runnin' away to the riptide; kreios

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash She seems nice enough – neither harsh nor terrified of my approach, and that gives me some measure of courage. “It’s nice to meet you, Sloene.” I say, nodding politely to accentuate my words. She says that she of nowhere – or from the Field, we both know they are the same. That doesn’t surprise me; for all the pleasantness of this place’s climate there is something discouraging about an extended stay. The Meadow, though quite similar in all other aspects to the Field, lacks the strange sense of urgency that always seems to imbue the Field. I feel it as excitement, as a rush, but I imagine that for those without a home it must be an entirely different sensation. Sloene asks if my herd is large, and I immediately shake my head. I’m about to say as much when it occurs to me that perhaps it is large. I’ve no metric against which to judge a herd’s size. I know only that it is smaller than the kingdom I serve. “There’s just myself and three other mares.” Two, really, since I’ve not seen hide nor hair of Illusen in several weeks. It’s always possible she’s exploring – the land has plenty of hiding places. “So I don’t think it’s too very big?” I leave that up to her – perhaps four herd members is too many. Or she might want a larger herd; I can’t be sure until I ask. “Would you like to see it? It’s a nice place, and not too far from the Field.” My offer is sort of a trick, I’m aware, but I don’t’ feel guilty at all. It’s not me that tends to keep the mares there after they’ve seen the herdland, it’s the land itself. I prefer to think that I’ve found the very best of available lands in which to settle, and the pleased reactions of everyone I’ve shown it to has just further cemented my certainty. “If you don’t like it you don’t’ have to stay, but I’d love to show it to you.”