[open] as if a glass could contain the sea

[bolder]

It had been one of the things his Uncle Gale had told him. To blend in by becoming like the native wildlife. One of the last things that his Uncle had told him before he had vanished from Hyaline, and reportedly emerged in Tephra. Bolder had followed the rumors and the stories of shadows and nightmares to the borders of the kingdom, but once the young shifter had arrived, the land had been almost abandoned. His calls for Gale had echoed against the large ferns and shrubs - through the empty spaces of the jungle - and his search had ended with nothing.

Perhaps, he should have returned to Hyaline.

Mazikeen might not be worried - as he was growing and maturing - but Bolder felt the weight of his absence from his adopted home. What if something went wrong with Malik? And now there was baby Myrna to worry about. Something darkened his Aunt's face when she thought nobody was looking (but Bolder was always nearby, in some shape or form) and the adolescent pegasus had thought the answer could be found in Gale's departure. Something was telling him to return to the Pack (instinct?) and yet Bolder had come this close to the coast that he thought why not see the islands?

Ischia and Islandres were in his sight.

So becoming something smaller and with wings, Bolder flies over the waves. He soars until he settles on a nearby branch, adopting the colors of a vibrant bird nearby. He tweaks the beak a little, adjusts the feathers until the coloring is just right, and then turns his attention to a light dun wandering the shore. He is so entranced by watching her that the adolescent doesn't notice the way he changes to reflect the young mare, and soon he is a pale blue and gold parrot.

What she does next calls him away from the branch and Bolder leaps into the air, squawking loudly to announce himself to the pair of birds. One of the parrots is like him - a shifter - and it makes him wonder about the other.

"You should be nicer to your bonded!" he calls out, recalling Sickle and Oceanus as he soars across the beach (with no shadow). Perhaps a parrot was not as noble as a phoenix, but a companion should always be respected.



@Sundari @Ciroc