Aornos

Chapter 2~ Red in the Water

The air was thick, a heavy concoction of lazily floating water particles that stuck to everything and sutured it, was both good and damp. These water droplets would gather upon one's face until they became proper raindrops and rolled annoyingly down the face, and to top it all off, it was very warm. The lake steamed and shimmered in what light could breech the nearly opaque white blanket that encompassed the world. However, these conditions where perfect for those wishing to go unnoticed, like thieves, or, in this instance, Sea Storm.

Fog kept other at bay, that meant the lake would be all his. Yes, after school, when everyone else headed him to wait out this undesirable weather, Sea Storm did as he always did. Even Fire Blitz didn't want to be out in the disgusting conditions to torment him. Today was a good day, as Sea Storm sweat uncomfortably and scratched at the clunks of wet fur that formed across his body, he smiled, because he was alone.

Or so he thought.

Through the airborne sea of white, another of colour shot through, just as Sea Storm entered his small little clearing through the course bushes. Somehow this spot pushed through the fog greater than the sun itself, yet this was a vastly different colour and much closer to the ground, in fact it seemed to rest upon it. Sea Storm froze in his tracks as he saw this spot, fear latching onto him like some hungry beast, yet the sensation was only brief, here, with the lake nearby he had courage. He felt neither the warmth of the day nor the cold sting of fear, only a steadiness that flowed into him like water, his senses came alive, he felt every grain of sand underneath his hooves, grinding and rubbing against one another with every subtle shift he made. Every droplet of water as it touched his flesh, he felt his fur absorb most of it and the rest fill his open pores. His eyes widened and for him the white sheet rose, he could see clearly even though no such thing happened, that red spot was joined by other colours, light pink fur, ruby eyes, small little freckles around the mouth and nose.

It was the red filly.

That confidence Sea Storm once had was gone in an instant, replaced by utter terror. His senses remained but not even the indomitable waves of the lake could hold his courage against the unstoppable and unbreakable fact of the little red filly, sitting there, watching the lake just like Sea Storm had done every day for the vast majority of his life. It left him speechless, his mouth open in sheer utter disbelieve at what he was seeing, the panic was there too, why was she there? Had she noticed him going to the lake so consistently that she found his hiding spot? Was she here to torment him? Assure that he could never feel secure nor safe at this place again? Assure that the solidity of the lake was lost to him? All these thoughts were terrifying and they floated around Sea's brain and made his head feel as heavy as the warm damp air. As he stood there like a fool, it was only a matter of time before Red noticed him, which she did.

"Oh, hello," she said, immediately giving Sea that cute smile that burst through his barriers like an angry dragon and directly attacked his weakest points. "Didn't see you there."

"I... Uh... Yeah, uh, hm, uh, hi?" Sea Storm stammered, one could've sworn there was steam coming from his cheeks was it not for the fog that already shrouded them both.

"I guess you like the lake too, huh?" She was still smiling, Sea Storm didn't like it, but he did, but he didn't but agh!

"Uh, yeah, I do..." Smooth

"I come here sometimes when I need to think, I don't know, it's just really nice and calm here," Red giggled a bit, a bubbly light sound that carried far on the air and made Sea feel like he was safe. "That probably sounds dumb."

"N-no, I get it," Sea assured her. "I come here all the t-time... Everyday more l-like."

"Glad you understand..." Red paused. "You're Sea Storm right? You sit in front of me during class?"

"Y-yeah," Sea was still blushing, he really didn't know why. "Uh, s-sorry, I don't know your name."

"That's okay, I'm Rose Blossom," she said with a smile. Sea Storm frowned a bit, in his head 'Rose Blossom' had always been Red, and now staring at her cute face he couldn't think of her as anything else. No, she was Red, that's what he was going to call her.

"Can I just call you 'Red'?" Sea blurted out without thinking. I meant in my head you idiot! "T-that's just what I call you in my head."

Red laughed again, that was a good sign, or at least Sea hoped so. Once she quieted down she took a quick step towards Sea Storm, within the timespan of a breath she was very close to him. Sea's immediate reaction was to panic and to run, no one could enter what he deemed his personal space, it was unseemly, unprecedented, yet this little red filly had a natural talent of taking what Sea Storm thought he knew about the world around him and dissolving it, leaving him flustered and speechless.

