The worst of the days heat had broken. A cool breeze wafted down through the canopy and rippled the surface of the pond, causing flower petals and leaves that lay scattered in the water spin and sway like tiny boats on the ocean. The air became heavy with the scent of summer as blossoms and greens released their fragrant essence, and as the sun gradually lowered in the sky its light turned golden, so that every color, shape and shadow became sharp and excruciatingly beautiful.
A horse grazed quietly by the shore. His coat mirrored the sky with its leaden blue and glittering gold, and the silky mane seemed almost as soft and airy as the thin clouds that had begun to gather in the distance. It was drying still, both forelock and tail dripping gently after a dip into the water; the long white strands clung to the neck closest to the skin where the sun hadn't been able to reach. Yet he didn't mind, just as he didn't mind the grass stains on the whithers or the way crushed daisies had left shimmering petals sticking to the long, black legs. He seemed at peace with the world, a rare and precious sensation that was as fleeting and fragile as the water-spiders that scurried across the glass-like waters.
A splash in the reeds made him look up with a strand of grass dangling from the corner of his mouth, ears clipping in lazy amusement as he followed a white shape with his gaze. The little dragon had supped on frogs and small fish whose scales glittered almost as much as hers did in the sunshine, and now that her stomach was full she had taken to chase shimmering blue dragonflies through the air. Every time they settled on a stalk of reed the dragon pounced, and each time the insect flitted away unharmed, leaving her to crash beneath the surface, only to emerge with water spurting from flared nostrils and the sapphire eyes glittering with mirth.
It had been a peaceful day of travel and contemplation, the kind of day you wished would go on forever and always ended up looking back on with longing. The visit to the Edge had done them well, him most of all. A weight had been lifted from the shoulders of the steed, a chain unlocked and shaken off so that he could straighten the back just a fraction more, breathe just a little bit easier.
Remarkable really, how much more exciting the future seemed when the past had relented in its haunting of you.
@[Amaris]
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