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 Ivar is always well-rested, even if he tends to sleep at irregular times. It’s nearly time for him to sleep more deeply, but he still has more than enough energy to prod playfully at Zhenga’s shoulder she teases him. “When we were younger, you were bigger than me” he retorts easily, “now I’m finally the bigger one!” The excitement that appears so quickly on his face has him laughing. “This way,” he says, “The route is clear and smooth.” It seems an odd thing to say, at least until he adds: “Race you!” And bolts off toward the east without a moment’s hesitation. The ground he travels on is indeed smooth, a wide and empty riverbed that twists up the steep rise of a hill. It’s taller than the rocky crests immediately around it, and is the nearest impressive altitude to Ivar’s banyan tree. Even if Zhenga pulls ahead of him (something he realizes might be an actual possibility), it will be easy for her to continue the track to the top of the hill.  At a dead gallop, Ivar should reach the peak a scant second before the sun peeks over the eastern sea. It will glisten, impossibly bright in the waters almost too distant to be seen, a distant and out-of-reach jewel surrounded by beams of brilliant light that pierce the star-strewn sky.  He has run this distance many time, the turns and dips of the riverbed are all but ingrained in his lean muscles. An advantage, perhaps, but Ivar remembers the playful young filly of his childhood; she had always been able to give him a genuine run for his money. kelpie mimicry | dragon scales | tactile hypnosis