"Fine, but I'm gunna call yoooouuuu... Blue!" Red said, giving Sea a playful shove in the shoulder. Sea barely noticed as he stared wide-eyed at the filly before him, at this range he could make out every detail of her face, the little flecks of gold in her eyes, her uneven teeth, each string of hair. Her grin that disarmed him, broke down his barriers, it was frustrating, why was this small inconsequential filly able to so easily pierce into his very psyche with nothing but a giggle and a smile while a hundred others had been unable to do so with all the words and angry hooves in the world. Sea Storm didn't understand.

"O-kay," Sea Storm said dumbly.

"Great!" Red exclaimed.

"Y-yeah..."

"Hey, you wanna get some ice cream? My mama gave some allowance," Red offered.

"S-sure!" Sea Storm said, his rehearsed politeness stopping him from actually assessing the offer. As Red pulled him up the hill, he spared a look back at the lake, the water bubbled a bit as if to say goodbye. When they reached the top of the hill, the fog began to retreat, a sucking sensation shivered across Sea's body as the moisture escaped his fur and as the day cooled down.

Red dragged Blue to the ice cream parlour, Sea wondered how he had never noticed it before, then again he never went anywhere besides school, his house, and the lake. It was a quaint little shack of a building with garish white paint that was peeling and crusted over with sea salt, faded signs on the walls advertised the diversity of flavours one could purchase and somber letters atop the window read 'Silver Whisper's Wholesome Ice Cream'. Silver Whisper himself was a stallion of about eighty, but to Red and Blue he could've and might as well have been a thousand years old. With grey faded fur that may have been white once, brown eyes that spoke of eons but with a kindly light that made one feel both small and very important. He didn't talk much, in fact he didn't talk at all, only smiled toothlessly at Red when she ordered for both of them. He dutifully made up their cones as if it was the most important task of his life, and when the two children thanked him one could see that it had made the elder's day just to hear that.

Sea Storm thought he was creepy, he said as much to Red when they sat down at a nearby bench, the sun was already breaking through its cloudy chains and heating the earth around them. Great wafts of moisture cascaded upwards into the sky like rain in reverse, it would soon form clouds of its own and come back down as proper precipitation, a cycle Sea Storm appreciated.

"Oh, but he's really nice!" Red responded at Sea Storm's comment.

"Y-yeah, but he makes me uncomfortable," Sea admitted.

"Mm... Do I make you uncomfortable?" Red asked, leaning in with keen interest.

Sea Storm actually had to ask himself that question, the simplest answer was yes but to say that would lack nuance. Yes, this little red filly made him uncomfortable, but not like the creepy ice cream stallion did, or how anyone else did, those people made him afraid, made him want to run and hide. Red did no such thing, she made his chest tighten, his cheeks burn, his voice became louder with her but he stammered more, these affects along with the question presented only made Sea Storm yet more confused. He didn't understand, he hated not understanding.

"N-no, well, n-not really," Sea stammered, it was really the best answer he could give.

"Then why do you stammer so much around me?" Red asked, tilted her head cutely.

"B-because you're cute," Sea blurted and immediately regretted it, what? How? Why'd he say that?! This was a source of not only anger but frustration for Sea, his usual control and mask he put on was obsolete in the presence of Red. Now he'd gone and embarrassed himself, she was probably going to laugh at him, ridicule him, tell everyone who would listen about how pathetic he was which would open the floodgates of torment. Red did laugh, or rather, she giggled, that high clear sound that made Sea feel at ease despite his anxious terror, a small blush was on Red's pink cheeks as well, she was flattered?

"I think you're cute too, Blue!" Red said happily, and she leaned forward, Sea Storm didn't have time to react. Red had vanilla ice cream coating her snout, it was the smell that reached him first, the cold aroma of the frozen desert coupled with a cool breeze. Then came the warm, the heat that radiated from Red like she was the sun itself, it mingled with the heat of Sea Storms cheek. Soon he felt both the heat and the coolness as Red gently pressed her lips against his cheek, with that strange hot-cold sensation that came with it, leaving a wet spot where her spit and some vanilla ice cream were left behind. Sea Storm was ice cream, frozen, unable to move, and yet with no form, no solidity, today was a day which anything could happen it seemed. As in the last few minutes or so a red filly had shattered everything a blue colt ever knew and thought possible and it was all Blue could do to keep it all together, he should panic, he should run, he should do anything, yet all he was capable of was dumbly sitting there and accepting the situation.

Sea Storm didn't understand.

"We should hang out some more, Blue," Red said happily as she retreated, she munched down the rest of her ice cream. "You're fun!"

"Uh, y-yeah, uh, huh?"

"Anyway, I gotta go, my mama doesn't want me out so late, bye Blue!" Red jumped down and gave him a wave and a wink before trotting off.

