Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Fennick liked the flames. He didn’t realize that the wall could be fun. Through the flickering world of fire he looked for Hestia’s face, and his own broke into a beam when he saw she was smiling.
Thank god. He wouldn’t be presenting his home to a charred corpse.
That would really, really ruin his day, and certainly her’s as well. Fennick was tempted to stay in the fire wonderland for a while longer. Perhaps they could frolic in it? Would doing so undermine the gravity of its purpose? He wasn’t sure. Certainly, Demian hadn’t intended his grand sacrifice as amusement for his högerhand. Reluctant, Fennick stepped from the flames, and smiled in farewell as they slipped off his hide.
After being submerged in a world of light, the night around them seemed very dark. Fennick blinked a little, hoping to speed along his night vision. Harmless bits of flame clung to his inky feathers, so he shook his body violently, flapping his great wings once to remove the hanger ons. As always, Fennick forgot the size of his wings, and suddenly the grass nearly ten feet around them was flattened in the wake of the almighty whoosh of his wing beat. The stallion hastily refolded them, and shot Hestia a slightly sheepish look. Oops. In response to her question he recomposed himself and nodded.
“This is it.” He murmured softly, his night vision kicking in to make more and more of it visible. His expression changed to one of hopefulness.
“Yours too, if you want it to be.” The stallion grinned lopsidedly. The Valley had done a lot for him, sharing that felt right and natural. Besides, she had already passed their first test. She hadn’t even been singed a little bit. He looked her over, and saw no charred hair or burned mane.
“The wall certainly thinks you’re here to stay.” Another smile. He couldn’t really be sure what what the wall thought, or if it thought at all. He just had a feeling in his bones. He didn’t pretend to understand magic, but he understood the Valley, at least as well as a mortal man could understand something as old as time.
Hey, it was a start.
In the inky blackness the wall was nearly the only thing that was visible. Deeper into the Valley were the main herd lands, the popular gathering places that were worn smooth by hundreds of years of hooves marching back and forth. He would like to show them to her. Although, since he could barely see himself, there wouldn’t be much showing to be done until morning.
“It’s more interesting in the daylight, I promise.” Their walk here had taken a long time, and the walk up the mountain had left him a little breathless. Soon morning would come, and she could see the Valley as he loved it. Just when everyone was waking up, and the sun was slipping tantalizingly over the mountain.