keep a little fire burning; solace

[Smoak]

Keep a little fire burning;
however small, however hidden.

Most of Smoak longs for adventure. For exploration. For new experiences. But there is a small piece of him that keeps him anchored to Tephra still, even on the brink of adulthood. The champagne boy loves his family ─ he'd missed enough time with them when they'd been captured by Carnage. And when Dad and Scyla were fighting. He finally has them all back now and he aches to leave his volcanic island home, but there is one face that Smoak has not had the pleasure of seeing in quite some time.

The bone-armored colt had not traveled as far as Hyaline until today. Instantly, though, he understands why Svedka and Solace's mother had often returned to the western territory. The mountaintop air is warm in the early summertime and his mane and tail whip in the occasional gust of wind. He doesn't linger here long (his excitement to see Solaces overshadows his desire to stop and smell the roses), instead picking up his pace as he descends into the valley-like sanctum, its translucent lake glimmering at its center.

The tree boughs bloom lavender and crimson, vibrant under the noontime sun, though perhaps not as vibrant as they would have been in the spring. The branches intertwine in some places, offering loosely-knit canopies for the lanky creature to lope beneath. His weight carries him faster down the slope and by the time he rockets from the treeline and towards the crystalline lake, the young Smoak is galloping carefree and excited.

He throws his head skyward and lets a call ring out for Solace, her pleasant scent finding his fluttering nostrils for the first time in what seems like ages.

Smoak

lineart colored by sanaa

@[Solace]