05-25-2020, 10:31 PM
Taiga was peacefully quiet. Brazen had come to check up on him, Elaina (whose nature he found hard to resist - the more he got to know her, the easier it was to see why his mother loved her so fiercely) had wished him a pleasant goodnight, but even after settling into his most beloved of nighttime haunts, Yanhua couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Maybe it was the headache he’d been battling. They came less often, but when they did he felt exhausted after a day's worth of throbbing pain. Could be because the ferns he’d bedded down in were just too soft, a bit too springy. Or maybe the nearby murmur of the babbling river was having the opposite effect tonight, keeping him awake when normally it helped him ease into a dreamless sleep.
Whatever the reason, Yanhua sighed in frustration and rose from the ground to shake off the wet soil clinging to his narrow belly. Pointless to sleep when I’m so awake, he reasoned with himself, flicking his little tail here and there, better walk it out.
The growing yearling stretched his neck, shook out his shoulders, and paced off into the dark.
Night here wasn’t so terrifying since he’d grown up in Taiga. As a colt it was the source of infinite terrors: a favorite setting to any monster stories he, his dam, and Nash would spin out on nights like these when sleep didn’t come easy. But now that he’s maturing it’d lost a bit of the mystery. He found it hard to dislike the dark here, especially on pleasant spring nights like this one - when the hum of the forest was alive with nighttime critters and the lightning bugs gleamed like so many twinkling lights to guide him.
He made his way steadily to the River, intent on refreshing himself, but as he neared the hidden water a faint energy radiated through his skin. He knew the sensation of his own powers immediately, pausing to flick his ears up and wait for the residual echo soon to come. Surprised, he caught a faint image of what he’d been reminiscing on earlier - that of himself, tucked close into Lilliana’s side, staring out into the heavy Taigan night with an expression of mild terror - and when it passed he blinked a few times and moved calmly forward, calling out a mild, “Hello? Is anyone there?” followed quickly by, “Please don’t be afraid.”
Whoever was out there could hear the warmth in his voice. “My name is Yanhua and I live here… can I help you?”
He paused, placing one cracked hoof ahead of the others, and waited to see if the stranger would heed his greeting or not.
@[Serabi]
Whatever the reason, Yanhua sighed in frustration and rose from the ground to shake off the wet soil clinging to his narrow belly. Pointless to sleep when I’m so awake, he reasoned with himself, flicking his little tail here and there, better walk it out.
The growing yearling stretched his neck, shook out his shoulders, and paced off into the dark.
Night here wasn’t so terrifying since he’d grown up in Taiga. As a colt it was the source of infinite terrors: a favorite setting to any monster stories he, his dam, and Nash would spin out on nights like these when sleep didn’t come easy. But now that he’s maturing it’d lost a bit of the mystery. He found it hard to dislike the dark here, especially on pleasant spring nights like this one - when the hum of the forest was alive with nighttime critters and the lightning bugs gleamed like so many twinkling lights to guide him.
He made his way steadily to the River, intent on refreshing himself, but as he neared the hidden water a faint energy radiated through his skin. He knew the sensation of his own powers immediately, pausing to flick his ears up and wait for the residual echo soon to come. Surprised, he caught a faint image of what he’d been reminiscing on earlier - that of himself, tucked close into Lilliana’s side, staring out into the heavy Taigan night with an expression of mild terror - and when it passed he blinked a few times and moved calmly forward, calling out a mild, “Hello? Is anyone there?” followed quickly by, “Please don’t be afraid.”
Whoever was out there could hear the warmth in his voice. “My name is Yanhua and I live here… can I help you?”
He paused, placing one cracked hoof ahead of the others, and waited to see if the stranger would heed his greeting or not.
@[Serabi]