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The girl wheels in lazy circles in the sky, drifting on a thermal breeze and steadying herself for what she is about to do. One… Copper wings beat for an instant, then she glides again. Two… Nasreen sucks in a breath, trying her best to ignore the flutter in her belly—it is as if her stomach has wings that are all its own. Is that nor--? Three!
Without warning, the maiden plunges into a dive, plummeting from the sky like a hawk intent on some unseen prey. Wings press tight against her duo-colored body, and ears lie uncharacteristically flat against her skull, but the image of ferocity is ruined by the rather high-pitched scream that slips past her lips. Down, down she streaks, through cloud and mist and space, until somewhere faintly below her, the ground comes into view. And then the field is rushing towards her and without hearing herself, she is screaming louder…until with a final terrified shriek, she forces her wings outward at the last second, unfurling them to guide her safely to the earth. The landing is a bit bumpy, but as her hooves touch down upon the grasses of the Heavenly Fields, there is a triumphant spring to her step. Laughter, simultaneously delighted and hysterical, bubbles from her gaping muzzle as she evens her stride, taking a victory lap around the field. She did it! She actually did it! It is no small success for the rather clumsy princess; for she has been practicing the technique for weeks. Only she has never had the nerve to actually try it from so high up until today.
With the adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Nasreen feels as if she can take on anything. It is a welcome change to the time she has spent alone as of late—it’s been a miserable past few weeks. For Quilyan is still missing…and for the first time since arriving in Helovia, her hope of finding home has faltered. Her encounter with Bucephalus bruised both heart and spirit, it seems, and though she still cannot put him out of her head, gone are the silly fantasies in which they dance together across the flowering fields. Instead, Nasreen is only left with an echo, the empty ring of his voice as he swore he wouldn’t help her, and it resounds day and night, haunting her waking hours and plaguing her dreams. If Th’orqui was really out there…shouldn’t she have found it by now?
It had all been too much to bear, especially on her own, and so the maiden had ventured forth from the Edge once more to a place where she had once practiced her flying. Perhaps it didn’t do much to solve her problems, but aside from her long-lost kingdom, the lass has always felt most at home in the sky. So here she is, prancing in the cloud-kissed meadow, relishing in the feeling of having outflown her problems…temporarily, anyway.
Edit: retagging just because it's been a bit and you may have missed it!
@[Bucephalus]
"speech"
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