Secrets in the Gardens || Private Rp

Life and events had been weighing heavily upon the Talori Sage, and still were. Between the attack, the Torrine encampment, the trial...the stallion seemed to have an ever present low grade headache, and a tension note between his shoulders. With a bit of help, he had begun sleeping better, which had improved his health greatly, but he still wasn't at his best.

So when he had received Corrine's invitation to meet her down in Kiephis, away from the hustle and problems of the world on land, he had heaved quite the sigh of relief alone in his office. It would be good to get away for a couple of days, a brief respite from his duties while there was a bit of a lull, and the Council could handle whatever popped up, until an emissary came to fetch him back if it was urgent enough.

Aqua gaze peered through the water, tail shifting back and forth slowly through the water, form more relaxed than it had been in some while. By the Wave Mother, it was good to be back beneath the waves, and in such tranquility as the gardens of Kiephis offered. And then there was Corrine. A small smile appeared on lips, almost unknown to the wearer, as she came into view, turned away from him but studying the flora and fauna of this garden.

Ah this garden, it held such pleasant memories of a time when things had been so utterly simple. Things might be more complicated now, but at least a few things had returned to somewhat of the way they were. After all, he and Corrine had reconnected again, and that had done his heart good. Dealing with politics, he didn't have many friends he could trust implicitly, outside of Thaumas, Eve, and Hawkeye. Most of the Council were good acquaintances, but he wasn't sure he would deem any of them 'friend'. Especially great friend.

"Corrine, it is good to see you again," Rycaron called softly, the small smile upon his face as he dispensed with the usual Talori formalities, and dipped his head in greeting first. It wasn't needed here, and wasn't that also a breath of fresh air -- or sweet salt water in this case.

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When the bright smile lit up the even more beautiful face, the stallion could feel his heart miss a beat. He hadn't had that reaction since he was a teenager, and around this very same equine. It brought back the memories of effortless companionship, friendship, and the promise of more. All three had dwindled over the years, but being here, being back in touch with Corrine...it made him think. Of the what ifs, they could have beens...what might still be. He chided himself for those thoughts, thinking they were silly. It had been decades, and they were in their forties. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean much, Thaumas and Nagisa seemed quite taken with each other, and Thaumas had mentioned he was thinking about marriage...

No, no, he mustn't get lost in those thoughts and day dreams. After all, even though he had been married to his work and had never sought out a marriage after their engagement had ended, that didn't mean that Corrine was in the same place. Surely she had had many a suitor proffered, and while she hadn't mentioned it in any of their letters, perhaps that was because it wasn't official yet. After all, someone so full of life, passionate about her craft, sweet and beautiful wouldn't remain unmarried forever. Not unless there was something wrong. But that was silly, this was Corrine.

The hippocampus focused his thoughts back firmly on the present, not what the past and his heart whispered to him about what the future could be. "Of course, I would not miss this invitation, and it was the perfect excuse to slip away for a few days," Rycaron replied, alluding that he had, indeed, been busy, but nothing was so pressing that it couldn't be set aside for this little trip. "Rest is good, and I will admit only in your confidence that I have had a plague of awful headaches and knots due to everything going on. This was quite the welcome respite," he added, warm eyes turning to survey the garden about them.

"It really has grown and changed. The gardeners here are doing a wonderful job, it is so peaceful and restful...truly the Wave Mother's paradise, if ever one were to be found."

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At the gentle nudge, Rycaron felt his heart betray him once again, as it's beating stuttered before resuming a normal rhythm. Heat suffused his being briefly, as he watched her swim away, slowly following as he tried to act normally. And, had he seen a flush creep onto her cheeks for a moment, before she turned away? She certainly had the hallmarks of nervousness or embarrassment to his trained eye.

