Sands of Time

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

It was a rare sight to find Arthur out of his tower without any caravans or Circle business to attend to. Almost as rare in kind was Lohrian finding himself without any leads to follow up on regarding his own research. He had time to relax. Lo and behold, Arthur was in need of company, but at such a strange place.

Touching down with his claws sinking into the sand, still warm from the fading sun's light, Lohrian folded his wings behind him as he approached the large sitting Leyr, far from the shoreline. "Arthur?" He asked, reaching a hand out and placing it gingerly on Arthur's shoulder. "You asked me to come and sit with you?" Lohrian and Arthur had gradually been getting closer. They didn't only talk about research things now. Personal topics and thoughts would also come to light between them. They were friends. Lohrian cared immensely for the large boy.

He sat next to Arthur, peering over at his face. "Your message sounded stressed, and you look a little tense. Are you alright?" He paused. "... Why are we out on the beach?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur [Leader of Icarus' Eye]

Arthur had been lost in thought when Lohrian touched down. He made a sort of surprised noise as Lohrian's sudden appearance startled him. The old leyr turned his head to look at Lohrian as he touched his shoulder. "Lohrian... yes." He mumbled mostly to himself. He didn't remember asking him to come, but that wasn't much of a surprise.

"I don't know. I just felt like coming here today." Arthur explained as he looked out across the beach towards the ominous black ocean beyond it. "Something about the ocean always makes me feel... a certain way. I can't properly describe it." His tail twitched in the sand, sending a crab running for it's hole. Arthur grew silent as he continued to stare towards the horizon. It was obvious his thoughts had drifted far away from here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

"Anxious?" Lohrian asked, peering up at Arthur from where he sat next to him. "A lot of people feel that way. I can't imagine a time when the oceans weren't one of the biggest fears people had. People that go near them, anyway." Lohrian didn't want to risk potentially souring Arthur's mood further with the potential reasons he could provide off the top of his head.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" He asked. "I'm all ears." He smiled softly as he held up his rather large and floppy ears for Arthur to see, hoping to at least get a scoff of amusement from the big bird next to him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur [Leader of Icarus' Eye]

Lohrian’s goofing did get Arthur to smile and let out a soft chuckle, but it was evident Arthur wouldn’t be shaken out of his mood that easily.

“Anxious, maybe. I can’t help but think about what all might be lost in the bottom of the ocean. Forgotten ruins, tech, maybe even an underwater civilization. Who knows. We probably never will, not in my life time anyway. And that’s really saying something.”

Arthur pushed his feet further into the sand, his entire foot disappearing.

“Yet I can’t help but feel like the ocean is hiding secrets from me, other than those I’ve listed. Something... I’ve forgotten. The answers are just beyond my reach, sunken in that black wash.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

Lohrian let go of his ears and made a soft 'hm' noise as he thought. "Maybe I could try and look into things for you? I know running Icarus' Eye takes a lot of your time and resources." He slipped his feet below the surface of the sand as well. "I wouldn't mind putting my personal research on hold if it means finding the answers you're looking for." He turned to look away from Arthur after a moment, gliding his palm across the sand. "If it's something you've forgotten about the ocean, I know a captain who sails and comes in for trade every now and again. If it's artifact based, or maybe he knows someone who can point us in the right direction, I'm sure we'll have pieces of the puzzle in no time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur [Leader of Icarus' Eye]

Arthur let out a soft ‘hmm’. “Maybe.. I just have no idea what I’m looking for. Maybe it’s an artifact? Who knows...”

He reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of his face as the wind blew them out of place.

“Maybe it’s something I threw into the ocean on purpose... or maybe it’s something so terrible that I threw it into the ocean so I’d never have to think about it again.”

He moved his feet back and forth in the sand, making a deepening hole.

“I guess that’s one of the positives of my condition, hm? If something happens that I can’t bear... I’ll just forget about it, and it won’t be a problem anymore.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

Lohrian thought for a while before quietly speaking up. "That's no way to live, Arthur..." He placed his hands on his knees, plucking at the small feathers where his calves met them. "I know how much your memories mean to you, and... If you forget the bad and the good, then you have nothing. If you only remember one or the other, then you're only getting half the story." He exhaled through his nose. "If it's troubling you, then it's a problem, whether or not you remember what it is."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur [Leader of Icarus' Eye]

“I know, Lohrian, I know.” Arthur responded with a soft sigh. He looked over at Lohrian, offering him a smile. “I’ll appreciate any work you put towards figuring out whatever it is that I’m forgetting. But part of me has to believe that the answer to all of this is probably in one of the countless books that fill my library. Certainly I’ve written about whatever this was at some point?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

"Maybe... Do you have a section where it's specifically books and journals that you've written? It could be a good place to start." Lohrian picked up a pinch of sand, letting it slip through his fingers. He looked up and made eye contact with Arthur, returning a hopeful smile back to him. "If you want me to dig around, I can. You've already got a lot on your mind."

Lohrian reached a hand out, putting a few granules of sand on top of Arthur's hand. A strange gesture, one that Lohrian hardly recognize he was doing. He wanted to be close and interact with the big bird. "Have you just been sitting here alone and anxious for several hours?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur [Leader of Icarus' Eye]

“I do, yes. All of the books in my tower are written by me, Lohrian. They’re all my accounts. Some Percy scribed for me but most are hand written by yours truly.” Arthur said with a soft chuckle. “I do have a personal section though, specifically for my personal daily journals. We clean them out once the shelf gets full, though. So what I’m looking for might be long gone.”

He glanced down at his hand as Lohrian sprinkled sand on it. Arthur found it amusing, lifting his hand and pouring the granules into his other palm.

“I think I meant to go to the market to buy something but I got distracted by the ocean. I can’t recall how long I’ve been sitting here.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lohrian [Aria Researcher]

Lohrian stood up and walked infront of Arthur. He held his hands out expectany. "Come on, then." He started. "No more sitting infront of the ocean. We'll go out to the market together. It'll be nice to jog your memory away from this place." Lohrian fanned his wings out, blocking Arthur's view of the ocean. "We can rediscover the past, but that doesn't mean we have to relive it."

Lohrian helped Arthur to his feet, leading him away from the ocean front. He folded his wings behind himself only when they were far enough away that Arthur wouldn't risk a look back. The one hand holding Arthur's hand, however, that didn't leave.