Gnome stood on the edge of Paradise, looking out with his mismatched eyes over the sea. Even in the midst of winter, the waters here were bright turquoise. Here and there he could see the dark shapes of fish flitting about, something that was impossible further north where the ocean was a steely gray. He inhaled deeply, relishing in the freshness of the salty air that was finally not oppressively hot. The soft warmth of the breeze teasing his mane coupled with the happy squawks of tropical birds was almost enough to make him love Atlantis. Almost.

The appearance of Veles in his life had helped with his general feeling of restlessness. The silver grullo joined him as he patrolled the borders, and offered the kind of companionship he felt he’d been missing for a long time. He wouldn’t quite call his feelings for her romantic, but he was beginning to grow very fond of her. He tore his gaze away from the surf and glanced back to where she stood grazing at the edge of the jungle. His eyes looked over her, lingering for a moment on her swelling belly. She had insisted upon giving him a child out of gratitude, and he had obliged. Sure, he had had some qualms about such an arrangement, but she was so eager that now he was excited at the prospect of another child.

After so many years of wandering and searching for the lost half of his family, it was nice to begin to find a sense of normalcy. It was not that he had really wanted to move on, but his conversation with Kendry had made him realize he was in a way wasting his life by pining. After all, he’d searched high and low, here on the islands and elsewhere. Not a trace of Lilika or Iris had been found. What else could he assume except that they had perished? This thought made his heart ache, even now. He pushed it from his mind and turned to gaze out at the water again.

Gnome was just debating whether he should wade out into the shallows and invite Veles to join him to splash around when a distant movement caught his eye. Something was on its way to Paradise. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out if the figure was familiar. As the dark head bobbed closer and closer to the shore, he thought he might recognize it.

As the silvery blue figure emerged from the waves, his heart began to pound as though it were trying to escape his chest. He tried, struggled harder than he ever had, not to get his hopes up. But the profile, the curve of her hip as she turned away without seeing him, they were both hers. Lilika’s. He didn’t understand. How was she here, now? After years of searching for her and Iris without a trace, she just arrived in the most unlikely of places. Had she run into someone on the crossing who had pointed her in the right direction? Unlikely, he chided himself. Had she known he lived here, she would be searching the trees for him rather than simply standing there.

Gnome came to this conclusion in less than a minute before he launched himself forward, his hooves sending loose sand spraying behind him. Everything around him slipped away as he focused on her. He called out to her as he ran, not having enough air or wits about him at the moment to form actual words. When he had nearly reached her, she turned away from the jungle and was now facing him. He skidded to a halt, causing another small sand shower.

He stood for a moment, sides heaving with the effort of running on loose sand, and drank her in. She looked at once the same but also different. A frown creased his face as he noted old scars upon her once flawless sides. Tears filled his eyes at the thought of her suffering any sort of harm, but he did not let them fall. Slowly, he closed the gap between them. Reaching his pink nose out, he tenderly nudged her dark cheek before moving his lips up to play with her mane as he had often done in their happier days. His chest pressed up against hers and he breathed her in. Underneath the briny scent of the sea was the same sweet aroma she had always carried. It was finally her. Lilika.

Gnome