Sea and cloud toss in darkness that has forgotten star and moon. Waters mix in a maelstrom that forgets the divisions, destroys beginnings and ends, reshapes where shore meets abyss. Time and the movements of the world turn mountains into sand and the greatest civilizations to ash. Why is there struggle? Why seek to create? Two again stand on the shores of Hyrule. In the midst of the raging waters, on land fast fading in froth and brine; The Lovers cast their folly at the world.

OOC: I’m back

Blank walked along the coast of Tantari, having spent most of his time as of late in the more southern regions of the northern Hyrule. True enough that the soft grass under one's feet as the glorious sun beat down on them in the kingdom's famed South Greens was preferred, Blank was always partial to the danger, and the thrill, of a trek through the desert. It was here that he had begun his adventure in Hyrule, among other events.

When he had walked for some time, he spotted two figures on the horizon. Faster he walked, sensing familiarity resonating from the pair. As he gained proximity, he could make out the forms of a man and woman. He squinted, trying to better focus on the two. He knew he had seen them some place before. Finally, he reached his goal and bent double, wiping the sweat from his forehead and letting it bead off his fingertips. “You're...” He paused, cocking an eyebrow as he tried his very best to recall seeing them. It would have been some time ago, anyway. He remembered the early days of adventuring in Hyrule... Arrival, the terrorists, the slave route, the Winter Ball, the tear in time... One event struck a tone, and he beamed triumphantly.

“You're the Lovers!”

A cloud seemed to hang over the samurai's head... It would have been very useful in a literal sense, but much to his own dismay, it was a cloud not of shade and vapor, but of greif and anguish. Dogura had been working on an experiment in his lab, when he realized that he was all out of eyeball-frogs. Why in Hyrule do eyeball-frogs have to mate on the water's edge? And why in the desert of all places? The vagabond questioned his luck, as he wandered through the desert. Suddenly, he picked up voices. His sensitve ears picked up sounds, and it was a familiar voice as well! Blank Fireside, must be off in the distance. Who would he be meeting with this far out?

As he drew closer, he recalled a horrible incident that occured once when he was swimming off the shores of Tantari. A monster had grabbed him by the ankle, and he was always leery of that particular spot. As he ventured closer, he was able to pick up a form behind the whisping sands. Just as he had predicted, Blank was jawing at another figure. Two figures actually. Dogura finally came to a stop a few feet from the three adventurers. He reccognized the two other forms instantly, but he didn't know where he had seen them from. Dogura approached the two, and gave them an inquizitive look, before he glanced between Blank and the duo. "Hello there Blank... Lovely weather eh?" That comment couldn't have been more sarcastic. Dogura turned, and wiped his brow. "You two... do I know you from somewhere?"

OOC: Welcome back!

Turning their heads at the words, The Lovers gaze across the short breath of sand between them and Blank. They pull their feet from several inches of hot sand, twin smiles wrapped in white tans and gold. Hands spread wide in welcome. “Blank! How you have grown. A fine man and warrior.”
Eyes swivel and hands clasp towards the newcomer. “The sun warms and drives away the shadows of doubt anger and sorrow. Truly one can only know someone in such rays and know them in love.” A hand reaches out with rustling cloth like the sea upon the shore to brush Dogura’s cheek.
Laughter sounds like life on desolate shores. “Long have we dreamed of such a day to again dance in these times across these dunes!”

Blank grinned as the man and the woman spoke in their deeply melodious voices, comforted by their demeanor and air of peace. He now remembered why he had felt so close to home during his brief foray into their lives; they reminded him of kindly shopkeepers, always ready to give aid to a traveler, and always intent on listening to the woeful tales and exaggerated victory stories of those they would meet.

“I apologize, my friends, for my quick leave so long ago,” he said humbly, trying against his will to prevent his head from bowing as he referred to that event when he first got to know the pair. “Our potentially interwoven paths were cut short that day, and for this I do regret allowing a few head pangs force me from your ball.” Blank tried to smile again, and finally found that cheerful feeling inside, allowing the expression of joy to reach his lips.

“But I see you two have returned to the kingdom. Do be careful if you're going out into the wastes,” he winked. “All sorts of nasty beasts in there. But quickly! You must make your way to North Castle, we're in the midst of a grand celebration.”

“Although not as grand as that Winter ball. That memory sticks to my mind far greater than Tingle-distributed cake!” he laughed, recalling the hospitality shown by the Lovers in his his early days in Hyrule.

Sadness fills eyes and swells lips into a frown, “You should not lament our time not spent together dearest Blank, but rejoice in the moments we did get. For however short they were, their merit outweighs the void. Things undone have no bearing on that which will be, if one is courageous enough to take hold.”
Smiles again break upon their faces like the surf on the nearby shore, as The Lovers take hands and dance to the beat of the heart of the sea. Crescendo waves and flowing clothes, a motion of endless time and fertility of the mother sea. They laugh and sing with the gulls,
“To walk again the halls
of noble castle with
friends with few cares
and Tingle cake!”
With the rush of the tide, The Loves spin and dip and swirl around Blank and Dogura, always and hand or hip open for joining in the dance.

Blank was never really a dancer, due to his awkward status as a sword-wielding grunt. In fact, he had not danced since the last time he was in the presence of the Lovers, at the Winter ball. The girl, whose name he cold no longer remember, despite how easy it is to recall a name like “Sarah,” had pried him into partaking of the vibrant sport of dance. He had not been very good at the time, and was doubtless to be even more clumsy on his feet these days.

However, the refreshing reappearance of the couple was indeed a notable cause for singing and dancing. Well, perhaps not singing, but the Hylian would at least give them the dance they seemed to be inviting him to. As the female's hand whirled past, he found himself latching on, and he was soon spinning spinning merrily with the duo, apparently waiting for Dogura to join in on the joyful celebration of return. Onlookers could be sure of one thing: The Lovers really enjoyed dancing.

Detaching himself from the swirling Lovers before he became spinstruck and sick, Blank staggered around for a moment to regain his balance and composure. It seemed as though the pair were excited about the Grand Celebration, but Blank had already been to eat his fair share of cake. The gigantic pastry had probably been melted and over-warmed in the hot summer sun anyway, but it was likely still a majestic, tingling storehouse of taste. “Better get there before that Tingle guy finds his prize; you never know when he'll stop serving the slices!” beamed the nomad cheerfully as the Lovers continued the dance.

The dancing stops abruptly, and for the briefest of moments it feels like the churning sea and wheeling gulls stopped as well before crashing again on scene.
The hour grows late, and these moments have seemed like months. It will fill us with joy if our paths crossed again.or now, we must let our feet take us, for there is a long way to travel before the dawn. Peace Blank. Peace Dogura.
The Lovers turn and walk down the beach, the tide rushing in and taking their footprints out into the vastness of the sea as though they had never been.