Willow's wings made no sound as she flew through the caves. She had sealed herself away from social and physical contact for long enough - Delphine had made her realise this. The first person she would have to visit was an obvious one - her hatch mate, Adeyemi.

She wasn't sure where he would be - if the onyx mare's words were true, he could be anywhere, but Orion was a good place to start. He liked Orion, after all, and why shouldn't he? It was a great place, quiet and serene. Sometimes Willow would sit on the throne and stare at the ceiling-- that was until she began carving into rocks.

The owl did just that; she landed on the arm rest of the throne. Relaxing somewhat, she lifted her head to briefly peer at the ceiling, before she lowered her gaze once more, gazing over the decrepit remains of what could have been a village.

@Adeyemi

Prince Adeyemi

AND THEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY, THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER
AND CARRY ME AWAY AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Adeyemi hopped along the walls of Orion's ruined cityscape, feet and wings moving restlessly. Nothing he did seemed to please the worry that roiled in his gut, which he had long since identified as the nameless sort of fear that went along with the unknown. He hadn't seen beak nor wing of Willow in ages, far too long, and the longer he searched, the more bleak his outlook became. Reuniting with Delphine had given him the swift kick in the rear he so desperately needed - at least when it came to the moping, that is - and the turaco had set off to scout around the cave once more, starting off by combing through the rubble. It seemed too obvious, to finally find his missing friend, his hatch mate, his... well. Whatever they were; to find her here was unlikely, but the prince had a way of ignoring the unlikelihood of many things.

Singing out his low, sweeping song, the sound melodic but solemn, Adeyemi glided from one wall to the next, wobbling about in the air, voice catching whenever the stone seemed to rise up too fast, catching him in the shins or the gut. Croaking as this happened once again, the bird wrestled his way up onto the ledge, shaking out his feathers in a huff and grooming them down one by one, eyes taking in their lack of shine. What a pity, he thought dully, glaring at the lackluster pinfeather. Grooming it intently, he almost lost the sound of something landing nearby completely.

Startling, Adeyemi turned about on his heel, gemstone talon clacking on the stone parapet, feathers puffed up in a defensive display. Once he caught sight of who had set down on the throne, he stilled completely, unintentionally letting out a tiny, high-pitched trill of delight, red-brown eyes pinned on the site of his better half, so very alive. "Willow!" The royal took off towards the throne, bopping along with as close to a grin as a turaco could muster, finally reaching the opposite arm of the throne with an oof! at the impact.

Instead of immediately crowding the owl, he stayed back, wary of scaring her off. Something hungry and weak in him cried out for the affection route, but Adeyemi stomped it down with fervor, giving Willow the space to take their encounter at her own pace. Her angry screeches had been recalled when Delphine had brought up their separation, and he still hadn't quite forgiven himself for manhandling her - even if it had been his primal instinct at the time. Keeping the other bird out of danger was as much a part of him as the need to eat and drink, but he knew intrinsically that she didn't need his help. Perhaps, for once, the scarred, multicolored Gembound had actually learned something.

"I'm... I'm so glad to see you," he finally choked out, practically vibrating in place from being able to look his friend in the eyes once again, surreptitiously seeking out any hidden wounds.

The owl was seemingly preparing to fly down the throne already, leaning over and eyeing up her presumed landing-target before she straightened upon hearing her name, head swivelling towards the turaco. She watched him land on the arm rest for a moment, remaining still until he found his balance.

And while Adeyemi had kept a distance, Willow seemingly felt the need to rather immediately close said distance. She almost seemed to teleport to the other side, to Adeyemi's side, as one second she was quietly watching and the next she had her face buried in the turaco's crest, feathers flat and emitting soft, almost mournful croaks.

Instead of usual, soft clacks of her talons her feet instead gave a hollow flop as they landed on the stone. Having flown here immediately after seeing Delphine, her nails were still grinded down to the end, dull and blunt - otherwise the owl was only a little dustier than usual. She did not lift her head nor did she move away, remaining by the turaco's side until she found her voice.

