I should have loved a thunderbird instead
at least when spring comes they roar back again

Aegean is on his way out of Taiga, having concluded what he set out to do, when he hears the ruffle of feathers. He pauses and angles his glowing head toward the source of it, his purple eyes brightening with that faint sense of curiosity that every so often stirs him from his own internal dreaming.

When he hears the call, he smiles—his expression taking on the curve of lip slowly and then all at once.

“Hello there,” he calls before he begins to move forward between the twisting branches and trunks of the trees. When he circles around one of the larger trunks, he sees the girl there by the river, his smile grows just a little wider, although still subtle enough to be said that it is dancing around the edges.

He feels his illusions dancing underneath his skin, beginning to get out, but there is a part of him that is tired—the constant interaction with others draining his more introverted self. Still, he is not rude and he doesn’t just abandon the girl. Instead, he takes a step forward, the faint glow casting its light on the tree.

“My name is Aegean.” He nods his antlered head toward the stream. “How is the water?”

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead
(I think I made you up inside my head.)