these little islands before,  scattered and broken, some small, some large and some just tiny. Wading through the shallows of the icy waters, he pranced amongst them happily, high-stepping towards one of the various slabs of earth within the seas. Though as he neared, wading in the waves, he realized it was not just a rock. An ashen colored lady lay atop it, basking in the twilight, one with both Mother Sea and Mother Moon.  

Oh! I am sorry to disturb, miss.

slowly did she turn to face the flaming foe, so out of place within the sea, and so strongly bright within these nights. a man of the sun, she so thought, and only nodded by his presence. silent was her fortitude, he would find rare words within ruò, her cold, pale blue eyes looked at him, watching unflinching. cold, just as these waters.

She turns, slowly, unfazed. Her cool, pale grey-blue eyes looking over him without seeming interest and her silence continues, only offering him a curt nod to his words. Often, if not met with spite, it was simple indifference which he was given by the women of his former home. Soon, it would likely be the same for those in his new one, should Ocean Breath Plateau prosper. 

With a dip of his muzzle in turn, he shifts in these cold waters and moves, wading towards another small rock, not far from her, and pulls himself up atop it. Green, slippery smooth mosses lie on it and si he did lie on them, settling just out of the waters while the moon glowed upon him.

he did not turn away from her indifference, and she continued watching with a minor interest. others normally would not enjoy the company of silence, but perhaps the fiery man enjoyed the quietness of the night as much as she did. she watched his fur swim within the small currents, as he continued to pull himself onto a nearby rock. when he laid, she turned away upwards.

eyes silently rolling as ruò would gaze at the patterns above, unknowingly finding one that reminded her of the sun counterpart, a lion in the sky.

Aiolos would look upon the main land, not far off, of course, though it reminded him of his time living on Kea Island when he was amongst the Nereides. Living on an island in this land would prove quite dangerous from what he had been warned, for these waters were far more violent then back home. Still, he couldnt help but think back to it. He didnt need the seclusion of an island to be happy. Setting on the beach, especially on the Plateau where he had the higher ground and plentiful hunting options... well, that would be perfect for him. 

He turns to his counterpart then, whom stares at the skies above happily. He watches, a small smile taking to his features and then... Is it home to you here, on these beaches?

she turned toward him, gently nodding. the beaches always been one, her skin always wet, and her scent always of salt, she may never part with the sea, and the sea will never part with her. she had no desire to go inland, to seek what she hasn't seen, as ruò was quaint to where she is.

her eyes went back, but this time she pointed with a paw upwards, and spoke to him. breaking her silence, "你." he was the leo constellation.

Silently, the dusty brown woman nods, agreeing that this was nothing less of home to her. Atop the desaturated brown rock, with the sands and the grey-blue color of the sea in this lighting, she looked as though she perfectly fit into this place. 

She looks back up then, lifting a slender limbs to the heavens and speaks. A word, a language which he did not know, but he looks upward, seeing the collection of stars and smiles. Though he did not know she meant to tell him that this collection of stars was as he, fiery and wild, he did not need to understand completely to enjoy their company together. 

A constellation. He remembered, @Tundra had taught him a bit about this. A friend of mine told me of these collections of stars and that they each had meaning. What is the name of this one? He speaks as fiery eyes fixate on the shaping of the stars she pointed towards. He did not know if she could speak his tongue, but maybe that could still find a means to understand each other.

he knew of what they were, but not what they stood for, especially the one who reminded her of the flaming wolf. a king amongst the forests, who was as raging as the flames they belong to, a lion, who owned the stars that belonged in the darkened sky, "leo." ruò replied, her ashened blue lowering back toward him.

"a lion."

A lion, she says - Leo. The only lion he had ever known was the mountain lions, usually found on the dryer slopes or red rocks. They were the largest cats he had ever seen. Powerful, bold and territorial, definitely something not to mess with. He had no clue she may have known of cats much, much larger then this. 

The collection of stars, burning ever brightly seemed even more so this clear night. His russet crown falls to see the woman on her perch meeting his attention once more. After another moment of silence and a sheepish grin, he looks back up, juttering his nose out to the left. And that group? What is that called? He questions curiously and hoping to here the odd tongue of his counterpart once more.

blue eyes followed to where he had located, to the left, beyond where the lion would be. however it was near the end to what they could see, to what would simply be known. there was one, however, which continued onwards to the endless sky, into the void that the two could not see. a long tail continued an expansion from the head, but it's star shone bright. no smile would appeared, but the tone of her voice slowly grew warmer over the fondness of the sharing of constellations.

"hydra."

Hydra... He spoke, looking with an intense gaze at the brightened stars out in the darkness of the sky. His fiery gaze narrowed, focusing. That's a beautiful name. He whispered, turning his attention then back towards the sooty brown and tan colored woman. With a dark crown, he wondered if she were related to the Nereides crone he had met once before. The female before him however, obviously had not lost her faith in the seas as the crone had. 

He is silent again for some time, his gaze moving between the brightly lit sky and the waves washing over the beach before them. Every so often he would steal a glance to the woman off to his side.

both falling to silence, and the stars shining bright while the waves gently hitting her ears.. ruò felt tired, felt calm at peace despite a stranger being near. but perhaps she thought of him as the leo of the sky, she felt of peace. her blue eyes were dawning down, and so was her head on the peaceful rock.. she was asleep.

He needed not speak to enjoy her company, especially in knowing that the seaside alone was enough to occupy him. In this setting, he was surrounded by both Mother Sea and Mother Moon and it brought him a sense of peace. Not to mention the fact that the exotic woman resting in the shallows with him both loved and seas and night skies as well, a daughter of the Mothers all the same.

When she stilled, falling to slumber, he smiled, head falling so throat and chin could rest on the cool rock he settled on, his forelimbs on either side of his cheeks. He watched her for a moment until he too fell asleep to the sound of the waves around him. 

When he woke, he would not know if she would be there, though hoped that some day, not far off, they would meet again.