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He wasn't sure what had brought him back here, only that he had felt compelled to revisit this place. With Melusina busy within the Brook, Dominic had been keeping to himself for the most part. A lonely endeavor.

Despite all his bravado, he felt it; deep in his soul. It ate at him slowly, perhaps more slowly than others. That desire for companionship and family. Yet like oil to water did he keep himself separate - always watching from afar. Finding solace in the fact that they were all safe. That's all he could hope for, after all.

His mind wanders, drifting back to the last time he'd been here. It was with @Magdalena. A night of fun, of innocence, and of quiet, flustered moments of uncertainty. This was the place he'd shared his first kiss - with one rather unexpected.

For the longest time he had perhaps envisioned kissing Melusina, but there always seemed to be something...some wall, keeping him from touching her, or pushing for anything more than he had.

Yet with Magdalena, it had felt...different. How long had it been since he last saw her? When would he see her again? Brows furrow, suddenly feeling foolish for even having his mind on such things. Magdalena would laugh at him. Dominic scoffed, shaking his head and lowering to lay, watching as the sun slowly began disappearing behind the thick treeline.

she too feels that inexplicable pull. eventually, the desire to roam wins and her paws venture from the sandy dunes of scilla lagoon towards the literally greener pastures of the fields. as the sun begins sinking lower and lower on the horizon, magdalena finds that she is by herself - as she so often is these days. her mind, too, wanders in these solitary hours. so much of her family was scattered to the wind, alaric disappearing after he was well enough, mother dead, arion and melusina both missing.

these days, magdalena does not feel that burning rage in her chest, only something dark and hollow in the pit of her stomach. the feeling eases some as the grasses of the fields begin to brush at the bottom of her belly with each step, the most curious of bugs taking flight and blinking their lights as the sky is painted in hues of deep purple and navy. it is then that she sees him sprawled out in the grass, familiar and strange all at once.

years ago it had been quite a different scene, with all the grasses squashed under a thick blanket of snow. so thick that she remembers it being quite difficult to walk through on the way here. now, she suspects they might both tower over the huge piles they had once been dwarfed by. "@Dominic," magdalena breaks the silence, pushing through the grasses on a path towards him. "what have you been eating?" she questions, a humorous twinkle in her eye. the closer she got, the more that she was finding that he had become positively massive in the time since they'd last seen each other.

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As if he had conjured her up from mere thought, @Magdalena was there. The sound of her voice unmistakable. Pointed ears sweep back, those odd eyes of his narrowed on her form, taking it in. There was something different about her, though he supposed there would be. They were no longer children. They had both filled out quite a lot; and while she had stayed relatively small - there was something undeniably feminine about her.

He smiles.

A fleeting thing with most, but as she grows closer and lingers, that smile remains and spreads a bit. A soft rumble of laughter vibrates his chest at her comment. "I have a strict diet," The young lion begins, "Of tiny lionesses." He muses, his tones oh so teasing.

If she were going to poke fun at his size, it was only fair, right? The plum male shifts a bit to face her more, but he remains lounging for the most part. Massive paws spread out some, toes splaying along the green field.

Silence falls over them, but for him it's not awkward - it's comforting, and he inhales a deep breath. She was still within the Lagoon, it seems; while he would no doubt smell like...nothing? Ever the wanderer. Nothing ever felt like home, despite his best efforts. "We keep meeting like this." He hums thoughtfully, glancing up toward the setting sun as the last few rays kisses the horizon.

thankfully it doesn't look like dominic has taken offense to what she's said. how incredibly awkward if he had assumed that she was calling him fat? the smile spreading across his lips has one pulling at magdalena's mouth for a moment, the expression unfamiliar and fleeting. she's glad to see him, a familiar face - a friend? - and one of few that the woman had only good memories with. "well, i'm afraid you won't find dinner around here tonight," magdalena starts, letting out a little 'oof' as she too flops onto the ground next to him, an ear always perked to listen for the approach of anyone else.

