Survival Island

Griff nodded. "Some relaxation could do me well." he said and turned towards the ocean, starting to walk towards it again. "If you'll need me, look for a shark fin.. I'll stay next to the surface while I let waves carry me around.." He said and smiled, eventually transforming into a shark and swimming just off the coast.

Dusk had to wonder if Griff really liked his shark form right now or was simply stepping out of the way so he and Wisp could have a private moment, and honestly, he thought it was the latter.

Now alone with Wisp, he suddenly felt a little nervous again. Though he had been told about love and observed some ponies in love, he himself lacked any experience with it. He thought something small would be best right now. So, he simply took her hoof in his, and leaned a little more into her.

Not expecting the hoof, Wisp glanced down hurriedly, but relaxed when she realized it was only Dusk. Simply, she smiled up at the stallion as he leaned a little more against her and she returned it in kind. Nuzzling up against his neck and bottom of the head, Wisp rested her head and let out a content sigh. "I don't know why, but I could watch water forever. It feels, familiar, but I can't really remember why," she said nostalgically.

Dusk relaxed a bit more as Wisp nuzzled up against his neck and under his chin. When he heard Wisp wonder why she liked watching the water, he had an idea as to why, even though they'd never truly find out about it. "Perhaps before you... became what you are, you liked to watch the water, and that carried over. I know there's no way to prove that, but it's a nice thought."

"Maybe," Wisp replied wistfully. Even though she didn't know what they were, she did miss her memories. She wanted to know what she used to know, who she used to be, what she used to like, but the farthest back she could remember were those first few hours after 'waking up'. Those dark thoughts still managed to plague her mind and caused an involuntary shudder throughout her form. On reflex, she snuggled in closer to Dusk, grateful that she wasn't alone.

When Dusk felt Wisp shudder and snuggle closer to him, Dusk moved his hoof off of hers and instead wrapped it across her back, and he realized that was almost an involuntary action. He suddenly thought he had gone too far with that, and he brought his hoof back to his side and shied away a bit. "Um, forgive me. I wasn't really thinking when I did that," he glumly said. Dang it, pull yourself together. If I keep slipping up like this... Dusk really didn't want to think of the possibilities of what he could do.

Feeling Dusk edge away, Wisp looked up with some shock before starting to snuggling back again. When Dusk said that though, Wisp's expression turned worried. "Wh-what do you mean Dusk?"

"I just... I thought I went too far there. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable," Dusk said. He hoped that would dispel her worried expression, and earn a bit of her forgiveness.

Wisp cocked her head to the side in confusion, not really understanding the meaning of what he said. With the warm sands beneath her, the comfortable sun above, and the comfortable pony that she was leaning against, Wisp didn't know how she could be uncomfortable. "Silly," Wisp started with a happy smile, "I'm more comfortable now than I've been for..." she trailed off at that point and found herself at a loss for a reference point. Instead of just letting the awkward silence come however, she instead chose to snuggle back against Dusk, wrapping her own fore-hooves around the other pony as she tried to get more comfortable.

Dusk heavily blushed when Wisp wrapped her fore-hooves around him. Well, that definitely proves I didn't make her uncomfortable, Dusk thought. He then decided that he could probably wrap his fore-hooves around Wisp now, but that would put them in a much more intimate position, pretty much to where they'd be lying on their sides and facing each other. Well, if she tells me she's uncomfortable with it, I'll back off, Dusk said to himself. He then did just that, wrapping his hooves around her and positioning himself so he was on his side and facing her. Staring at her face would definitely be a plus for this.

As Dusk shifted about and then wrapped his own hooves around her, Wisp looked up at him, oblivious to the blush creeping on her face. Soon enough though, her uncertainty faded and she smiled up at him before leaning forward and resting her head halfway on his shoulder and halfway on his neck so she had a 'pillow' to lay one. Surprising even to herself, she didn't mind the fact that at this angle she couldn't see the water or surf.

Dusk felt content to just stay where he was and hold Wisp. At the same time he let his mind wander for a bit, but Wisp was definitely stuck on his mind. She said she lived in Ponyville. I could move there easily enough, and it would ensure i could see her every day. Hay, we might be spending nights in each other's hooves for all I know, Dusk thought.

However, Dusk soon thought back to a question he had asked himself earlier. Why, out of all the mares he had swore to protect at some point or another, did he love her? Compared to all the other mares he knew and had helped, nothing really stood out, other than her past life and her current condition. No matter how hard he thought about it, he still didn't have an answer, and it was beginning to visibly frustrate him.

Unable to see the frustration plaguing Dusk, Wisp remained blissfully unaware of the growing unease. Her own mind seemed to want to wander, but it didn't have anywhere to wander to. She didn't have the memories or past experiences in her mind to escape to or distract her from everything that was going on around her.

The gentle sway of the greenery around them in the oceanic breeze, the sounds of the surf breaking upon the shore, the occasional call of a bird flying high above, the warmth of the sun shining down upon the island and consequently the ponies that were stranded on it, and warmth of pony she found herself embraced with. All this is what filled Wisp's mind, and she welcomed it with open senses trying to take in every minute detail she could as if in the next moment, it'd disappear forever.

Finally though she did start to notice something different in Dusk's nature, the tightening of muscles, the slight changes in breathing, and other minuscule hints giving it away. Curious, she shifted her head until Dusk's face came into view. "D-Dusk? Are you okay?" she asked quietly, as if still afraid that too much noise might break the serenity of their surroundings.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just a question I can't seem to answer. Nothing to be concerned about though," Dusk said. He let himself relax again, deciding to focus on the moment right now. Now that her face was in view, he was taking the sight in as much as he could with a warm smile on his own face.

