Drip. Drip.
The water dribbles innocently down his whiskers to wet the ground at his feet. In the next moment, inexplicable warmth bowls over him like a Nerinian wave. His charming grin evaporates into outright surprise. Because fiery wings unfurl from the dark woman he’d just been playing with, wings he’d known nothing about. She’s literally on fire, too, hot flames that lick at her skin and set her aglow. She’s the picture of a minion from Hell. It’s an incredibly becoming look on her (and one he wonders if Djinni can mimic for him later on; hey, he’s only a man). Fitting in a way that he’s always suspected but never seen, as their time in the cave had been meant for softness and sharing, not strength and scope. Still, for someone who is rarely shocked, Walter fully embraces the feeling now.
“Impressive,” he says, and it is sincere even if it doesn’t sound that way. He’s never been adept at tone. “Though I’d mind the water if I were you. We don’t need our queen extinguished.” That would certainly not be ideal. Not when Beqanna as a whole is so quiet; a tranquil Beqanna has always been like the calm before a storm. That troubling thought is quick on his mind now, though, because Hestia laughs at his stupid joke and they are right back where they started. Quick friends and easy confidants.
She says she hardly knows what day it is, and he nods in sympathy. He thinks he’d be a lousy king; little sleep does nothing for his complexion. He’s not sure how she manages to look so rosy – oh, maybe the fire. Speaking of which, “what did you have to do to become so pyrotechnically gifted all of a sudden?” Maybe a quest? The palomino has heard that the Mountain has been more active and loose with its magic lately, but he’s never had a desire to become more than what he is already. He’s not sure the world could handle it. He’s also heard how dangerous some of the quests can be, how tragic. But Hestia looks better than ever, younger, too, if his imagination isn’t running away with him.
The black mare unfurls those shiny new appendages again, flicking him with water from the stream with one. “Hey!” Another grin as he dramatically pulls his head away from most of the splash. She inquires after his own state while he is recovering. “Fantastic. Like a load has been lifted from me.” His honey eyes soften then as he meets her gaze with some amount of dignity. She’ll know what he means and the extent to which he means it. The Reckoning had rended him into a million pieces and melted those pieces down. Nerine had molded him back up after, made him different and better. Their time protected from the deluge had been the final affirmation of all he had changed about himself.
He doesn’t even want to look back now, only forward.
There is so much to do and he wants to help for the first time in his life. Bring it on, bring it all on! Walter shifts his own wings as he looks at Hestia’s. “Want to try those things out? I can’t say I’ve ever taught anyone how to fly, but there’s a first time for everything, right?” He tilts his head to scour the land around them, looking for a good vantage point (preferably far away from water for now). He waits for her answer before taking off towards the hill. Here goes nothing, carpe diem and all that jazz.
Walter
son of Liefde & Ellen
@[Hestia]