Daylight, there was actual daylight around him for the first time in a long time. Well, in a sense. Birdsong seemed reluctant to give way to warmer weather as the clouds gathered, sheltering him from the heat of the sun, and a faint mist of rain accompanied them. Darkness in the west promised a heavier downpour later in the afternoon but for now Mesec was simply damp and there was little to do about it.

Not when he was still on the search, not when he had family that he needed to find and make sure that they were safe. The sickness that had taken over Helovia did seem to have receded but it had been a dangerous one - surely there were lingering effects that he did not yet know about. He had witnessed as the darkness, a darkness he felt no kinship to, had taken over the Spectral Marsh. Were the lands that had been consumed left untouched? After leaving the Caves, his thoughts turned to the Foothills - his home.

Teleportation might have been a slightly faster mode of transport but then he would not have been able to as thoroughly scan all the lands between here and there. There was a chance that he could happen upon any of them anywhere, after all. Just a glimpse would suffice for some, uncertain whether a conversation with his father or his sister would be welcome after all this time, while still wanting to ensure their safety. But that adoptive family, the one that showed him nothing but love, he wanted so very much to find them.

Outside the caves, silver-lined wings spread and he took off - keeping close to the ground, grazing just over treetops. Even with the overcast skies he felt conspicuous in the light of day - removed from the shadows and night that his mother thrived in, that he had visited with her in. There was something disquieting about it though he was sure that it would be something he would get used to in time as he settled back into this cycle of day and night, season and season. He had not been gone for that long, after all. But a few seasons was enough to make for a shaky start.

Knowing this to be a more popular place for Helovians to gather, he landed upon the ground again with ease - trotting lightly with the momentum. Here, pupil-less eyes could scan beneath the oaks that contributed their deep green to the scenery for any seeking shelter from the light rain.

for @[Mauja]