Coming back around again

Mercury offered her a warm smile. “I can’t tell you where mountains and forests were inland, but I can certainly shape the island for you” He said with easy interest. In fact, the two seemed to have the exact polar opposite experience and knowledge of their home. As a captain, he’d drawn out maps of the island multiple times. He’d needed to know what ports he was sailing to next, and where the ocean was deep enough to travel. With the cedar trees, it was an educated guess from memory. It was possible he was on to something, as Anthea seemed to think it looked familiar.

He leaned back and listened as more memories seemed to return to her. He had helped paint a picture, and her memory did the rest. He could all too easily imagine her marooned on a little island, watching the land you knew ravaged by fire and smoke and lava. The island had been just far enough away to keep her from suffocating or burning, but close enough to watch it. He remembered his own plight, watching the volcano erupt, and desperately trying to get his boat close to shore, even as waves caused by the disturbance of the volcano pushed them back again. He’d saved no one.

He found he’d lost his appetite, but he did reach forward and cover one of her smaller paws with his own. But her story didn’t end there, she spoke of nefarious intent as she explained a little about the boat she had flagged down. He felt something rising up in his chest hard and angry and hot. What had happened to her on that boat? But his grip on her paw didn’t reflect his emotion. He kept his hold gentle, and supportive. “I’m sorry, Anthea.” He didn’t know what happened to her after she had hailed the boat, but he knew that every moment leading up to that would have been traumatic.


"Speech"