Reminiscent of the night he responded to the sprites’ call, he stands in restrained reverence while looking to the mountain in the distance, though today the mild spring sun gently warms his body as he takes in the scene. Like a bolt of lightning jumping from a tempestuous sky to the ground, realization races through his train of thought, bringing his eyes from glazed contemplation to riveted concentration. He is not the only one physically changed by the quest. Something dark lies to the west of the craggy peak, giving a slightly ominous flavor that reaches the tip of his tongue. He wonders what role this ambiguous fog will play in the future.
There are differences beyond the mountain as well, though the northeast catches his attention the most. There is a faint rippling quality to the image it presents, suggesting the presence of a drier and hotter climate than the neighboring lands. He knows that, prior to his setting foot on her land again, a series of events had erased much of Beqanna’s landscape like an unwanted stroke of graphite from an artist’s pencil. Had their little adventure restored some of the missing kingdoms, or are these entirely new venues begging to be explored?
The idea intrigues him.
In his old life, he’d never known much outside of his private territory’s boundaries. Naturally, there had been the occasional mindless venture into the common lands as he sought bring home another pretty doll for his treasured collection. They were simple days and the deepest part of his soul still yearns for them, as they required very little probing into the heart of one’s character. He is not sure that he is ready to investigate his own impetus, to learn what kind of person he truly is, but he recognizes that this may be the reason he’d received the supernatural summons.
Though lost in memories of an era long interred by modern lifestyles and ideologies, his senses are still quite keen from all his time spent maintaining the security of the women and children that lived under his guardianship. He shifts his weight, shakes out the wings that he is still adjusting to, and tosses his head as lightly as he can under its new weight. He paints a picture of confident nonchalance, though he can tell that someone is near and that he is fixed in their scope. Nothing particularly spells imminent danger is presented by this person’s proximity, but he does find it somewhat uncomfortable to be the watched, rather than the watcher. He waits as patiently as possible for their unveiling, a soft edge of tension in his muscles, should immediate action be called for.
The footfalls are muffled by the cushions of vegetation, but he still hears them and he pivots to face the approaching person. The horn is the first thing to draw his attention, for it glints and sparks beneath the sun’s rays as she draws closer. Her words indicates a familiarity that he is not quite able to place, so he takes a moment to study her before even beginning to think of how he will respond. He takes in the glossy raven-black locks that fall fetchingly against the golden tone of her body, the smudgy quality of the dapples creeping along the hardened curves of her athletic form, the fearsome horn on her face, the vividly colored eyes that move in their own appraisal of him.
She is a stunning package wrapped in a somewhat sinister shroud, but it is her voice that stirs his memory. He nods, more to himself than anything else, as he remembers hearing her speak on the mountainside before they were pulled into the past together. He counters her grin with a subtle smirk of his own and the traces of a laugh color his own voice as he finally breaks the awkward silence that had been growing between them. ”Really? I hadn’t noticed..” A twinkle in his eyes lends itself to indicating the satire behind his words.
But then, he seamlessly transitions into solemnity in his next breath. ”The physical changes are nothing, though, compared to the mental ones. I’m not sure I care for them..” Of course, he knows nothing of the changes wrought by the magic that returned her here, but he is sure that something must have happened to her as well. He tilts his head inquisitively at her. ”We were all separated in the end, so we must have had different experiences. Was any of it worth it?” Just as he is uncertain of his path moving forward, he is not really sure what he means by this, but the words fall before he can stop them. So he stands before her, tongue-tied, as he wrestles with the whirlwind of emotions that has suddenly begun to whip through his mind yet again.
@Famkee