Chapter Text
Various features and scents merge and blur in Arlow’s mind as he sleeps soundly in his bed at Keahorn Tavern and Inn. A bright star is multicoloured but mainly blue, similar to the early evening skies. Dark bramble-like tendrils seem like they should be scary, but Arlow can't help but feel familiarity. Luminous white feathers flapping in the wind just like a dove with a hint of smell like lavender tea, Ginger hair and a bright smile that smells like fresh flowers and Hazel’s greenhouse, Dark snake-like scales, a mysterious smile, and storm clouds. Bright blue hair and butterfly wings smell like the various animals that roam outside in Hanburn—a starburst and a horse-like figure that smells of the white lilies in the greenhouse prancing around.
And then the most constant dream that comes almost every night. Bright blue stripes, the exact colour of familiar webbed hands, and black and burgundy hair flowing over red and gold multi-coloured eyes, this one smells of salt water, just like the ocean outside. This is the only dream Arlow has that has any sound. It's the sound of the song he hums almost every day while working in the tavern. It always matches the beat of his heart, even though he cannot remember why. Arlow wakes to birds chirping and waves crashing softly against the beach. Tears run down his face. He lies there for a few moments, trying desperately to hold onto the moments in his dream before they slowly fade into the back of his mind. As the fish-featured man slowly rises out of bed, the memories fully fade into his mind. The only things remaining are the shanty and the light feel of his shell necklace, the only moments of his past before Keahorn.
~~~~ FLASHBACK 10 years prior ~~~~
A bright white, the light flashes before Arlow’s eyes, and then he rouses on a beach with only his name, a song in his heart and a burgundy shell necklace. Two pure-of-heart young halflings are rushing down the beach and into the early morning waves to help pull the young teenage fish out of the water and into their tavern. Arlow didn't say anything to Hazel and Bruce for three days other than briefly muttering his name when they first found him. Although he was grateful for the two, he was a terrified thirteen-year-old with no memories of his life, whether he had a family or why he had washed up on the beaches of Hanburn.
~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~
As Arlow is sitting on his bed drying his tears, he hears a soft voice calling his name and a knock on his door. “You can come in, mum, " he says with a light sob. In a matter of moments, his door practically bursts open. Hazel immediately rushes to her son, her dark hair bobbing slightly as she hurries over. ”Oh my Guppy!, What's happened?” She worries over him, dries his tears with a clean part of her apron, and holds him close. Arlow sniffles and sighs, hugging his adoptive mother, “It's just the same dreams; I dont understand, Mum. It has been ten years, and I still have all these dreams or memories, but I can't understand or even really remember them. Still, I know that they mean something.” Arlow looks at Hazel earnestly, with something like hope, as he tries to explain his dreams to her. “It feels like home. It's like when you and Dad cook together in the early morning before anyone else wakes, and you laugh and sometimes dance. All you feel is love; that's what these dreams feel like.”
Hazel nods in understanding as she strokes Arlow's face and kisses the top of his head as she does every morning. “I think, darling, that maybe it is memories of your loved ones; I know when I dream of you and Bruce, it feels like that. If I weren't near you or your father, I would feel exactly what you described: sea star.” Arlow nods in understanding her words but still looks unsure what to do. Hazel looks at her young son, whom she adopted ten years ago out of the hanburn waters, and instantly decides, “Arlow?” He tilts his head slightly, looking at her. “Yeah, mum?” She smiles softly at him and tries to keep her tears contained. “I think you need to try and find them, my darling. Your father and I love you so much, guppy, but this has been eating away at you for ten long years, and you’re old enough now to brave the world alone” She smiles softly at her son as she says. “Well, I would appreciate you taking at least the dog. You know what Keahorn gets like when you leave him alone for too long.”
Arlow laughs softly, fresh tears in his eyes at hearing his mother's words. He has wanted to search for his family for so long but has been so afraid to leave the only home he knew that Hazel would have grounded him for life if he had gone without at least a proper goodbye and ensuring he was ready for his journey. “Of course, I would take Keahorn with me. Why do you think I named him after this place? I lied when I said it because I found him on the doorstep, and that’s why he should be named Keahorn” He chuckles to himself about finally admitting his three-year-long secret about his dog's name. “It’s because I will always carry you and Dad in my heart, and I knew if I left, Keahorn would come with me somehow, whether that be the feeling or my dog; I would always have something to remember you. I’ve forgotten enough; I never want to forget this home.”
Hazel has tears streaming down her face now. She pulls her son into her arms and kisses his face softly. “Oh, my beautiful boy, I love you so much, and I know when, and I mean WHEN, you find your family again, it will be like paradise.” The second Arlow hears that last word, something in his heart shifts like a longing, a realisation that maybe paradise is home, and he mumbles, barely loud enough for Hazel to hear. “Together in Paradise.”