Work Text:
Lloyd was liking Altamira.
A ritzy hotel, lots of food stands, some weapon shops, even a casino and theme park to check out! And the view . Certainly, Iselia was just south of the coastline, but the waves were choppy against giant slick boulders, and the one time he and a reluctant Genis climbed down the water was cold as hell! Not at all worth the lecture Raine gave them (right after yanking them out by the shell of their ears, of course).
Unlike Iselia, Altamira had an accessible beach, waves lapping lazily against the shore. He slipped off his sandals and sunk his feet into the hot sand, pleased with the warmth. He strolled aimlessly along the shoreline, content smile widening when he saw a familiar sunhat and straw-colored braids.
Colette was settled at the water's edge, feet buried in wet sand as the tide rose and fell. Eyes closed with an easy grin, she was the very image of serenity. Angelic even, though that was true regardless.
Lloyd wandered over, plopping down beside Colette and rested his forearms on his propped up knees. Pretty blue eyes turned to him, shaded by the hat’s brim but no less bright. “The ocean's beautiful, isn't it?” she asked, her voice warm as the sunshine.
“Yeah! I was just thinking how we never got to see the ocean like this back home, only big rocks. Water wasn't as calm either.” He stared out at the water thoughtfully. “Kinda weird how it's the same ocean. Well, not the same , but both worlds have different kinds of shores, right? Palmacosta was a lot nicer than Iselia too.”
Lloyd's companion nodded, gaze focused on the rolling waves further out. “I know. I think people are like that too, sometimes. I wonder if… if the people we fight are the same. I don't think they're fully bad. They're like the ocean, and maybe we only see the big rocks and crashing waves. Maybe they have sunny shores too.”
Eyes closed, Lloyd pictured the foes they had come up against so far, and tried to imagine the goodness in them that Colette saw. Were they fighting for family, for a home, for a purpose? It was a hard to see past all the harm and destruction they caused.
“Oh! I wanted to show you something!” Colette’s expression morphed into excitement as she reached to her other side, holding up a orange-ish shell with spikes on it. “Sheena told me you can hear the ocean in the big shells, and it's true! Try it!” Without a second spared she shoved the thing against Lloyd's ear, making him lean away laughing.
“Of course I can hear the ocean, we're sitting right next to it!”
She laughed too, a shy little sound as she leaned into him. “No no, you need to plug your other ear and listen. Try it!”
The last of his laughter trickled out and he obeyed, plugging his right ear and listening with his left.
And he heard it. It reminded him of wind over water, like sounds he'd heard at Thoda Geyser as the wind whistled through the stone arches and making ripples in the pools. It was relaxing, peaceful. Everything he needed right now.
An expectant stare was fixed on Colette's face. “Did you hear it? It's nice, right?”
Lloyd set the shell in her lap, nonchalantly (but very self consciously, in the internal sense) placing his hand on hers, his fingers between Colette's. “It's relaxing. I didn't know shells could do that. Thanks for sharing it with me.”
If their enemies were like coastlines around the world, both dangerous and peaceful, Colette was like the ocean upon an island: no matter where you turned the beach was calm, the sun radiant and warm and life-giving.
Nothing like Iselia, or any other place Lloyd had been, but that island felt like home.