Deep in autumn as it was, he could nearly taste the heat; salty, like sweat. Even the shade of the jungle was sweltering. A stench like baking flesh marked a rotting corpse somewhere nearby. The canopy was riddled with holes in some places, mercilessly firing beams of sunlight through to the floor. Bullets of pure fire pelted his back as he passed through them. His coat flared with color in the flashes of the sun's ammunition. Red-gold it was, like a proud lion's coat warmed by the sunset. King of the jungle.
But he was no king.
Ainlif stepped carefully to avoid the jungle debris. Some fall prey to the land and die slow deaths with a limb lodged in roots. The scorching heat made him weary and distracted. The crunching below his feet was the only thing dragging his mind back to the present when it wandered. Soon winter would come, but not soon enough.
There was water close. He could almost remember it from before; a time when his mate and daughter were still alive. Like a slideshow, he could see his sweet little filly playing, leaping--
Crunch.
Focus, fool. Stay present. The past has passed..
Even the slightest touch on these thoughts shot a bolt of ice through his heart. If only the blasted heat could melt that.
Finally, a familiar cluster of trees and brush caught his eye and he paused. Easily remembered by a large thick wood overshadowing a smaller tree. It was as if the small had never fully grown.. Stay in the present. At one time it had been struck by lightning, despite the stronger tree being so close, and was split in twain. Ainlif looked away. The drink should be near.
He strode a few paces away, keeping the memorable trees on his left. Not a drop in sight. It should have been here. Had he really kept away from this place so long? Too many memories. There was still plenty of moisture in the air, and it smelled of damp soil. Walking to the deepest part of the drinking pool in his memory, he pawed at the earth with his hoof, desperate to wet his tongue. It used to be here. She used to be here. She loved to kick and splash through it.
Sadness pierced his heart again. He had to quit thinking of them. It had been far long enough to have moved on by now. When his attempts at depressing water from the soil failed, he lowered his body and rolled his back and side in it. At least the dampness would help cool him. Debris, bark, and mud clung to his dark mane, but he never was the type to fuss over appearances. He preferred to keep to himself, anyway. He heaved a deep sigh. Just for a moment, before he moved on from here, he closed his eyes to rest.
But he was no king.
Ainlif stepped carefully to avoid the jungle debris. Some fall prey to the land and die slow deaths with a limb lodged in roots. The scorching heat made him weary and distracted. The crunching below his feet was the only thing dragging his mind back to the present when it wandered. Soon winter would come, but not soon enough.
There was water close. He could almost remember it from before; a time when his mate and daughter were still alive. Like a slideshow, he could see his sweet little filly playing, leaping--
Crunch.
Focus, fool. Stay present. The past has passed..
Even the slightest touch on these thoughts shot a bolt of ice through his heart. If only the blasted heat could melt that.
Finally, a familiar cluster of trees and brush caught his eye and he paused. Easily remembered by a large thick wood overshadowing a smaller tree. It was as if the small had never fully grown.. Stay in the present. At one time it had been struck by lightning, despite the stronger tree being so close, and was split in twain. Ainlif looked away. The drink should be near.
He strode a few paces away, keeping the memorable trees on his left. Not a drop in sight. It should have been here. Had he really kept away from this place so long? Too many memories. There was still plenty of moisture in the air, and it smelled of damp soil. Walking to the deepest part of the drinking pool in his memory, he pawed at the earth with his hoof, desperate to wet his tongue. It used to be here. She used to be here. She loved to kick and splash through it.
Sadness pierced his heart again. He had to quit thinking of them. It had been far long enough to have moved on by now. When his attempts at depressing water from the soil failed, he lowered his body and rolled his back and side in it. At least the dampness would help cool him. Debris, bark, and mud clung to his dark mane, but he never was the type to fuss over appearances. He preferred to keep to himself, anyway. He heaved a deep sigh. Just for a moment, before he moved on from here, he closed his eyes to rest.