11-07-2017, 06:51 PM
like the sun swallowed up by the earth
The air had been warm and full of life, nearly electrifying. Their hooves stamped together in unison, a quickening tempo that crescendoed through the entire landscape. It had been a rhythm so raw and enchanting that even he, a stranger and a foreigner in their midst, could not help but feel his pulse quicken as his legs begged to join their spritely dance among the fiery gold red of sunset. Their voices harmonized in songs that he had never heard, but somehow his soul recognized. In the throng of the herd his crystal eyes kept focused on the white and golden painted body of his Tangerine, watching with a gaze so soft as she danced with them, her voice clear and strong as it joins in the chorus. For a long while he had only watched, but as their time with her family grew longer, the stoic and pensive stallion could not continue as a bystander.
His great wings spread out in a giant beat of navy feathers, broad and massive in the fading sun. As she passed him he joined her, side by side with his nose to hers, no longer worried about missing a step or embarrassing himself, navy lips pressed into a smile against bronze. The joy in her eyes had nourished him as he followed her lead to her ancestral dance, whoops and hollers from the other horses echoing around them.
It had been truly magical - unlike anything he had ever seen in all of his years in Beqanna.
The trials of life and the harshness of Beqanna had not been kind to Tangerine. When she had come to him to announce her return to visit her homeland, he needed no explanation of the newly found scars on her body or the obvious evidence of childbirth. He would accompany her, he would take her to have her soul renewed and her spirit refreshed - she needn’t even ask.
The seasons changed and the warmth of summer faded into the brisk of autumn, where winter was waiting with bated breath. The navy and bay stallion’s heart was full, but soon his mind wandered back to his children, his son and daughter, as well as to the volcanic tropics of his home.
It was agreed upon happily - Warrick would return to Beqanna and to his duties (and his sweet Solace, and hopefully see Svedka as well), and Tangerine would return by the next winter. It was painful to take to the skies above the rolling plains that he had grown so accustomed to and to leave her behind without his watchful eye, but his mind weighed heavy with thoughts of his children and Tephra, and into the pale blue he soared.
The sound of his wings against the thick and heavy air of Tephra is comforting. He is not silent upon his arrival as the large wings beat against his sides, slicing through the atmosphere with every push. The hazy horizon had begun miles out, the smoke and ash from the volcano brought out to the center of the ocean on the tradewinds. The smell of the sea and the salt and the hot sun on his back brings a smile to his navy lips and he flies faster, eager to reach home.
Tired and weary, Warrick lands heavily onto the black-sanded shore beside the volcano, spitting lava and molten rock in greeting. Pieces of ash fly through the air this close to the volcano, landing haphazardly on his auburn coat and cobalt feathers. Sides heaving as he catches his breath, he takes in the familiar scenery of his home before turning to begin to preen his feathers from his flight, stretching them out and in as he attempts to lay them straight.
Warrick
@[Ellyse]