06-25-2020, 06:31 PM
His body twitched, kicked out at nothing.
His mind spun, fighting a battle seemingly against elements out of his control. Really though, he was only fighting himself. He was always fighting himself. The only difference was that this time he had an audience.
His jaw ached with the tension he was holding in it, every attempt to rise thwarted before it had really begun. He panted in the sand. The red bird sat preening before him, seeming to have forgotten he existed at all. Then something else came into view, red as the parrot, but many times larger. It was a serpentine shape, vivid and taking over much of the treacherous beach.
Words came, directly into his mind, and again he recognized their speaker's voice. Eyes wide, the pale stallion glared down at the sandy terrain, teeth bared. The parrot-that-was-Eyas whistled shrilly in his ears. It was overwhelming, inexplicable, and he felt his heart pound rapidly to keep up. With a gasp, the dragon winged stallion shut his eyes. Breathed as deeply as he could and opened them again.
The scene changed.
Where the facsimile of Ischia had been, now a deep forest stretched. Trees, ancient things with gnarled roots and reaching crowns, cast dark shadows all around. This was a far older forest than the one he'd fallen asleep in. The only light was where they stood. A brief clearing, with the sun's light filtering on their backs. Tana breathed again. The weight was gone from his wings, and he could feel the coil of magic in his belly once more.
"Catcher," he said, lips parting in a somewhat weary smile. "Imagine seeing you here." Butterflies black and blue tumbled by, and he watched them with vague interest as they split apart and four smaller copies spun away. He shook his head, bemused. Seeing his old friend again was far more interesting anyway.
@[Catcher]
His mind spun, fighting a battle seemingly against elements out of his control. Really though, he was only fighting himself. He was always fighting himself. The only difference was that this time he had an audience.
His jaw ached with the tension he was holding in it, every attempt to rise thwarted before it had really begun. He panted in the sand. The red bird sat preening before him, seeming to have forgotten he existed at all. Then something else came into view, red as the parrot, but many times larger. It was a serpentine shape, vivid and taking over much of the treacherous beach.
Words came, directly into his mind, and again he recognized their speaker's voice. Eyes wide, the pale stallion glared down at the sandy terrain, teeth bared. The parrot-that-was-Eyas whistled shrilly in his ears. It was overwhelming, inexplicable, and he felt his heart pound rapidly to keep up. With a gasp, the dragon winged stallion shut his eyes. Breathed as deeply as he could and opened them again.
The scene changed.
Where the facsimile of Ischia had been, now a deep forest stretched. Trees, ancient things with gnarled roots and reaching crowns, cast dark shadows all around. This was a far older forest than the one he'd fallen asleep in. The only light was where they stood. A brief clearing, with the sun's light filtering on their backs. Tana breathed again. The weight was gone from his wings, and he could feel the coil of magic in his belly once more.
"Catcher," he said, lips parting in a somewhat weary smile. "Imagine seeing you here." Butterflies black and blue tumbled by, and he watched them with vague interest as they split apart and four smaller copies spun away. He shook his head, bemused. Seeing his old friend again was far more interesting anyway.
@[Catcher]