Nestira allowed the thoughts to linger, for him to consider them fully. Then, she got up, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she held her hand out to him.

“When have you last stood in the waves?” She asked, already pulling him up to his feet, and he rose in one fluent movement. Slowly, his expression turned to something almost embarrassing.

“Perhaps one hundred and fifty years ago.. Maybe one sixty?”

He had been young, back when he was on their homeworld. Young and carefree and independent and full of love and life.

He had seen water, and been able to walk beaches afterwards, but he had never recovered that childlike wonder to actually enjoy it.

“Are you unsure of trying?” Nestira asked.

“I suppose my entire life right now is full of brand new opportunities. And reconnecting with things I had almost forgotten.” He turned towards her, offering an arm in a chivalrous manner. “But I am willing. Shall we?”

Nestira nodded and took his arm. It was true, he was reconnecting and relearning things, and he did so at his own pace.

It was fortunate that he took those steps and was brave enough to try things outside his comfort zone, but Nestira found that she was struggling to comprehend how small that area of comfort truly was.

The spray from the water was cool, the sun was warm, the sand was almost hot, and the water itself was layered in temperatures from warm at the top to cold at the bottom. Some might consider it a barrage of sensual input, others might call it a delight to the senses.

Rixx followed until the water was waist deep, watching the waves lap up and down, feeling the fine sand beneath his feet.

“I wonder what it would be like to live on Risa. To have this your daily experience?”

Nestira moved her hands through the waves. “I think, perhaps, if this is a daily experience it loses its beauty. It becomes a given, rather than a privilege.”

He smiled gently. “I find it quite enjoyable. I could get used to it, in a dangerous way that might have me abandon all else.”

“Abandoning everything else does not seem like the worst path to take.”, Nestira mused.

“Living with nothing else isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” he mused, taking one more step forward. “But living in the moment is something I have not savoured in a very long time…”

And in this particular moment he chose to live in, she spotted a large wave coming towards them, headed into their direction at a pace that was easily outmanoeuvred. Nestira looked at Rixx, an unsaid question between them, a challenge, and a sudden, very faint sensation of heaviness in his legs.

Nestira offered a teasing smirk. She would, of course, let him go – not that she had any illusion of being able to keep him here should he want to move – but she enjoyed the levity of the situation, the playfulness of it.

Rixx looked towards her with a telepathic nudge back. His motor skills were greatly improved, but she could sense the residual stiffness in his legs.

“You play me. I might drown…” he turned back melodramatically.

“You will get wet, and then, you will dry.” she replied. “You have decades of time ahead of you, you can afford to be wet for a few minutes.”

“I might have to disrobe on the beach and that would be a travesty.”

Rixx pretended to struggle against the oh so heavy unreal weights that did not actually hold him down.

He was being a child again, playing telepathic games with siblings, where the action of their minds was grandiose, but the action in the real world was quite mild.

“Disrobe at a beach? Awful, that.”, she grinned. She looked on at the approaching wave, then glanced at Rixx. “Perhaps you can still make it to safety.”

Alas, nothing stopped the will of the waves and the water, and as they teased one another, the waves crested and crashed down – harmless, but dramatically. Rixx was soaked through, his light shirt plastered to his chest, his dark hair parting at the nose, covering his eyes like a mask.

He exhaled. “It’s been ages.” Then, he shook his head, and pulled back his hair to allow vision while Nestira, equally soaked, did the same. “Did you miss it?”, she asked.

“Yes.” he admitted simply.

He shook a few drops from his hand towards her, and took it to lead him back to land, where towels lay ready for usage if desired. The sun, though setting, was already drying them as they returned to their spot.

Rixx paused for a moment to enjoy the view. The beach, the waves, the sun and the lovely person beside him. He could not have imagined either of this a mere two years ago.

He was still on edge, yes, though not as much as he had been at other times in his life. At the same time, he admitted he could – and wanted to – get used to this.

“The best part of dipping in the water is coming out into the warmth of the sun.” He paused to blot himself dry. “What do you think?”

“My… my favourite part is being with you.”, she admitted quietly. After a moment of silence, she added “I enjoy seeing you happier. Lighter. And I have missed this so much. Being carefree just for a day. After… after all that happened.”

And for the first time, the memories did not hold any emotional significance. Those things had happened, and they had shaped them, but they were in the past.

Rixx could feel the emotional shift and emotions faded into memory, and lost their hold as demons in the night. It gave him… hope? Yes, hope. Hope that his own nightmares would fade in time, and get scabbed over to hurt less.

“I want more of this.” he said. “More of what makes me happy. More of what makes you happy.”

It was a change from his past perspective where he did not allow himself to get close to anyone or anything. But here he was, wanting to connect. “What makes you happy?”

She considered the question. “It makes me … happy to hold your hand when we rest. I enjoy your presence, telepathic or physical.” There was a long pause, and a telepathic addition. “I think I would like to lay my head on your chest and listen to your heartbeat. But… I know you are not there yet. And I will not push you.”

Rixx shied away from most physical touch. He liked it, needed it, but it also overwhelmed him.

“Thank you.” he responded in kind. “I appreciate that. It makes being with you feel… safe.”

“I promise that you will always have a choice with me.” She promised. And she meant it.

Settling back in the sand, Rixx looked up at the sky.

“It’s a slow process, unlearning the past. Slow, but rewarding.”

“It is for me too.”, she reminded him. Even if what she was unlearning was very different from the patterns he had developed, it still took effort not to default to what she knew was comfortable.

“Then, we shall unlearn together. It has to be easier, together.”, Rixx said. He leaned back, pleased with his decision. “Now, these clouds aren’t going to watch themselves.”

Nestira followed his gaze to the clouds, and for a long moment, they simply sat there. Then, she pointed upwards. “This one, over there. Tell me where it is from, and what it has seen.”

“That one clearly is thin and stretched because it rained upon a simmering fight, one between… lovers? No, Brothers. Did the rain break up the fight, or did it delay the hostilities so they exacerbated? I’m not sure yet, and the cloud doesn’t know either, but yet it continues onwards.”

Clouds, like scars and like minds all had a story of their own. A history that could no longer be changed, but at the same time, a bright future with endless possibilities.