Her smile returning after Dusk's reassurances, Wisp relaxed herself, yet her curiosity remained. "What question bothers you?" she pressed onward, her own calm smile reflecting her steadily growing interest in the question within Dusk's mind.

Dusk's smile quickly faded as Dusk tried to decide how to answer Wisp's question, if he answered it at all. Lying wasn't an option. He'd lie to an enemy as much as he pleased,but never to somepony he loved. Dodging the question was an option, but it would only provide temporary relief. He could also tell the truth, and even though he had already shown and said how he felt about her, it still was hard for him to talk about. Blast it all. Mother always told me to tell the truth, he said to himself.

"I... I was asking myself why... why I love you." Dusk suddenly felt both immense pain inside from revealing how he felt, but also some relief for finally getting that off of his chest. "I do love you, but I can't think of an exact reason why"

Dusk's question, for all the horrendous reactions it could have garnered, brought forth one that was possibly least likely if not an impossibility for any normal mare. Luckily, Wisp was fairly far from the normal stock. Instead of regarding Dusk with disgust, malice, or shock, she appeared only mildly confused for a relatively short time before giggle lightly as her smile returned to it's full form.

"Then we'll both just have to find out silly," Wisp replied happily, nuzzling against his neck again before continuing. "You forget, I've never known love, or even the meaning of the word until recently. I couldn't answer your question any faster than I could answer the same one for myself, so we'll just have to figure it out together," she said as if it was as simple as finishing a book to figure out the ending, or finishing a project to see the result.

Despite how simple Wisp's answer was, he felt it was for the best. He also breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't shy away. "I suppose the answer will come in time, but either way it won't reduce how much I love you." He then planted a small kiss on the tip of her nose.

Wisp squirmed slightly at the unexpected contact, but soon enough smiled up at him sweetly. She didn't stay entwined for much longer though. Fighting urges she didn't know where there until she started to stand, Wisp brought herself up to her full height and looked about their somewhat shoddy campsite. "Well, we've a full day, shouldn't we do something? What if it storms or something?" Wisp asked, turning back towards Dusk.

Though Dusk wondered why Wisp suddenly stood up, that was answered when she asked her question. He too had to admit the state of the camp wouldn't be good if a storm came. However, he wasn't sure they could make something that could withstand a storm. He soon remembered they had that hatchet, but it alone would do little to a tree, but he didn't need to cut down a tree.

"We probably could make something like a tent, but we should make small ones so they can withstand strong winds better, only big enough to crawl in. We'll need plenty of branches, and I can handle that, and we'll also need more leaves and vines. We can use the beds as the bottom of the tent, saving us some work, and each tent will be for each individual." Dusk then thought that he didn't really want to sleep alone again. He wanted to sleep with Wisp. "Um, if you don't mind, maybe we can combine ours into one tent so... we can sleep together again," he said with a blush.

Not sure as to the reasons to Dusk's apparent nervousness, Wisp looked at him slightly confused, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a happy smile as the memories of the comfort of resting her head on the stallion rather than the rough sand or her own hooves. "Sure, that sounds nice," she said simply before turning her attention towards the trees that loomed above. "So we're going to need more of those leaves?" she asked even as she was already in mid flight up to the large green palm leaves, ready to pluck the necessary ones they'd need for a proper shelter.

"Yep, and I'll get the branches needed," Dusk said. With a bit of a boost from Wisp agreeing to sleep with him tonight, he decided to get to work. He took the hatchet Wisp found in the village and started cutting the straightest branches he could find. At the same time he gathered some vines with his magic. He made sure he gathered plenty of each, figuring any extra could be used for something else.

When he started working on the tents, he used himself as a size reference since everypony else was smaller than him, at least to his knowledge. He set the branches up to make simple triangular tents, but instead of the usual three pairs of support sticks and one along the top, he added two more pairs to add some support, and he used the vines to bind everything together. Soon he was done with the first tent, and he moved on to the next one to let Wisp place the leaves. She seemed good at that since she did a good job with the beds, so he wasn't at all concerned.

True to form, Wisp started making multiple trips to the tops of the trees, plucking off the larger leaves, and then flying back down to place the leaves on the skeleton of the structure. Several trips later and Wisp had the first one covered well enough for an adequate shelter. With the first of the shelter's completed, Wisp moved onto the next one, following a bit after Dusk's own progress as she went.

One by one, Dusk completed the tents. As he started the one just before his and Wisp's tent, he realized just how much the heat of the sun and the work was getting to him. Even though it wasn't exactly hard work, it required magic to hold everything in place as he bound everything together, and it was beginning to take its toll. Though he was nowhere near the verge of collapsing, he didn't want to push it and worry Wisp because of it.

"Wisp. When you have a moment, could you get me some water?" Dusk asked.

Wisp nodded happily from where she was and let go of the large leaf she'd been struggling to pull free of the tree. Wistfully flying down to the collection of water they'd gathered up the prior day, Wisp grabbed up the repaired bowl since it'd serve as a adequate container. Filling it with collected water, Wisp then flew it over to Dusk and happily offered it to him. While Dusk may have been feeling the effects of the tropical weather, Wisp didn't show a single sign of either fatigue, heat, or really anything.