"Y-yeah, g-goodbye," Sea Storm said dumbly, relying purely on vocal instincts at this point as all cognitive functions shut down. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity, in reality it was more like fifteen minutes, staring dumbly ahead but not really seeing anything. The world seemed bright, the colours sharper, the smells hit him hard, scents of vanilla, chocolate, and mint mixed with distant aroma's of pine and salt combined with a musty smell of damp grass that was quickly becoming dry in the evening sun. All this information and yet Sea Storm's brain registered none of it, not even when Silver Whisper wobbled over and collected Sea's long-melted chocolate ice cream, he passively cleaned the mess left behind and gave the small blue child his toothless grin filled with knowledge before leaving.

Eventually, Sea Storm did move, he reached upwards to touch his cheek upon the spot where Red had made contact. The area was crusted over with a disgusting mesh of dried sugar and cream and saliva that clung to his facial fur, and yet Sea Storm had no desire to wipe it off. In fact he felt great, amazing even, his breath came in strong and clear and his eyes were two wide disks. He felt alive, awakened, a sensation not too dissimilar to when he was alone at the lake.

The lake.

He had left so abruptly, so suddenly, he wasn't able to have his usual moment of quiet reflection. For some unfathomable reason Sea Storm felt an obligation to do so, it was if the lake was a person and he had wronged them. His eyes turned towards the lake, the distant scent of salt and moisture lingering in his nostrils, Sea Storm left his seat at Silver Whisper's Ice Cream, temporarily forgetting both Red and the mark she left behind. The lake called to him, he could think of nothing else.

Down the hill he went in an almost dreamlike state, Sea Storm pushed through the tree branches with dumb determination. They whipped and pulled at his fur, some actually drew blood, he did not notice, he was alive, more than ever before. More than any other casual visit to the lake, more than the red filly made him feel, the colours almost burned into his brain, he could taste the salt in the air, the moisture, the water. Oh, the water, as Sea Storm burst through the bushes he could hear it, a rushing endless source of power and ancient mysteries, it wasn't just a single body but a thousand individual particles working in tandem together to create an entirely separate world from that on the surface.

Sea Storm didn't stop when he reached the sandy beach, no he kept going, drawn ever forward by some unidentifiable force. When the cool water kissed his flesh it made him burst inside with energy, a crackling sensation could be felt from the point of contact to the rest of his body. Slowly but with a mindless determination Sea Storm slowly walked further and further into Aornos, the water came to his knees, then his chest, it tinkled his chin and without a moment's hesitation he submerged his head.

Sea Storm didn't breath, in fact he felt no need to, rather he floated forward gently carried by what momentum there was from his last step upon the land. It was dark, or at least it would've been to anyone else. To Sea it was as bright as day, every floating participle was a star whether it be sand or simple debris, each fish shimmered with a rainbow light, it was almost blinding, overwhelming. A presence all around him, undaunted, unchallenged, it filled his ears and body, an energy like none other, it sparked like lighting across his spine and the world melted away before him.

Huge waves beat against black rocks, throwing up huge puddles of foam that cascaded into the sand. The foam gathered and sparked with energy as a form raise out of it, bubbling water that froze on the spot into ice, it stood there for a moment before it was joined by another huge gargantuan firm. The huge sea creature beached itself with ease and let out a long mournful cry, it was like a huge fish, with a thick black tail, large bulbous head and eyes as big as a fully grown stallion with brown irises. It let out another cry, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. From its maw came a mist that lingered in the air briefly before falling onto the water form. Detail came onto the form, fur, flesh, eyes, ears, a tail and a mane. The newborn Sea Storm fell to his side in the beach as the sea creature shuffled its massive weight, shaking the land as it did so, before returning to the sea.

Like rain washing away filth the vision came away and Sea Storm returned to reality as his head broke the surface. He did not gasp for breath, he didn't need it, instead he laughed. A loud, carrying, joyous, and slightly mad laughter. He weakly swam to shore and dragged himself onto the sand before collapsing, he shook violently and felt slightly sick in the stomach as all the energy had been drained from him in an instant. Yet Sea Storm had never felt better, he laughed and laughed, rolling back and forth on the ground, his fur becoming caked with sand and dirt. His mother would later question why he was so filthy but that didn't matter to Sea at this moment, nothing did, not school, not his worries nor anxieties, or even Red who's mark had been washed from Sea Storm's cheek.

Sea Storm didn't even notice the sensation from his rump, nor the flash that came from there. Not even the three blue wave lines that appeared on Sea Storm's flanks, no, during his ecstatic laughter he did not notice when he got his Cutie Mark.