Aela liked the way that dawn came creeping across Pangea. Perhaps it was because of those years in Taiga. They never saw dawns like this - all brilliant oranges and reds rising until the days ended much the same way. There was no way in such a dense woodland. In Pangea, the dawns echoed the sunsets, wild death throes that argued across the horizon in dazzling shades that could have painted catastrophes instead of dusk.
She had settled in well to her new home (but when didn't Aela adjust well?). She had found Kensley before he had departed for the Alliance. She kept company with Beyza when she could and there was so much to learn from one as accomplished as Straia; Aela was filling her days as she was expanding her future and the golden girl could feel herself growing - both in her powers and herself. There was a whole horizon for her to find in Pangea and Aela intended to make use of every sunrise and sunset.
But for as hard as she works, she is still young.
And one morning, the golden girl had slept longer than she normally would. The sun had risen hours ago and Aela, curled up near the back of a cavern, hadn't noticed the trickle of daylight beneath her closed lids. If there was a croak from a Raven or the cry of a shifting predator, they don't reach Aela's delicately-tipped ears. She hears the crash of the ocean. She hears waves barreling towards the coastline and breaking over the Nerinian crags. (The ocean always makes her uneasy, for reasons she doesn't know.) Her blue eyes open to the dark as her heart beats erratically and her pulse races. The near-blinding dark is a comfort because it reminds her that this is not Taiga. It wraps around her like a blanket and the adolescent lets lose a sigh of relief as her slender comes to rest against a striped, glowing knee.
Not a dream, she realizes with a soft smile when the bond touches her mind. The image of a savage, gray sea comes again. A view from a cave that Aela has seen before. Hi Glamma, the girl thinks. Her voice is tender, full of love, and still drowsy with sleep. Always. She tells her. There are images of Pangea, of Straia, and the others. Of the ways that Aela fills her bright days. How is Nerine? I hope that horrible boy hasn't bothered you.
@[Heartfire]