sᴀᴇɢʟᴏ́ᴘᴜʀ • ᴅᴇᴄᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ

seaglopur DECEMBER, 2018
	themyscira haunts her dreams, her steps, her thoughts. she wants to go home, wants to seek the place she was created from more than anything else, more than even her need to find a way in this new world. it keeps her awake at night, the urge, the need to find it again. diana understands that her patrons, the gods, could tell her where it is. they could tell her that she is still barred from looking at it's shores, barred from going back at all, considering what themyscira really was. she shouldn't place all of her faith in them. gods have always been capricious, they have always been self deluded in their little games. she knows that the tugs, towards the horizon could very well be a trick, that placing her faith in her gods could lead her down the wrong path. and still, she finds herself looking to the horizon, wanting to go back home, wanting to seek it out and trusting the tug. feeling it in her heart, wanting to go towards it. and eventually... she finds herself here, at the shore, staring down at the sea below her, her hair flying back with the wind. she can smell the surf, the wind, and she also knows that what she's about to do is a literal leap of faith. her heart beats in her chest, steady and true. devi, in the back of her head, stirs but not with uncertainty. only with shaky belief, and a need to believe in diana. her feet dig into the grass, and then relax. her skin almost tingles with anticipation, and need. the lasso at her side is warm and steadying, and the cuffs on her wrists feel even heavier than before. she takes fifty caerful steps back, breathing in and out. diana reminds herself that she is a warrior, that she is a daughter of hippolyta, and that above all, her heart will never fail her, even when her faith does. she runs, in quick sprints, and leaps. her heart pounds in her ears. her body moves the way it has since she was a little girl. the water hits her with a cold, hard shock. being divine couldn't save her from that sensation; and in the back of her mind, diana can feel devi stir uncomfortably. diana doesn't push her back, only allows devi to join her in this, in moving through the water at a pace no human could ever begin to match. there was no name for what she felt precisely, for the direction she felt pulled to. only the knowledge that her heart, the divinity in her was being pulled to it. that the further she went, the more it felt true, felt real. so she pushed on. she pushed her body as hard as she could, towards the shore of home that she knew was waiting for her. that she hoped was there. the water changes around her. becomes cleaner, bluer, warmer. diana's heart soars in her chest, and she breaks up for air. she blinks up at the sunlight, treading water easily, as she looks about. tears surge: the beach is here, familiar in the rocks, in the pristine face. she can see a kangaroo not far off, and even without all of her endowments, she can feel the magic in the air, can taste the sweetness in the air. she dives back under, until her feet hit the bottom. laughter bubbles up in her chest, in relief, in happiness, in pure joy when she finally hits the beach. the sand is as familiar as everything else, and diana cannot help herself as she laughs and laughs, rolling around in the sand. she's home. diana is home, she is truly home. triumph fills her as she lies there, laughing all the while. hot tears of relief track down her face, until her stomach aches from the effort. when she's done, she focuses her eyes on the heavens, and says, "thank you, my patrons." it is another few minutes until she stands up and starts to pick her way to themyscira. it is only later that diana realizes that no one came down to greet her, no one came to interrogate the voice coming from the beach. she keeps that thought to herself, trying to keep to the familiar paths of themyscira. the foliage is so green, the sounds of animals sound so welcoming and warm. but the voices of others.... there is a lack of it. she doesn't come upon a single sister in her trek, doesn't hear a single human sound other than herself. it disquiets her, but doesn't keep her from going forward. by the time she hits the main gates, diana starts to feel shakier, more wary than before. a voice cuts through the silence: "halt!" diana lifts her head, raising her arms. there are armed guards on either side, their armor gleaming. "i come to you in peace, sisters. i am diana, daughter of hippolyta. i have come home." there's a stunned silence. and then a cry goes up, high and welcoming.