I jolt to wakefulness, rolling to a stand and shaking the debris from my feet as the last remnants of my dream leave me. They had been startling but not unpleasant (a rarity these days), but the imagined warmth of the steaming hot springs leaves me even more quickly than the images.
Though winter has released its grip on Beqanna, a chill still lingers here in the more northern lands, and I pull my wings more tightly to my sides as I make my way out of the copse in which I had spent the night. It is backed on two sides by a boulder twice my height, and it had become mine during my previous residence in Sylva. I was pleased to see it not taken by another when I returned, though at times it feels silly to be so attached to a physical location.
The boulder is also an excellent place to fly from, which is obvious as I clamor to the top, spread my wings, and soar away. It takes many strong wing beats to clear the red canopy, but I am no stranger to strenuous activity. My perlino hide covers a body that is lean with muscle, and I am barely winded even when I land at the edge of Nerine - many miles from my starting point.
I am careful to stay at the border, my navy hooves in the no man's land between the realms. Before we had come from the River, so this view of the seaside kingdom is a new one for me. My blue grey eyes take in the vista, marveling at the way the granite cliffs fall straight into an equally steely sea.
There is a hardness in the set of my shoulders despite my interest in the scenery, one that seems fitting with the thin line of my navy mouth and the plethora of scars across my hide. I do not wear the most pleasant of expressions, but at the sound of someone approaching that melts away into what can only be a genuine, good-natured smile of greeting.
Though winter has released its grip on Beqanna, a chill still lingers here in the more northern lands, and I pull my wings more tightly to my sides as I make my way out of the copse in which I had spent the night. It is backed on two sides by a boulder twice my height, and it had become mine during my previous residence in Sylva. I was pleased to see it not taken by another when I returned, though at times it feels silly to be so attached to a physical location.
The boulder is also an excellent place to fly from, which is obvious as I clamor to the top, spread my wings, and soar away. It takes many strong wing beats to clear the red canopy, but I am no stranger to strenuous activity. My perlino hide covers a body that is lean with muscle, and I am barely winded even when I land at the edge of Nerine - many miles from my starting point.
I am careful to stay at the border, my navy hooves in the no man's land between the realms. Before we had come from the River, so this view of the seaside kingdom is a new one for me. My blue grey eyes take in the vista, marveling at the way the granite cliffs fall straight into an equally steely sea.
There is a hardness in the set of my shoulders despite my interest in the scenery, one that seems fitting with the thin line of my navy mouth and the plethora of scars across my hide. I do not wear the most pleasant of expressions, but at the sound of someone approaching that melts away into what can only be a genuine, good-natured smile of greeting.