At the near frown though, he allowed his own expressions to remain mobile, a sheepish look appearing on his face. "Well, technically you are on a break from work as well, and that would just be giving you more work," the stallion explained, giving a faint chuckle at her sigh. "That truly would be appreciated though, especially since I know yours are such high quality. And I certainly would not be so well taken care of," Ry remarked, smiling at the teasing lilt to her voice, as he fell into an easy swimming pace beside her, not minding in the least that occasionally their long, flowing, fan like tail fins touched.

"They do get better, and can also become more stable, able to stay in one place," Rycaron mused, talking about things in general...but also about them, and where they currently swam. He wasn't planning on going anywhere, secure in his current position, and Corrine was also stable with her profession and healing spring. And Corrine had only grown more beautiful over the years. She might not have the spring and sparkle of youth, nor did he, but she was into the mature beauty of summer, the type that lasted far longer than youth. But that cliche and cheesy statement never made it to his lips, and he could barely believe that he had thought it. Truly, his mind was running away from him...

"It is easy to forget though, when change throws things out of balance, like has been happening the last few months," he added, to give his attention something new to focus on, than the bright smile of the mare beside him. He couldn't start forgetting his words, too.

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Another chuckle followed her words, and he nodded his head in agreement. It was something he knew all too well, the never being away from work. And he knew Corrine understood that, so there was really no need for verbal agreement. It could be left unsaid, though for the rest... "You are welcome, though it is more fact than compliment," he remarked, smiling charmingly. He couldn't seem to help himself, though the smile faltered a little after a moment, replaced by a look that could be described as unsure.

It echoed the expression that seemed to be creeping into his companion's expressions, as she bit her lower lip and looked away. What was going through her mind? Had he made her uncomfortable? Perhaps things really weren't how they used to be, and couldn't be after all... Eyes were soft, expression serious but questioning as gaze focused solely upon the mare beside him. His heart began stuttering again when she finally spoke, and a feeling of...dare he say hope fluttered about in his rib cage at the faintly visible flush, and her embarrassed, nervous, confessional attitude. Immediately his mind sprang to places it shouldn't, and his breath was held lightly in his chest, though he tried to veil and conceal his reaction. No, he must keep it together.

And it was just as well that he had, for her next words caused a ripple of confusion to cascade through him. What? The words almost slipped past his tongue with his breath, as it eased out slowly, helping him control the sense of hurt that it wasn't what he'd thought he was going to here. Mentally, he chided himself again, he was just being a silly colt. Confusion did finally slip onto his face though, as he tried to focus on what Corrine was really saying, to comprehend how this could be the truth.

Truly, there was no way what she was saying was true, he was looking at her now and saw nothing wrong, she was balanced there perfectly in the water, had never shown any trouble accomplishing any tasks or movement. And yet...she was talking about her normal form, he assumed she meant four legs. And...it was true he'd never seen her on four legs, she'd never accepted any of his invitations to visit Inaria and him when he'd been an emissary, had never come up to partake in the Solstice Celebrations.

But...how could she have never told him? They'd known each other forty years...

His heart constricted painfully, and he looked away from her, into the gardens. He felt deeply hurt, betrayed, and oh so confused. He wasn't sure she was telling the truth.

The water around them felt thick with the tension, sluggish and making it hard to breath. "Is that why you never came to see me?" Rycaron finally asked, throttling down his emotions so his voice wouldn't be thick with them, pulling up his diplomat's mask to hide behind though he knew that might hurt Corrine more. "You have never seemed a cripple, Corrine. This...it doesn't make sense," he added, shaking his head, speech slipping into the informality of contractions even though he was trying to keep himself together.

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He could see she was hurting, oh he could see she was hurting deeply. But so was he, and for the moment that was all he could focus on. It consumed his whole being.

She had wanted to tell him, did she? And over the four decades, she never could, because...her mobility cart wasn't good enough? That couldn't be the answer, it didn't fit into the puzzle the way things ought to. It was easier to keep her in the sea...easiest to marry her off to someone who had been planning to stay within the waters of Kiephis and work there, his mind whispered, offering a fresh wave of betrayal. She had seemed so happy and surprised that day so long ago, here in the same gardens when he had come to her with the happy news. Had it all been a lie? Was everything a lie?

