The one reason Oswald had been adamant regarding staying in the Peak was whisked away rather quickly, much to his dismay. Filumena disappeared shortly after their mother moved away, the scent of a Salem stallion lingering near where Oswald had last found hers. As much as he wanted to throw himself into the ocean and go after his sister, he knew he was in no state to do such a thing. Swimming the ocean alone was not an option for him, having no sight to help him see the direction of any distant shoreline. With the roaring waves and the overpowering brine, he wouldn’t be able to rely on his other heightened senses to guide him through.
So much had changed in his young life already. He was three now, nearing four, and plenty old enough to be striking out on his own and making a name for himself. But with his world turning upside down he felt more lost than ever and nowhere near ready to do such a thing. His only solution would be to go to the Ridge, to be with his mother and his father, and decide what he might do from there.
Leaving the Peak was harder than he anticipated it would be. He stood on the beach for a long while, face turned inland, ears perked forward and nostrils flared as he took in deep breaths through them to take in all the familiar scents. Oswald knew he could come back if he wanted to, but despite the hospitality of the Peak vulcans, he had always known he didn’t really belong here. The older he grew and with his mother and sister leaving, he felt his self-imposed alienation grow greater and greater.
He was grateful for Roi, always, and especially as she helped him swim through the channel on the correct path to Atlantis. As he stood ashore, briefly taken aback at how different it smelled here, and the way even the air felt somewhat heavier, Oswald blew the little remnants of salty seawater from his pale muzzle and turned his face toward where he could hear Roi.
How are you feeling?
A frown moved across his brow. “I don’t know,” he admitted. Oswald had never felt he needed to be dishonest with Roi; out of anyone, he trusted her most. “I’m… nervous.” He shuffled a bit, his big hooves pushing his heavy weight down and shifting the fine, soft sand underneath him. His feathering was swallowed by it, and when he lifted his leg up the wet sand clung in clumps around the hair. “I’m excited to see my mom again, though,” he added. Hopefully she was doing better now that she was here. His father, too. Oswald wanted this change to be what Oswin said they were wanting it to be.
“Are you okay?” Oswald didn’t know the entirety of Roi’s past with the Ridge, but he knew some pieces; enough to understand this place was important to her. That this had been the home she grew up in. It was enough to let himself ask out of brief concern he felt for her. He appreciated her offering to help guide him here and keep him from getting lost, but he hoped it wasn’t too much for her to be back again when so much must have changed.
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