"Adeyemi," she began with a quiet, wavering voice. "I have missed you."

@Adeyemi

Prince Adeyemi

AND THEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY, THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER
AND CARRY ME AWAY AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Adeyemi was prepared for many responses - to be told to leave her alone, to leave entirely, to see pity in that gaze, or worse, disappointment - but one thing he hadn't anticipated was for Willow to rush forward, burrowing into his side. The turaco recovered quickly, moving his wing to wrap around the owl's back, shifting even closer to her, cooing softly in relief, grooming at the soft feathers closest to him. That little part of him that had been shrivelling all this time, dying under the weight of fear and guilt, began to shake off the dust, awakened by the obvious show of affection. The prince blinked quickly, hiding his suspiciously blurry vision with a gentle nuzzle to Willow's cheek.

Thoroughly distracted by the strength of his feelings for his hatch mate, the waves of twisting emotion hitting him hard enough that it took him a moment to realize why her landing had sounded odd. Raising his head from the other bird's cheek, Adeyemi peered down at her talons, cocking his head to one side at the site of their dulled state. Still, he held off on asking, some small part of him not quite fully believing that she was even here. "I missed you too, Willow," he murmured, voice soft and awed. "I can't believe I finally found you! I searched for so long... are you alright?"

The question was accompanied by a rustle of his wings, positioning both of them around the owl, in some sort of avian hug. "I was... worried. I thought the worst, for a while," he admitted softly, shivering at the memory of waking up one morning, convinced that Willow had never existed, that he'd dreamed her up, a savior, a perfect being to complete him, fill some sort of missing piece of his soul.

Willow was silent for a moment, before the owl lifted her head. "I am sorry, Adeyemi." she began, but the owl soon began to choke up a little, croaking somewhat.

She moved to lightly preen the top of Adeyemi's head quietly, shaking ever so slightly. She felt... horrible, really. Perhaps if she had made sure Adeyemi knew where she was going at times, or went looking for him more often, there wouldn't be a sinking feeling in her stomach and the turaco's voice wouldn't be so soft, but instead slick and confident.

She shuddered slightly. More care would have to be taken for her hatch mate. Perhaps finding purpose was not as important as she thought- could anything be more important than someone she genuinely cared about anyway? The owl half-closed her eyes with a hollow sigh. "I am unsure if words can explain how sorry I am," she said at last. "Have you... been alright?"

@Adeyemi

Prince Adeyemi

AND THEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY, THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER
AND CARRY ME AWAY AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER

The turaco stiffened in confusion, tilting his head, unconsciously tightening his wings around Willow in a feathery snuggle. "No, my love. You have nothing to apologize for," Adeyemi murmured, cooing softly, eyes narrowing in concern at the fine tremors shaking through the owlet's body. His gaze slipped shut at the gentle preening, and the bird tucked his face in the crook of Willow's neck, humming joyfully, a lighter refrain from his earlier song. "You need not explain, for there is no reason to be sorry. I am sorry that it took me..."

Adeyemi's feathers rustled as he sought out the proper words, his eloquence, for once, failing him. "I am sorry it took me so long to... grow up. I have not been very... ah. I'm not good at this," he offered with a gruff chuckle, clucking his beak in self-directed irritation, turning his head away from Willow for a moment to collect himself. "I could have done many things differently. It should not have taken another royal to open my eyes about just how important you are to me. How much I appreciate you," the prince murmured, eyes screwed shut, as if afraid of the response to this outpouring of rambling emotion. "I cannot change what has happened. But I promise you, I will never be so crude again as to devalue your friendship, nor you, and if you will have me, I will not stray. You are my equal, Willow. This, I know."

