There had not been much time between Tyr being taken away to the Lagoon and the Ridge falling from the sons he had given it to. In some ways, Oswin worried about how hard Calder had taken the loss, but a part of her had always known he wasn’t quite the fierce leader either she or his father was. He was a good boy, he had a good heart, but she was never certain he could withstand the ferocity it took to defend and keep a territory.

While she and Oswald settled in the Prairie, Oswin grew restless. It was wonderfully peaceful to be back among the hills she’d been born in, had learned to walk in, but every day she found herself aching because she wanted to share it all with Tyr. When a particularly amusing memory of her menacing youth came back to her, she would sometimes find herself turning her head as if expecting to see Tyr standing beside her.

She had yet to ask Zevulun to fight the Lagoon for him, not sure if she should add fuel to the fire that was beginning to burn between the Prairie and the Lagoon.

Oswin had always allowed Tyr the time and space to do things his way, alone, and make his way back to her. As the days crawled by without him, she kept looking to the shoreline and finding herself pulled closer toward the shore. The arrival of autumn only made it worse; everything inside her craved him during the season. Oswin would watch the sunset alone on the shoreline, letting the winds stir her pale hair and her eyes reach off to the distant shoreline of the Peak.

Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer. As the skies lit up with golds and reds and oranges of the setting sun highlighting the clouds, Oswin charged into the water with vigor, taking to the swim with a sort of determination and knowing that every bit of distance traveled closed the distance between her and Tyr. Despite her age, Oswin moved quickly even once she’d pulled herself ashore and began skirting the shoreline southward.

By the time she reached the border of the Lagoon the moon was high in the sky, surrounded by stars. The land was as familiar as ever for her and she slipped in among the mangroves, careful of how she traveled with the overwhelming scent of stallions lingering everywhere. The Lagoon seemed to be quite well inhabited these days… Oswin felt a stir of the old fire flicker inside her and snorted hard at it before redirecting her intention to seeking Tyr out. He’d likely disapprove of her decision to track him so deep into the Lagoon in case anyone else came across her, but Oswin didn’t care.

She needed to see him.

oswin
this is as brave as I know how to be.
I know it’s gonna hurt you, but please… be a little proud of me.