It had been late-morning when Mesec had left the Throat, itching to fly, and now that the afternoon was growing old as well, he felt tired but no desire to land just yet. Enjoying the serenity that flying gave him, Mesec allowed his mind to drift wherever it would - allowed the rushing of the wind to drown out whatever tempest might have been brewing today. He hoped it would not always be like this, needing to find ways to ease the storm. The guilt over his mother’s actions came in waves - some days were worse than others - and he often wondered about going to the Edge and finding her. But what good would that accomplish? He wouldn’t help raise her from her banishment, wouldn’t know what words to say to her that would matter. Certainly nothing would change. And he was happy here in the Throat, keeping himself busy and trying to be good - to learn and live in the bright sunlight.

Today, though, today such dark thoughts were somewhere far away - they belonged to another. As Mesec pumped his wings and soared as high as he could while still breathing he thought of other things. Of cousins and sisters and crafting or healing. Of vultures…

Well, he did not normally spend a lot of time thinking about vultures but a trio of them took exception to him disrupting their search for morsels on the ground - they had been spiralling above the Heart when the demigod swooped on through and, well, he wasn’t sure what he had done wrong exactly. But there was no time to figure it out and certainly no time for apologies. All he knew was that he needed to change direction quick - so he aimed for the ground. The angry squabbles of hungry vultures followed him and he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not - but it almost felt like something grasped at his tail as it fanned out behind him.

The situation was almost too bizarre to feel any strong worry - though once he was safely landed he threw up his wings to ward off any attacks and protect his face from retribution. Peeking through feathers, however, showed him that the vulture that had followed him down to the surface was climbing back up to catch a thermal and return to the search for carcasses and easier meals than Mesec.

What an odd way to start the afternoon!

Perhaps it would be best to travel by hoof or linger on the ground a little while longer before returning to the skies - who knew who he might unwittingly offend this time!

Resigning himself to the latter, Mesec’s eye drew to the opening of the caves nearby and he moved quietly toward it. It was too tempting to resist glancing upward to spy whether his vulture friends were still circling above (they were) and he was not interested in another run-in. He had good fortune the last time he had taken shelter in these caves and he wondered, as he headed out of the warm Orangemoon sun, whether it would continue today.

For Mordecai <3


I’m trying to find my direction home, ______________
A question of space, a matter of time, _______
I follow the stars until the first light.