At his hatch mate's words, the prince huffed, preening at the feathers circling her face, opening one eye to peer at the owl. "I have been... alright," Adeyemi answered after a moment of silence, reveling in the quiet, unadorned closeness. "I am very well, now. The best I have ever been," he added, voice softening to a whisper as he slipped his eyes shut once more, trying to recall his wanderings. "I came across another of the flame, a young pup. Scared me so much I fell out of a tree," the royal admitted, chuckling. "And Delphine visited, a little while ago." Shaking himself out of the revelry, Adeyemi straightened up to stare eye-to-eye with his hatch mate, humming. "And you? Have you been well? Other than the talons, of course," he added with a tiny grin, tangling his right foot's talons with her own, gem-set claw sparkling in the starlight of Orion.

The turaco's words, although sickly sweet, were like knives driving into her skin. At times, she began to open her beak to tell him to stop; tell him he didn't have to go on, but her voice was somewhere else far away from here, so instead she remained still and listened.

Only when he had finished, did she relocate her voice. "You do not have to explain yourself either, Adeyemi," she was quiet again for a moment before there came a slight chortle, a weak laugh. "Moping and apologizing does not suit either of us."

"I too saw Delphine recently-- in fact only a few minutes ago. It is nice to see she is well." she nestled down, perhaps content. "A dog, too. Perhaps even when a part our antics mimic the others. She survived the dragon in Polaris."

Holding Adeyemi's talon in her own, she glanced off down into Orion before she decided to half-close her eyes again.

@Adeyemi

Prince Adeyemi

AND THEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY, THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER
AND CARRY ME AWAY AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Adeyemi huffed out a crooked laugh in response, clicking his beak in agreement. "No, it does not suit us. But I meant what I said." He hadn't failed to notice his slip of the tongue, giving away far more than what he'd meant to say in such a simple gesture, but to bring it up now would feel forced - and he'd had quite enough of a life without Willow in it. "We both are more of the banter type, yes?" The turaco grinned, confidence beginning to seep back into his veins, blood singing.

The grip around his talon felt like a welcoming, and Adeyemi's crest puffed up, a harsh surge of affection stampeding through him at the gesture. Still, he ignored it, focusing on the here-and-now. It was enough to have his hatch mate close - in whatever capacity he could get her. "Must be a strong pup, to survive those flames. They are... free. Wild. Rather spectacular," the prince murmured dreamily, thinking of the possibilities for his own magic. "And, of course, incredibly dangerous," he tacked on with a trill. "The dragon is rather uncouth, but that kind of strength is quite impressive."

Regardless of Raheerah's power, Adeyemi held a bit of a grudge against the beast - after all, it had to have been him who had upset the stampede of rock-things that had split he, Willow and Delphine up in the first place. "I am glad you were able to speak with her as well," he murmured, thinking of the flash of fear that had coiled into his throat at the sight of the scars that stretched across the horse's pelt. "She is strong. I expected nothing less."

The owl had wanted to bring something up, something that had twisted her mind and confused her for a while, but listening to Adeyemi's words she noted him brighting up, she didn't want him being upset again. She allowed the thoughts to fester at the back of her mind with a tilted head. She sighed.

"I tried to tell her that," she said quietly, recalling the puppy. "She did not listen. 'Fire is cool,' she had said. I am almost afraid of her and her massive amounts of luck." The owl's head tilted the other way, cooing somewhat before speaking. "I promised we would visit her and her new friend later."

Willow tensed down somewhat after speaking - in fact she started to quietly chortle again, though this time it sounded more genuine, as if the owl found her own words legitimately amusing. "She speaks of him like you do about fire." She nudged Adeyemi's head with her own, gently. She'd probably be smirking if she had more expressions beyond 'vaguely disappointed' and 'vaguely content.' She had almost forgotten the terrifying and horrible thoughts swimming around her mind.

She shivered again, and with another sigh she kept her beak shut about them, nudging Adeyemi once more.

@Adeyemi