One of the many delightful things she was beginning to discover about the northern continent was that it maintained the opposite season to her own homeland. The warmth of summer was in full swing, and as she trailed along the edge of the river that fed the ocean, she was wrapped snuggly in its embrace. The reflection of light off the lazily rolling current cast an array of rippling designs along the rocky descent on either side. But if she maintained a certain closeness to the river’s edge, it was relatively easy to travel.

It wasn’t until the fjord began to narrow did the movement of the inlet truly begin to still. The silty floor offered more visibility to onlookers as the depth began its ascension to sea level.  And after dipping a paw below the surface- raking at the pebbles that made the stretch of gravel bank, she assured herself it was probably a safe place to cool off. Talyssa waded her way out towards the center, kicking off the bottom as she took her last steps before needing to tread water. As the chill soaked to her bones, she tipped herself forward, diving beneath the surface ever so slightly with her nose first. When she came back up for air, she shook her head- casting the water away from her face as she drifted back towards where she could touch in order to clear the droplets from her eyes before trying to open them once again.

"Talyssa Carpathius"

starstruck. he could feel the heat on his wind burnt cheeks. pale and fragile - lips kissed by the dry, high altitude. he stood there for some time, observing, watching, as if a painting displaying greek goddess women in their plump, ripe beauty. the greenery, the hushes of blue and the rushing water below. even the critters, and not so small. trophy hunts - mounted on his fathers wall. the ashe in his eye and smoke clotting his lungs as if to still his breath from him. he remembered the war chants and the kisses beyond mother, brother and friend. imprints of white - religion.

watching, soft eyes trying the solve the encapsulating vision. something out of a childrens book. the woman in the paintings. soft ashy tones diving beneath the cresting inlet. he hadnt been one to swim - one to love the water for he had never learned. only the cresting as a child, where his mother drowned he and his siblings. a first instinct of life - gods would show the true child. he simply stood - yards above and away. eyes cresting in almost an envy but he simply stood there. walleflower.

She had a pretty good sense of direction. As she propelled herself to the edge, eventually her toes did connect with the rounded river stone beneath the water. And as she transitioned from swim stroke to wading stride- the surface fell away from her shoulders as she steadied herself in a moment of vulnerability. With the back of her ivory glove, she rubbed away any lingering droplets that threatened to cloud her vision. As her pale gaze fluttered open, the intensity of the sunlight flared in a display of overexposure. Though, as her pupils adjusted, she inspected the dramatic rise of the fjord in front of her. What she was not expecting, was to find the presence of another.

Talyssa stood there, a moment in silence as she sought out eyes that were nearly as blue as the freshwater-fed inlet. While she had not been the first to stare, she immediately became aware that was just what she was doing. With a friendly grin she used to mask some of the embarrassment, she looked away for a split moment before returning to converse. “Hi there,” She greeted lightly. Plainly. Unsure of what else to say in an awkward moment she hadn’t anticipated. “Do you like to swim?” The Carathius girl asked, opening herself up to the fjord in a gesture of invitation in an effort to displace the attention.

"Talyssa Carpathius"