There was a mixture of emotions that Brigid felt following the challenge at the Brook. The news of Morrigan expecting had unsettled her. Maybe it was because she noticed herself how barren her own womb was. Brigid had never expected that she would yearn for children of her own, and realistically she didn't.. or well, she wasn't sure anymore. Ever since she and Hákon had separated she had become blatantly aware of just what she wasn't. She had never been good enough for him, hell she was certain that he had never cared about her to begin with. Ever since the fateful day where she had ended everything between them he hadn't sought her out once - part of her had been hoping that he would, but he never did. And actions certainly spoke louder than words to Brigid, it was clear where he stood with her.

But that didn't make any of this easy. Brigid had become hyper aware of all the things she had wanted with Hákon, the fact that she would never have the opportunity to have those things was crippling. But she refused to let it show, the black sheep of the family instead proceeded to distance herself further from her family and him. She avoided the Lagoon like the plague, and though part of her definitely missed Magnus she knew that she couldn't force herself to go there. Brigid couldn't risk running into Hákon, she wouldn't be strong enough. Strong enough to face that he had moved on. And here she was, trapped in the sand. She moved across the beach, the familiar sound of the ocean waves comforting despite the cold chill in the air around her. Her blind gaze was cast outwards, inhaling and exhaling softly as she pulled to a halt. She needed to let him go, but god damn she didn't realize it would hurt just as much as it did. Picture stepping on glass, now picture dumping salt into all of those open wounds and proceeding to step on more glass. Her toes touched the water of a singular tide pool as she stood statuesque. In this moment she feared she would never be able to find herself again.

@Calhoun

code by shelby | art by autumn

Calhoun can almost always be found somewhere on the beach these days. He ventures now and then further inland, but he prefers to stay close enough to the Cay that he can reach it quickly if his children or his crew have need of him. He's venturing home from within the rainforest after a visit with his brother, who is... haggard. He's certainly seen Roarke look better, but the Firnen queen seems to be on the mend, promising that time will see them whole again. Eventually, the shadows of the forest give way to the afternoon sun, and he blinks a few times to pull his vision back into focus before he continues towards the shoreline. Amongst the tidepools, a woman lingers -- he almost doesn't notice her at first, she's so still. But when he does spot her, Calhoun slows and narrows his eyes slightly, his head tilting. "Ye alright, lass?" he rumbles with a furrow of his brows. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought she was a statue -- a part of the landscape here, untouched. @Brigid

image by aminirus, code by koi

She stood watching the distant waves, ignoring the very waves that tossed within her. Ye alright, lass? The voice was unfamiliar to her and she shifted, turning slightly so her glassy gaze could be sent in the general direction of @Calhoun. "Have you ever seen a woman scorned by a man?" She said with cool tones, her face stoic otherwise. She didn't want to think of Hákon anymore, she wanted to turn all of this off. She didn't want to feel the pain that came with knowing that the one man that had supposedly loved her didn't care about her any longer. She would rather drown again then to feel what she currently felt. "I have nothing and no one.." She said before turning her gaze back towards the water. "Sorry random stranger.. I'm in a foul mood." She hissed lowly, her claws flexing and unflexing. That voice, he wasn't from around here. Maybe that meant all of this wouldn't matter. He didn't know her and she didn't know him, it would be far too easy to use him if he'd let her. She needed the escape and well .. it was just them here.

code by shelby | art by autumn

Have you ever seen a woman scorned by a man? What a way to break the ice. Calhoun snorts softly, quirking a brow; aye, he's seen it a time or two, and he's seen that dead-end look before. He supposes he's worn it a number of times himself in the last year, but scorned is not the right term for what had happened to him or his crew. He takes notice of the way she both looks at him and doesn't -- how her gaze finds his general location but seems to look through him, glossed-over and without focus. And then it's gone, drifting back to the waves, her scathing voice slipping away over the rush of water. "Ain't nothin' to apologize fer," he rumbles, meandering nearer to the water's edge, but keeping a respectful distance from the piebald stranger. "I'm familiar with bein' alone," he admits; so familiar he had nearly drowned in it, suffocating beneath the wait of his own failure. Even now, after all this time, he is met with flashes of memories, snippets of lives lost -- lives he couldn't save. "Ain't a place anyone should have ta be." It's a dead-end game, one that leaves a lion craving the embrace of the sea over anything else, and it often takes a solid yank from a helping paw to drag someone out of the deep. Free of her ability to see his calculating gaze, Calhoun finds himself assessing the woman and trying to determine if she needs just such a pull from the riptide. @Brigid

image by aminirus, code by koi

She can feel his eyes on her as he stares, funny how most individuals don't realize that blind ones can still notice little things like that. Ain't nothin' to apologize fer, I'm familiar with being alone. Ain't a place anyone should have ta be. His words are kind, kind enough to cause an ear to flick towards him. Brigid hadn't expected to meet anyone here, let alone someone who was genuine enough to take her malice without retaliation. "I just want to forget about him.. will you help me forget?" She turns then, moving closer to him. She cannot see him but she can feel him and she doesn't hesitate to reach up and outward, attempting to bite along his jawline. She needed anything to pull her from the darkness of this depression that threatened to take her under, anyone. At this point she was praying that he would take her up on her offer. @Calhoun

yumpy

She just wants to forget. Calhoun knows that sentiment well -- he wears it every day, sometimes more heavily than others, some days unbearable. Grief is a cruel mistress, and he doubts it will ever dissipate entirely; that would simply be too easy. @Brigid, it seems, is nearly willing to do anything to find freedom from those thoughts, even if only for a little while. He watches her approach with a curious quirk of his brow, stoic where he sits, though a low rumble vibrates in his chest when she quickly pinpoints his jawline, taunting him with a sort of touch that is far from unfamiliar to him. It stirs something in him, a carnal urge -- one he most often ignores, but he is only capable of being so honorable, and he doesn't doubt that Brigid knows exactly what she's doing. Calhoun seeks to throw his forepaw across her withers, pulling her in and dipping his muzzle towards the arch of her neck, a small and sly simper laid against the base of her ear. "Ask me again, real nice," he goads, taunting her with something of a game; Calhoun wants to know if she's willing to play. It's not nearly as fun if he just gives in the first time, after all.

image by aminirus, code by koi

She was willing to do just about anything to forget everything that had happened. If she could have been one of the lucky ones that randomly suffered from a bout of amnesia, she would have greedily accepted but alas that was not the case. Brigid was a prisoner of her own thoughts but @Calhoun was here in front of her and he was a welcome distraction. She couldn't remember the last time she had been intimate with someone else, needless to say her body was starving for attention. Ask me again, real nice. His growl is low and hot in her ears as one of his paws hooks itself around her withers. She trembles for a moment before she reaches upward, "Please." She'd offer, gently at first before her teeth would seek to bite further down his neck. If convincing was what he needed well, she'd be happy to oblige.

yumpy