[private] my bad habits lead to wide eyes staring at space

[Nashua]

Nashua is visibly tired when he lands from another trek from the Isle. But as the last days of autumn roll through, he comes more determined to make them. Soon the journey will become too frigid for Nash to make and even if he does, there is the chance that he could get trapped on one side or the other.

He wouldn't mind being kept in Taiga, but what if something happened on the Isle?

Though there are very few residents who live there year-round, the Freyr remains dedicated that he be accessible to them. That he be there in case something should go wrong (though it never occurs that it could happen in Taiga, not when it is protected by brother. There is no other that Nashua trusts as he does Yanhua). He doesn't know that he ventures towards the part of Taiga that houses Noel and their children that something is wrong. The sunlight streams down from above in gilded ribbons, making the day look deceptively warmer than it was.

Only the presence of a gust of arctic wind reminded the striped pegasus of the encroaching season. More months of being sequestered away from the rest of the North and the Freyr had wanted to make sure that his family - that those in Nerine and Taiga are provided for. Under Reave, Nash had little doubt that his brother and whoever resided there would be taken care of. The young stallion was descended from the former ruler Heartfire (as he was but Nashua has never met the blue roan woman) and if there is anything that the Northerners proved themselves to be time and time again, it was resilient. Nerine would sit well with Reave and he with it, the chestnut pegasus thinks as he continues to wander the Taigan trails.

His thoughts turn when he does, drifting away from the cathedral parts of the Redwoods that his family usually kept to. Had Yanhua encouraged them to seek shelter in another part? It had become increasingly hard to find his horned brother and with time already precious between his treks between his two homes, it left little to search for him. Nash had to trust the words of Amarine, that his brother was still adjusting to the changes that had occurred with the return of the sun. The loss of their mother. The weight of a crown.

But there is no sign of Yan. Borderline and Ama aren't usually far from him and yet Nashua can't track them down either. Taiga had once been a bustling place full of laughing children and happy families. Some are still here but his concern grows with each step as he can't locate his. There is a dark figure ahead (finally) and the Northern leader wonders if he has found a member of the Shadow clan. The sunlight still comes streaming down through the canopy and as Nashua increases his gait, he realizes that it isn't the light that is refracting off her skin. She is the best of the two worlds that Taiga has to offer: the depth of its shadow that protects so many and the shimmer that comes shining from above, illuminating those same secrets.

"No Name?" he calls out, increasing his pace to catch up with her. "Wait. It's me. Nashua." wondering if she had already forgotten the stranger she had once saved.

@illuminae