Yanhua
Every horse who knew Beqanna also knew that the River was mostly traveled south toward the sea, where it spilled brown-green water into the channel. Majority of nomadic horses never got the opportunity to discover it’s northern sections, since the winding ribbon of water cut directly through the heart of Hyaline and was fed by the churning gray oceans of Nerine. Yanhua, having the privileges of a kingdom horse (now a warrior!) and the opportunities of a young stallion with four healthy limbs, decided that he would begin his extensive first patrol at the River’s head.
He started his day early, rising with the sun which hardly seemed to penetrate Taiga’s foggier areas, and spent a large portion of his morning filling up on what dwindling forage he could find along the way. So far nothing seemed different to him except the way he felt: Taiga hadn’t changed overnight, but he certainly had. Confidence changed his walk, his expression, and kept him focused on the task at hand; he was a guardian of the redwoods now, not a frolicing little colt.
“Ho’ there!” He practiced his greeting aloud as he walked, twisting his fuzzy lips and trying again in a deeper voice. “Hullo, stranger. Who goes there?”
Wow, He thought with a frown, unimpressed by the way his voice still cracked occasionally, you couldn’t even spook a squirrel. And, as if to prove his point, beady little eyes and bushy, busy tails flicked out from their hiding spots as he trotted on by. His audience seemed curious about the noise and the contradicting spirit of the horse who was making the ruckus. Even in his best ‘adult’ tone, Yanhua’s innocence felt as obvious as his glowing hair or the horns stretching up out of his forehead. He wrinkled his face and in a single move leapt off the pathway, grunting softly as he landed.
Maybe Lethy had a point, the leggy chestnut considered, fighting his way through the tangle of smaller trees and picking his feet up whenever he came across something in his path, maybe I’m doing this for all the wrong reasons. He ducked his head under a low-hanging branch.
Now that he’d gotten past the worst of Taiga's less-traveled forest he could see the trees were thinning out. They were more varied as well, though a few smaller redwoods still mingled among the majority. He couldn’t see, but he could certainly hear the River, and the roaring sound of water drew Yanhua to the outer banks in no time at all.
“Holy shit!” He laughed from his chest, where his birthmark lay like a shining coin in the overhead light of the midday sun. In full sight the River was a mighty, roaring beast: alive with constant motion, clear as crystal, and swift. He doubted he could ford his way across without magical assistance, but he didn’t mind being confined to this side of the borderline. Hyaline’s northernmost mountains were a picturesque thing to see from where he stood. From his vantage point they rose like purple behemoths into the cotton candy sky, piercing the veil of the heavens with their snow-capped crowns. A walk well worth the effort. He commended himself on the journey, sighing and sinking back onto his haunches.
He started his day early, rising with the sun which hardly seemed to penetrate Taiga’s foggier areas, and spent a large portion of his morning filling up on what dwindling forage he could find along the way. So far nothing seemed different to him except the way he felt: Taiga hadn’t changed overnight, but he certainly had. Confidence changed his walk, his expression, and kept him focused on the task at hand; he was a guardian of the redwoods now, not a frolicing little colt.
“Ho’ there!” He practiced his greeting aloud as he walked, twisting his fuzzy lips and trying again in a deeper voice. “Hullo, stranger. Who goes there?”
Wow, He thought with a frown, unimpressed by the way his voice still cracked occasionally, you couldn’t even spook a squirrel. And, as if to prove his point, beady little eyes and bushy, busy tails flicked out from their hiding spots as he trotted on by. His audience seemed curious about the noise and the contradicting spirit of the horse who was making the ruckus. Even in his best ‘adult’ tone, Yanhua’s innocence felt as obvious as his glowing hair or the horns stretching up out of his forehead. He wrinkled his face and in a single move leapt off the pathway, grunting softly as he landed.
Maybe Lethy had a point, the leggy chestnut considered, fighting his way through the tangle of smaller trees and picking his feet up whenever he came across something in his path, maybe I’m doing this for all the wrong reasons. He ducked his head under a low-hanging branch.
Now that he’d gotten past the worst of Taiga's less-traveled forest he could see the trees were thinning out. They were more varied as well, though a few smaller redwoods still mingled among the majority. He couldn’t see, but he could certainly hear the River, and the roaring sound of water drew Yanhua to the outer banks in no time at all.
“Holy shit!” He laughed from his chest, where his birthmark lay like a shining coin in the overhead light of the midday sun. In full sight the River was a mighty, roaring beast: alive with constant motion, clear as crystal, and swift. He doubted he could ford his way across without magical assistance, but he didn’t mind being confined to this side of the borderline. Hyaline’s northernmost mountains were a picturesque thing to see from where he stood. From his vantage point they rose like purple behemoths into the cotton candy sky, piercing the veil of the heavens with their snow-capped crowns. A walk well worth the effort. He commended himself on the journey, sighing and sinking back onto his haunches.
I GOT | Extra | FEELINGS
OOC: So, technically he's in the location between Taiga and Hyaline - like, on the river that separates both territories - but I posted this here so anyone/literally everyone could reply. We can just pretend <3