i'll use you as a warning sign - zhenga

[Ivar]

I V A R i'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take Has he seen other sunrises before? Ivar smiles before she’s finished speaking, remembering fondly the sights that he has witnessed. “Oh yeah,” he says “My parents let me get away with anything when I was a kid. Most of the lands were still empty post-Reckoning then, remember? So there weren’t so many guards at the borders.” Really, the only not-so-friendly greeting he’d ever gotten was here in Loess. Fiery Merida was not fond of his lack of disrespect for borders. The memory, once clear and bright, is a little faded now – had she let him in or sent him away? It didn’t matte,r in the end, because he’d come back anyway. Come back and not left, at least not yet. “They’re pretty too,” he says in answer to Zhenga’s question. “but this is my favorite. In Nerine and Tephra you can just see the ocean. Same with Ischia, but the island is really cool. I’ve not seen Hyaline’s sunrise though. Maybe that’s the prettiest.” Ivar is rarely especially verbose, but it was such a long answer after a breath-taking run, and he is content to stand in silence for a while, watching Zhenga. The sun slowly inches up the horizon, turning the stone around them from lightless-black to warm red, and then orange. It highlights the appearance of the bay roan horse, and Ivar waits for her response, his expression thoughtful. kelpie mimicry | dragon scales | tactile hypnosis

[Zhenga]

So that was why he'd been able to get away with so many things as a colt. Zhenga suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy toward the paint colt for getting to have the adventures he did when they were younger. Raxa didn't keep Zhenga confined to the level that Anahi may have had for her foals when they were younger, but it was enough that Zhenga felt she didn't have the freedom that her free spirit had been craving. So, when she'd hit a year old and Raxa let her venture out of the territory, the filly couldn't have been more grateful.

But Ivar had been seeing stuff like this since he was young. Was there anything he hasn't seen? Wait, he did say something about Tephra's sunrise, of how it seemed rather lackluster in comparison to Loess', or perhaps Hyaline's. Maybe he'd seen it from a bad angle? Yes, the sunrise wasn't the prettiest, but Zhenga had been lucky, seeing it from where she had.

The roan filly turned to look at her friend, her electric blue eyes reflecting a brighter color thanks to the sun, "Well, I haven't seen Hyaline's yet myself, but I don't think you should discount Tephra. Yeah, it's covered with a lot of fog, but I think I could change your mind about it. Unless you'd like to see Hyaline's first, then I'd love to come with you and have the chance to see it for myself," she said with a hopeful smile.

[Ivar]

I V A R i'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take Ivar does not yet know the seasons of Loess as well as he had known Sylva’s, but the sun has not yet begun to rise too far to the south. Still well in the heart of summer, he surmises, with a full day of warmth and sunshine ahead of them (sparing a sudden summer thunderstorm, which are more frequent than not). Still, it is just barely dawn, and they have the day ahead of them. He decides with a definitive nod, looking down to meet Zhenga’s electric blue eyes. “Let’s go to Hyaline,” he says, reaching down without thought to brush his muzzle against her shoulder. It has been so long since he has left Loess for anywhere more exciting than the common lands. The idea feels him with an almost forgotten energy, and he prances lightly in place as he continues to speak. “I’ve not been in years, and I bet you’ll like the lake too.” Ivar knows that Castile no longer calls the lakeside retreat home, but he is sure that Amet still rules the place and that they will welcome visitors. Both he and Zhenga are above the age of those who might seek refuge in the mountainous land, but surely a visit will be fine. If necessary, he supposes he could combine business with pleasure. That is assuming his roan companion will not mind a bit of diplomacy, but he knows that Zhenga is as familiar with kingdom life – and the demands that come with it – as anyone could be. kelpie mimicry | dragon scales | tactile hypnosis