The Ursa expedition.

He'd actually almost forgotten.

Tahi-shei instinctively looked all around him, trying to find a trace of Mother and, mercifully, being unable to find one before he relaxed again. He sighed and laid down on the sand, fully rolling onto his side. He almost never did this, it wasn't very comfortable, but the effort of holding his body up was absolutely exhausting by now. "Yeah," he said weakly. "That... sounds good, I think." He sighed. "Vacations. Caves, I have no idea how to have a vacation."

He frowned. "I know how to meditate. That helps with stress, sometimes. But I think you'd hate it." He paused, trying to think for a moment. When was the last time he'd slept peacefully, without anxiety? The answer unsettled him -- the day he'd met Madhukar. He blinked the unfortunate thoughts from his mind and tried to force his body to relax. He was rather muscular by now -- moreso than he'd ever expected he'd be, but constantly being in motion did that to a person. "I don't think I know how to relax," he said finally, somewhere between humor and a little distressed.

@james

James stepped over Tahi and lay himself down, pressing against Tahi's side and back, preening the other's fur like he'd preen his own feathers.

"Well, I don't know how to meditate, but I know how to relax," he said, "Surround yourself with people you love and trust, snuggle up close under the sun with the breeze watching over you, and just focus on the moment."

He nosed Tahi's cheek gently and settled his head on Tahi's shoulder, whuffing through his nose, "We could nap here... the sand's soft and and the sun's warm. The sound of the ocean is calming too, don't you think? Pushing and pulling, rhythmic."

He yawned and draped a wing over the other, humming contently. He could definitely nap right now, or just doze.

"Love you," he said sweetly, his tail swishing gently.

@Tahi-shei

He couldn't help the way his shoulders bunched up as he cast a suspicious glance at the surf. He did not trust deep water -- distantly, he remembered something he'd seen in the Riftstorm -- a flash of violet, of violence, of deep water and something lurking beneath it. A cold pulse clawed through him, and he gave a shiver -- instinctively, he inched away from the crab nearby, although he couldn't have identified why.

Tahi-shei shook his head slightly to clear the nerves from his mind. He was a mess, and this was a mess, and he really needed to pull himself together -- he couldn't just be terrified of everything all the time. He was the Fungal Prince, and this was meant to be him relaxing! But 'rest' was not exactly part of his vocabulary. He sighed and leaned into James's touch for lack of anything else to do.

"I love you, too." It wasn't the first time he'd said it -- then again, he doubted James had heard him the first time, sitting in front of his chrysalis. He forced himself to breathe in a rhythm to try and soothe himself, not willing to ruin James's holiday because he was unable to relax. Instead, he scanned the shoreline with what little vision he had left. He was trying to identify various objects, to help ground himself.

He didn't find much other than sand, though.

@james

James hummed happily and settled down, feathers ruffling in the breeze. He yawned and nosed at Tahi's cheek gently, dousing him in affection.

A small wisp came into existence, a soft blue and pink, drifting around, up and down, before settling before them. James tended to make them as a sort of company, despite them not being alive in any way. They were comforting, offering a gentle glow in the darkness.

"Do you want to find somewhere more secluded?", he asked, "I'm certain there are caves and things to hide in."

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei shook his head. "No, that... would probably be worse. I don't like to be still -- I like to be moving. Chalk it up to prey instincts, my dear; I'll be alright. It's the same process whenever I stop to sleep, if I'm being honest." He leaned into James's touch. Tahi-shei sighed. "I just don't practice being... still very often, I suppose."

@james

James himself had long ago fought such instincts off It was a combination of games of chase with Pride and Ari, and then prey instincts turning into protective parental instincts. He found himself spooking, of course, at sudden bursts of movement, like large creatures moving suddenly or rabbits running out of bushes.

... Hm, maybe he hadn't fought them off as much as he thought he did.

"Well...", he said, looking up at the cliff face, "We could go up there. Up the cliff. I can see greenery from down here so we could probably go get a snack."

But how would they get up there?

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei laughed softly. "James, I'm not sure that up is a good idea right now." First of all, he could barely see, but James didn't know that. Second of all, his hooves weren't exactly designed for such things. "Maybe we could go for a walk instead, hm? Or even head back to Pegasus, really. I'm starting to think that maybe we aren't exactly cut out for vacations."

He looked over at him. "If you're alright with it, that is."

@james

James snorted, "Maybe you're right. Maybe what we needed was for Comet to stick around so we could nap or something."

He turned his head towards the sea breeze and sighed softly, breathing in the scent of the ocean. He spread his wings and basked in it, cooling himself off before he turned back towards the tunnel.

"To Pegasus. And then to sleep," he snorted, "And you know what? I enjoyed this. Any time spent with you is never wasted."

He headed off towards the tunnel, tail flicking idly as he folded up his wings, satisfied and happy.

@Tahi-shei
Exit?

Tahi-shei smiled lightly. "Honestly, that wouldn't be a bad idea. She is terrifyingly strong for being as young as she is." He nosed James lightly as he got up to his own hooves, shaking sand out of his longer fur. Once James started to move, he readily followed after him.

"I agree, darling -- I don't think a day is ever wasted when we're together."

/exit tahi-shei