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Long ago, Tyrea had enjoyed flying around Eryth Sea, training herself to accomplish what few other High Entia, even the pure-blooded ones, could do. A being of shadows, she could only do so at night, and only the shooting stars could see her. In those moments, she held a joy meant solely for her.
Now, even the remnants of Eryth Sea still held some nostalgic beauty.
As Melia tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, she stared up at the night sky, and her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. "It has been quite some time since I've last seen this sight," she said to Tyrea.
Tyrea folded her arms over her chest, trying to avoid Melia's gaze. They weren't far from their Havres, which they had landed on one of the southern beaches. Melia had wanted to find other landmarks of the former Bionis, and Tyrea wasn't about to let her go alone. "I suppose," was her careful reply.
"And yet, it is not the same as it once was," Melia continued as she stepped closer to the water. "Makna Forest no longer lies below these waters, and there are fewer hovering islands."
"Most of the transport islands are no longer necessary, after all," Tyrea said. It wasn't quite what she wanted to say, but she knew Melia expected some kind of response.
Melia simply smiled faintly. "Perhaps it is presumptuous of me to say this, having only left the confines of Alcamoth a little more than a year ago, but I still am not used to the sight of Eryth Sea without either Alcamoth or Prison Island."
"To High Entia such as ourselves, a year is nothing," Tyrea muttered.
If Melia heard Tyrea, she made no sign.
They began walking along the shoreline in silence, with Tyrea keeping close to Melia's shadow. The restoration of Alcamoth was progressing smoothly, and there had been no further sightings of fog beasts since the defeat of the Fog King. Yet Melia seemed to still carry an air of restlessness about her, or perhaps Tyrea was simply projecting her own sense of restlessness onto Melia. This was, after all, a new world, wholly different from what Yumea and the Bionite Order had envisioned.
"Ah, look," Melia said suddenly. "Telethia."
Tyrea followed Melia's gaze, and in the sky flew two winged Telethia, and they appeared almost playful together. It was a rather strange sight; once, Telethia had been agents of the necessary destruction to bring about rebirth, a fate Tyrea had been denied because of her Homs blood. If Teelan's research proved fruitful, then these Telethia could be restored to their former shelves. Tyrea's chest tightened; if Yumea had not been slain, would she even have wanted to be restored into this world without the divine Bionis? "It's strange, isn't it?" she finally said without thinking.
Melia turned to face Tyrea. "What do you mean?"
Tyrea bit her lip. When Melia looked at her like that, a terrible hope took root in her heart. She'd been raised in the shadows, but since she had sworn herself to Melia, she could no longer hide. "Do you wish to fly too?"
Surprise flashed across Melia's normally calm face, and Tyrea could not deny the pleasure that stirred within her. "I…" Melia stammered, uncharacteristically at a loss for words. "I have certainly dreamed of flight." She paused a moment, eying Tyrea's longer wings. "I must admit, until I saw you take flight yourself, I had assumed that the idea of High Entia being able to fly was simply a myth."
"Yumea once believed the same," Tyrea said, letting a hint of pride enter her voice. "When I demonstrated for her, even she couldn't hide her surprise."
Melia's expression shifted, as it always did the rare times Tyrea mentioned Yumea, but it was not unkind. "I can scarcely imagine that feeling of flight."
Again Tyrea glanced at the pair of Telethia flying over the water. "It's a feeling like no other," was all she could say.
She was grateful Melia didn't press her further. Rather, silence again fell over the both of them, the only sound their steps upon the sands. Tyrea didn't dislike the silence as she once had; just being near Melia like this was its own kind of quietness. The moonlight gleaned on Melia's small wings, and Tyrea drew closer to her. She had begun to puzzle out how she felt about Melia, but some pieces remained elusive. She didn't see Melia as a friend or as a sister. They were subject and empress, she the shadow to Melia's light. Once, she had hated Melia for finding a place among the royal family that she never could. When Yumea had ordered her to act as an assassin, she had been more than happy to do so. But when her purpose was lost, Melia had forgiven and reached out to her.
Tyrea closed her fist over her chest. Since when was she prone to sentimentality?
Soon they climbed a small hill and toward a cliff that overlooked the entirety of the sea. From here, they could see what reminded and what had been lost since the fall of the Bionis. The sight was both familiar and unfamiliar, like the memory of a dream. Melia approached the edge of the cliff and Tyrea came beside her, their hands brushing for just a moment.
She didn't see Melia as a friend or as a sister. Nothing bound them together. Yet she still longed for Melia.
Tyrea could almost laugh at herself, imagining Yumea's reaction at this sight. But these feelings weren't so bad either.
Melia glanced at Tyrea beside her, and her eyes reflected the starry sky. She was always seeking glances at Tyrea, glances that would be too quick for any but a former assassin like Tyrea to notice. "Tyrea," she said carefully, a faint blush upon her fair cheeks.
A tense moment passed, and Tyrea knelt before Melia, much as she had done so on the remnants of the Bionis' Shoulder. She took Melia's hand into hers, feeling the warmth of Melia's skin through the soft glove, and then brushed her lips against the back of it. A simple gesture, certainly, but Tyrea had always been better with actions than words.
Melia's blush deepened, and with her free hand she touched Tyrea's cheek. Another tense moment passed, one that felt like an eternity, and Melia pressed her lips against Tyrea's. How long this kiss lasted, neither could say. But in this moonlight, Melia had never appeared more beautiful.
When Melia took her lips from Tyrea's, a smirk tugged at Tyrea's own lips. "You've grown rather bold," she said evenly. "Although perhaps it isn't the wisest of choices to surprise one such as me."
"Ah, yes, I suppose that was rather forward of me." Melia turned her face away, her cheeks a brilliant crimson. Tyrea had never seen her so flustered before. "I apologize."
"There's no need for that." Tyrea stood and let her fingers lace with Melia's. "I will admit I can't help but lower my guard in a place like this."
Melia brought Tyrea's hand to her lips. "Thank you, Tyrea."
There was still much left unsaid between them, much that still had to be done, but as they walked along the edge of Eryth Sea together, Tyrea's heart felt a little lighter.