07-02-2017, 12:38 PM
 i'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take Ivar – the sharp-toothed, scaled water dragon – is unlikely to find anything too crazy. There are bones at the bottom of his father’s lake and his mother tells tales of lifetimes spent beyond the stars: almost anything is believable. The constant presence of her behind him hasn’t gone unnoticed, as they wove their way through the greenery he’d felt the warm ghost of her breath across his hindquarters. He’s no more experienced in friendship than she is, but this seems about right. He’s enough of a stallion to want her closer, but those instincts are weaker without the heady pressure of autumn. There’s still to urge to keep her, to protect her, to steal her away to a land of his own, but those are quiet murmurs in a more civilized mind. He nods when she asks if he’s visited the other lands; what else is there for him to do? Sylva is a quiet kingdom, lacking in the kind of adventure that he is almost ready to seek. Glancing down from the canopy, Ivar sees that she’s taken a step closer to him. He smiles. “She says everyone just woke up on the mountain one day. One day the old Beqanna was there, and the next day the New Beqanna was.” he’s tried to pry more out of his mother, but she has never been especially interested in the details. The big picture, that’s what is important, Djinni had said. Kylin asks about Sylva, and Ivar takes a moment to answer. He does love his homeland – that is where his family is – but he has found that the world outside the wooded realm is equally (if not more) thrilling. “It’s a forest,” he says at last, “and all the trees stay red and yellow like autumn, but all year round. They never turn green, and never fall. There are lots of hills and streams and lakes too. Plenty of places to swim.” He pauses and tilts his head curiously at Kylin, as though he is considering something. “You should come visit sometime.” He tells her, “We can swim again and I can show you around.” |