all that glitters is gold - Illusen

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash She seems to like it here. I watch as she spins about, taking in all the sights with happy laughter. Though my opinion of the place has always been that it is lovely, it is good to know that my judgment is not so terrible. It’s been confirmed now by both Nymeria and Illusen, and I feel much more at ease. Illusen returns to my side, still smiling, and I return her bump with a nudge of my own. She is so soft, I think again, but then she’s speaking and I do my best to listen. She speaks of her past – of her father – and I am swarmed with memories of my own sire. He ruled a desert and not a glacier, but the memories are no less potent. “I like the warmth too,” I say, enjoying the heat of the sun on my broad back even as the words leave my mouth. “My brother, Kratos, lives in the northern Tundra where I hear they have winter three-quarters of the year. I wouldn’t like that much, I don’t think.” I far prefer the semi-tropical climate of this place; more so even than the Desert, I am beginning to realize. When Illusen leaves my side, I’m ready this time to follow her rather than simply watch as she prances about. My tread is heavy and I keep out of her way, unable to move as elegantly as she does when she weaves between the trees. I am not at all ungainly – only large – and the stamina built from years training in the Desert ensures that I do not tire easily. Passing through the trees I stop at the edge of the water. It’s shallow, the last remnant of the extinct river, but the underground spring that feeds it is enough to ensure that the herd land will always have enough water. I’m sure Illusen will come back to me soon enough, and when she does I ask: “Have you lived anywhere else? Besides your father’s territory, I mean.”