drink thy poison lightly; any [deserts competition meet & greet]

[Engelsfors]

Drink thy poison lightly dear, ♦♢♦ The confines of the pines, their lofty guardianship, it was home and it was a comfort, yet every now and again it was good to stretch out from the darkened bowels of the forest, and see more of Beqanna. Compared to many in this world, I am still quite fresh, new to the ideas and the topography. But I adapt well, and come dawn's first light I break through the canopies at a steady canter, my hooves crunching the crisp early morning frost on the moist leaves below. Long appendages carry me across the fields, the plains, the shadows and the naked forests of Beqanna. Spring is here, I can smell the touch of mother nature, she's already budding blooms and starting to sprout grass beneath my feet; this is al fanciful and just, but my eyes are focused on my goal. The Deserts. A strangely exotic sounding place, it both intrigued me and allured me. Of course, I am freshly touched upon this land, and every few hours I have to stop and decide if I am going the right way or not; I'm sure Killdare will growl, being such an expert, he'd ridicule me in a heartbeat. At that thought a chuckle slips my lips; they are dry, parched almost. The trek is tolling on me, but my form is lithe, light and agile as I weave through the spindles of tree trunks and brush, to finally reach the borders. The rolling sands are arid, and my first inhalation is met with grains of sand. I snort, shaking my crown vigorously. My pace does not alter, still a steady canter that swallows the ground, much harder than the moist earth of the chamber, or the field. my hooves sink, down to my fetlocks, I pull and push and my canter slows right down to barely faster than a jog. Perspiration mars my skin, patches beneath my mane and rolls down in fine rivulets down by shoulders. It is warm here, pleasantly so. The tangerine rays beam down and grace me with a warm glow, the touch spans my very essence and just adds to the exertion of the journey. My pace drops, back to a sturdy walk, I find it easier now, my hooves still sink but the strange pull against my tendons has become numbingly comfortable. Azure eyes scan the horizon, drinking in the oasis, the dunes that go on and on and on. That's when I catch a glimpse, faint at first, shimmering in the light. My eyes adjust to the heat, the sizzle that comes from the sand and blurs my vision. I'm not seeing things, it is there, a sturdy oak, placed within the deserts, as noticeable as a a brown leaf on a tree of viridian green. That is my destination, and it takes my ground swallowing canter to get me there. It's thick bark is course, and the smell of wood makes me feel at home; of course the menthol pine and ash has become engrained within me, and nowhere will be as comfortable now as the Chamber. My eyes scan the tree, head tilting left, head tilting right. It seems so out of place, so strange. But then there are a lot of things in Beqanna that are strange. this realm pulses with magic, a life that beats all on another level. I stand there idling, just gazing up at the tree, it's leaves full of life and luscious beneath the sizzling heat of the sun. I inch closer, extending out my muzzle, breathing in the foreign scents, the pulse of something entirely different. It reminds me of the heart that pounds gently beneath my feet in the Chamber. Is every kingdom in Beqanna alive, like, truly alive beneath? That thought somehow unnerves me, and my eyes drop to the sands beneath my feet. Truly, alive... ♦♢♦ there are deeper and darker things than you; professor of the chamber

html by magpie77 - photo manip by beequeen - character by magpie77

OOC: Someone pass the sunscreen, my palomino precious will burn xD