He still didn't want to believe that this was reality, and yet she had no reason to lie to him about this, short of wanting to push him away. And considering how they had drifted apart while in Aodh, this certainly wasn't needed since she had seemed happy to reconnect, as he had been. She could have simply never replied to his letters, and he would have taken the hint. Such an elaborate scheme as this wasn't needed...and so it could only be the truth, a cold, hard truth that he didn't want to hear. But hear it and deal he must. Somehow.

Or had he been good enough to marry, just not good enough to trust with such a thing. Would Corrine have ever told him her secret? Clearly not while they had been betrothed...would she have waited till after they were married? Or would she have taken it to her grave if she could have. Such a thing was cruel and wrong, deserving only of wings in the next life.

"Cor, I..." Rycaron started, voice dipping into rawness before he cleared his throat to try again. He would not fall apart here, not in front of her, in the face of all this. Keep it together, Rycaron told himself firmly. And his mind was reeling, whirling with emotions and the moment, and he didn't think he had the wherewithal to be anything but blunt and straightforward no matter how it wasn't how he wanted to be. "I never saw you as a cripple, because in this form, you are not. Your body is healthy and agile, your mind is quick, as tenderfeet you learned the cleric art faster than me!" the Sage told her, somehow managing to sound utterly disappointed and a tad accusatory at the same time. "You have proved you aren't a burden to society, and even if you never wanted to tell anyone, why couldn't you have told me? Of all people, we were best friends, were going to be married! Was...was I never good enough for you?"

During it all, he managed to keep everything but a disappointed and faintly hurt look from his face, but his voice he was finding it harder and harder to control, and it almost cracked at the end, when he basically confessed what was haunting his mind most right now. What he needed to know. He ignored he comment about forgiveness, unable to really think about it right now. He just...couldn't.

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Oh, it hurt to hear her voice become colder and colder, to see her build up a wall, recede further form him the same way he had pulled up his diplomats mask to hide behind. He wanted to reach out to her, to nudge her with hoof or tail, to smooth down those floating curls with his teke. To return some sort of smile and warmth to her features, because that was what belonged there, not...not this coldness, this stern aloofness. This vehement desire to throw her crippled nature into his face, when he just...needed time. But oh, they'd had so much of that, hadn't they?

She was so forceful, throwing it into his face, he couldn't deny that it must be true...but it only changed things a bit. It made her accomplishments that much more incredible. Was it all his fault that he had followed his career and left? That he had been chosen to go to Aodh? They both felt selfish and small...and hurt. Lips parted to speak when she paused, a little stung by her earlier stern tone. He was no foal to be scolded!

And yet he didn't get the chance. Breathing had been shallow the whole time, controlled but still a little too quick, and it stopped in his throat when the fury kindles in her eyes and burned at him. Mask faltered at her tone, and the stallion looked like he had been smacked when she tossed out such a formality, when she returned to politeness and kept all form of familiarity from him. "No," Rycaron murmured out as she stared at him, gaze scorching him, scrambling his thoughts to try and find something to fix this. And that created a mental halt, as he sucked in his breath. Why was he the one trying to find a way to fix it? She had been the instigator, the witholder, the one keeping secretes for decades. The one who was making him feel like a very small colt, adrift in the great big sea.

And while he was trying to figure it out, she was swimming past him, gone with a powerful lash of her gorgeous tail. "Cor, wait," he called, a pleading look cast to her receding back, but she refused to hear him. She'd thrown her punch, and it had landed hard. He hung there in Cascade's embrace, eyes closed in pain for just a moment, before he uncurled and cast a glance about the garden. No, he had to keep it together, he couldn't let anyone see his inner turmoil. He...he didn't even know.

But he would figure it out. Solving problems and sorting through things was what he did. He just...had to figure himself out first. He did know he felt no anger. Just emotional pain, and so much of it.

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