there's a moment of quiet as she arranges herself into a more comfortable position and then her bi-colored gaze snaps to dominic. "i'm the only lioness around and i'm definitely not tiny." she says, chest puffed out as if it contained all the misplaced confidence in the world. last time they had met, it had been her first time truly playing with another child. this time, it's the first time she's joked around with anyone in months.

in the following silence, magdalena's gaze also turns towards the sky, sighing softly as the navy bleeds further and further into the purples and dark oranges of the sunset. "i know, it's like we only come out in the dark." she comments with a quiet laugh. "but you have to promise you wont make me think you're dead this time." how scared magdalena had been back then, enough to make tears well in her eyes.

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Maybe he was a little fat. But it was all baby fat, and day by day it was burning off to reveal a far more mature form. That fat would turn to muscle and soon enough he would be more filled out; after all, his birthday was next month. It was hard to imagine he would be an adult. Or what was considered an adult traditionally. It was the time when most began to worry about ambitions and families. Dominic's mind was so far from that.

Each day could be his last. In a world like this, so Dominic treated it as such. He took his time, he wandered and learned - he watched others when they didn't think anyone was watching. He knew how dark some could be, and how bright and beautiful others were. That was just it, though - he was always an observer. Never on the inside, close enough to be involved.

An ear flicks as his mind wanders back to the moment, focusing on @Magdalena. Another chuckle escapes him, "Are you sure about that?" He replies, leaning back slightly, looking her over - as if admiring a potential meal. Though, it was hard not to notice how...lovely she had gotten over time. Or perhaps she always had been? Brows furrow a bit as he clears his throat and glances away. Trying to think of something clever to say.

Oh, he wasn't very clever.

The mention of being dead draws one pointed ear to flick and twist to the side, turning his head back to look at her at the sound of her laugh. "Suppose I could refrain. I wouldn't want to see you cry again." Though that moment most certainly brings his mind back to the bit that happened after. Blue eyes lift to search her own; though he becomes anxious again and looks away, toes kneading the earth. This time he doesn't have a follow up.

He needed to level up his skill in small talk, obviously.

he laughs and magdalena can feel his gaze burning into her. so subtly does she stretch, as if to show him proof that she wasn't tiny. "absolutely positive." there has never been a response with more conviction. "i'm at least ten times bigger than the last time we met." never mind that they had booth been essentially babies all that time ago - that she would likely stand no taller than the bottom of his neck should they both stand up.

the glance she shoots in @Dominic's direction is sheepish, as if embarrassed of what had transpired all those months ago. "i wasn't crying." she snorts, nose wrinkling in distaste. has not cried since, in fact. not when her homes were lost, not when her mother was, and not when her father almost was. a bleeding heart forged into thick steel. "it was just..." magdalena trails off, thinking of an appropriate end. "allergies." yes, in the dead of winter, she was struggling with allergies.

their eyes meet for a moment, the sea and warm hues of the earth, and then dominic's ocean eyes are turning away. she assumes the memory makes him uncomfortable for some reason, reaches for some way to fix that. "no crying this time either. promise." magdalena's chest squeezes, brows furrowing together as she stares at him. she leans forward, muzzle stretching as if to try and catch his attention again. "have you been well, dominic?" the woman can only pray that his life had been less tumultuous than her own had been over the past few months - that his shared imprisonment with melusina had been the worst of his childhood.

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The sound of Dominic's laughter fills the air. A sound so rare that it is almost startling to himself. It felt good, to express such an emotion. Some form, however fleeting, of happiness. She was bigger, more...mature.

Those blue eyes would notice the fullness of her form, the sharper angles of her face. The arch of her back and the curve of her hips. Pointed ears sweep back, brows furrowing for a moment as he realizes he shouldn't be thinking such things. This was Magdalena.

A single ear swivels in her direction at the mention of crying. Distracted again, thankfully, the young male nods knowingly. Yes, obviously - very obviously, it had just been her allergies. In the middle of winter. It was endearing, this denial of her emotions. Yet he couldn't fault her, he'd do the very same thing. Emotions were messy...and silly.

