no one really knows what the ocean hides
but you and I, bird, we’re gonna find out
Through her labored breaths clouding in front of her, Reia sees the island unravel. Frost-crusted palm trees lean forward as snow glitters in the midday sunlight. It’s different from the mainland and the pine trees that tower high above in the forests. Admittedly, Reia prefers the shadows thrust across the ground when she immerses herself in the dense throng of trees. There are more animals to choose from, more scavenging options. Here, she hears only the cawing of tropical birds as they flutter away angrily, deterred by the cold. Curiously, she watches them and wonders if one day she will be able to hunt in the sky.
Her musings are interrupted by the most silent of footsteps. Her ears twist as her heightened senses reach desperately for the source until she has no other option than to look at the tiger looming. Fortunately, she had confirmed by scent it was mother otherwise she would have been standing off with a larger predator than herself – not that she would’ve shied from the challenge, however.
The thin lines of Reia’s lips curve in the most gentle of smiles, her eyes glittering excitedly to see her mother again, especially in this form. Coiling her wings to her side and kindling the blue fire along her crest and tail, the girl takes a few steps away from the lapping waves to meet then touch Sochi’s shoulder. ”I don’t have the patience,” she quips before lazily drifting her eyes shut and pressing her face into the coarse tiger hair. ”Hello, mother.” If only she could shift as well, but alas, she is stuck just as she is with edged draconic features. Her scales scrape along Sochi in an endearing and tender display before retracting with steps that drag slowly across the sand. Their eyes level on each other as Reia maps her whereabouts before finally speaking, her tone as frigid as the snow around them. ”The other kids are whiny,” her lip curls in disgust and her head shakes a single time in recollection. ”They ask questions and say I’m rude.” Reia’s nose turns up at this and her eyes narrow skeptically, disbelieving that she could ever be as such. She’s just honing her skills.
With a smug grin stretching across her lips, she adds, ”I never apologize for what I am or what I do.”
and I'll be next to you when the lights go out
@[Sochi]