Astraeus' ears could only prick up half-heartedly as he heard a curious rippling sound, of water disturbed, but not broken. A fleet of thoughts crossed his brain. What new predator could be hiding in these lands, what creature to inflict new tortures on his worn and tired old body.
His breath caught and rasped in his throat. His eyes, still spotted from their encounter with the sun, straining to make out the strange shadow moving towards him. He did not have the energy to move, to retreat or flee. Suddenly, a stray ray of moonlight pierced the clouds.
Astraeus breathed out, deflating from his tense state as he made out the form of a horse. Certainly, an unusual one, but still recognisable. Astraeus raises his tired head slightly as they approach, but forgets to offer any greeting. Then they, she even, speaks.
He chuckles, and the sound is gruff and rusty from his forgotten vocal chords.
‘My coat is my inheritance from my father, who was a star. But otherwise I am just like you. Well, maybe not quite the same.’
He eyes her unusual fins, her soft lavender and white coat with envy as she seems to hover over the water. At least her gifts had some use. What had he ever gained from his hide aside from the searing pain of the sun? While it drew admiration occasionally, Astraeus was not vain.
‘So where have you come from? Beqanna is not as I remember it…’
His voice trails off as he scans the landscape in the dark, its unfamiliar swells and drops. It filled him with dread, before he had been safe from the sun, he had known caves and close canopied forests where he could escape its gaze. Now he knew nothing, and if he did not find a place before sunrise he would burn and melt under its gaze.
@[Kylin]