And he was full of them.

Suddenly she touches him and Dominic nearly jumps out of his skin. It becomes increasingly obvious to him how close she was. Had she always smelled so nice? His head felt light, almost dizzying. Clearing his throat, his gaze shifts down to look at her as she lay next to him. There was an instinctive desire to pull her close to him. The question she asked rang in his ears.

Have you been well, Dominic?

For a moment he's silent. Thinking on that for a moment. He hadn't been...unwell. So perhaps he was fine now. For now. "Alive, nothing of note to really talk about. Avoiding my parents; trying to figure out where I want to live." If he wanted to live anywhere. Part of him felt as if perhaps...wandering was apart of who he was. Settling in a single place for a long time felt foreign.

maybe it's because she doesn't know his usually withdrawn nature that magdalena doesn't fully appreciate dominic's laughter. to her, he has only ever been playful and smiling - the first child she had ever and would ever play with, the first person she had shared a laugh with after what feels like a true drought of joy. there's a part of her that hopes that dominic smiles like this often, for it brings a boyish charm to his rapidly maturing features.

though he might humor her by not immediately calling her out, magdalena knows that dominic sees right through her white lie. it was hard to truly deny it when the evidence had been shown on her face so clearly that night.

for a moment, magdalena thinks he might be offended by her lack of response but the smallest contact of her muzzle has him jumping. zoned out, maybe. magdalena lets out a relieved breath she doesn't remember holding. at first that's the only reaction that she gets, as if dominic is turning the question around in his head before trying to response. odd, magdalena thinks. usually the answer was simple - well or unwell.

finally, @Dominic answers and it immediately piques magdalena's interest. living, avoiding parents, it's all in a day's work but where he might live? well that was new."have you decided?" she questions, leaning forward out of curiosity with wide eyes. "where you might like to live, i mean." magdalena adds, sheepish at getting the first half of her question out far too quickly.

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Ears perk a bit at the question, causing the young male to turn and look at her. Why couldn't he stop staring? Which is what he did, for a good long time. Blue eyes study her face, not realizing he'd been silent for so long.

Finally, Dominic realizes he'd been looking at her too long and abruptly shifts his gaze to the side, then up to look at the sky. Clearing his throat, he shakes his head, "Ah, no...the idea of settling in one place is odd to me. For as long as I can remember I've been wandering." Since even before he'd been trapped in Scilla for months.

Perhaps that was the reason why. Being a prisoner had done something to him, even if he didn't consciously realize, or notice himself. Awkwardly, the wanderer glances back to Magdalena, offering her a sheepish grin, "That probably sounds stupidly edgy." He snorts at himself, lifting a paw to rub the side of his face.

it is when @Dominic turns his face towards her again that their eyes meet. a pleasant smile curves over magdalena's lips as she takes in the changes that have occurred in him since the last time they had met almost two years ago. gone is the cherubic face fat of youth, instead there lay only sharper angles and smooth panes. hair mane too, grown impossibly long even at this age.

though his attention turns away from her eventually, magdalena stares on. "having somewhere to call home... it can be nice." she murmurs with a half-shrug. though if anyone can appreciate time spent wandering, it is magdalena. there had been no grand adventures outside of the valley for her, but quite a few months had been spent as a rouge in her youth. desperate to run from family, to try and find herself. in the end, magdalena had done neither. "it can be a lot, though." an understatement - in joining scilla again, magdalena had been almost immediately wrapped up in her queen's war too.

once again their eyes meet as dominic's head swings back towards her. "not at all," she breathes out quickly, with a small shake of the head. a paw darts out on instinct, aiming to rest upon one of his own and bring his gaze back to her. let him see the sincerity in her eyes. "i think it's wonderful that you've traveled so much." it was something magdalena might have wished to do herself, before thoughts of vengeance had rooted themselves so stubbornly in her chest.