The beach of Mount Aris was a breathtaking sight.
Rolling waters as far as the eye could see, lit from beneath by the glow of Seaquestria. A bed of sand to rest upon, lit and warmed by the bonfires that were constantly lit upon its surface, as well as the constant movement and energy of the residents and tourists upon it.
On a usual day.
Today, however, was not a normal day. It was, in fact, the first day of the Freedom Celebration, a time in which all creatures in Mount Aris were down below the sea to thank the ocean for its protection.
All except one.
A lonely blue griffon lay upon the cold sand, lit only by moonlight while languidly sighing as he stared at the warm and inviting glow beneath the water. And yet, as the tide rolled in towards him, he cringed and pulled away from it. His wings flapped, forcing him into the air and away from the encroaching tide.
And as the tide settled, so did the griffon. Just a few inches back, hoping the tide wouldn’t reach.
As he landed, a shape poked its way out of the water. A head, stallion-esque in nature, with bright blue eyes that stared directly at the griffon.
“Gallus?” The newcomer asked with a giggle that infected his voice. “Where’ve you been?”
“Hi, Terramar.” Gallus said with a sigh, pursing his beak and waving the hippogriff’s sentiment off with a claw. “Oh, you know, just chilling. Enjoying the nightlife.” He gestured broadly to the nothing going on around him.
Terramar made a face at this. Finding a smile again, he let out another giggle, waving a hoof towards him and the ocean. “Well come on! If it’s the nightlife you wanna see, it doesn’t get much better than down here!”
Gallus’ wings fluttered as, for a moment, he considered joining Terramar in the water. But as the tide rolled in again, and he skittered back with a yelp.
Making another face, Terramar moved towards the shore. With a flicker of magic from his necklace, he shifted to his landwalking form and bounded up the beach towards Gallus. Catching his shoulder with a claw, he looked at him with a bit of concern. “Woah, you alright? The water’s… not supposed to be that cold.” Dipping a claw into the ocean, he hummed softly. “Maybe I’m just used to it.”
“Y-yeah, cold. That’s it.” Gallus sighed. He plopped back down on the ground, crossing his forelegs and drawing small circles into the sand with his claw. “Just too cold to swim.”
Settling down next to him, keeping a respectful distance between them both, Terramar shot him a gentle grin. “Oh come on, the water’s nice.” He giggled as he traced a swirl into the sand next to Gallus’ drawing. “And everyone’s waiting for you. Silver’s been begging me to go out and come looking for you.”
“I’ll tell you what I told her.” Gallus said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll be down after I take care of a few things.”
“Well…” Terramar paused, taking a look around the expanse of nothing happening around the two of them. “You’re definitely taking care of something. It looks important.”
“It is.” Gallus groaned before going back to his circles. His wings twitched nervously, flapping against his sides.
A soft silence fell between the two of them, backdropped by the sound of waves crashing in front of them.
“It’s, uh, not the temperature, is it?” Terramar asked finally after a few minutes.
A loud and unbidden laugh forced its way out of Gallus’ throat, followed by him rolling his eyes. “What was your first clue, Sherlock?”
Terramar’s eyes brightened. “Oh! It was the way that the Sequestrian sea is always magically warm and that…” He stopped, noticing the smirk on Gallus’ face, then blushed and looked down between his claws. “That was sarcasm, wasn’t it?”
Another laugh from Gallus, this time followed by a sigh. “Bingo. My one form of communication. I’m surprised Silverstream didn’t warn you.” He looked towards the ocean, its rolling tide, and cringed when it drew close to him.
Gallus’ claws dug into the sand beneath him.
Only to have one taken up by Terramar’s. Both warm claws wrapped around Gallus’ cold claw. They held gently but firmly, only to be matched a few moments later by a tight squeeze from Gallus.
Another moment of silence.
“I’m not really big on water.” Gallus finally sighed out. “I’m basically half cat, so I guess it makes sense I don’t vibe too much with water.”
“But you’re also a bird like all us hippogriffs.” Terramar said with a soft smile. “And you can be fishy like us too, and us fishies love partying deep in the ocean.”
A shudder ran down Gallus’ spine as he gripped Terramar’s claw tight for a moment. “Nope! No. Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “I’m good up here. Dry and, you know… safe.”
Terramar scoffed, a smile still on his face. “Oh come on, the ocean isn’t that bad.”
Gallus briefly gave Terramar a look.
Looking away moments later, Gallus let out a deep sigh. “It’s terrifying. The way it’s all so massive, but completely surrounds you. No matter where you go, it just consumes you and I just…” He trailed off with another sigh, this one more sharp and shuttery than before.
“You shut down and freak out.” Terramar said softly. He let out a gentle sigh, scratching at the sand. “Then you get that pit in your chest, and you suddenly can’t breathe?.”
Gallus nodded weakly. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“I get that too.” Terramar admitted, his smile faltering a bit. “N-not about the ocean, obviously, but with a lot of things. Life, usually.”
“And how do you get over it?” Gallus asked.
“It’s hard, but it always helps to have a friend.” Terramar gripped Gallus’ claw tighter for a moment
Another silence fell between the two as they stared out at the ocean together.
