But now, since all is idle


Stagnant air pushes back as my lungs expand, the heat of the day already oppressive and fierce. I do not slow my pace though, preferring today to allow my legs to stretch themselves in a mild trot and carry me away from the Falls. It will only be a matter of time I suppose until a streak of lightning or careless magic causes the dried sticks and twigs to ignite there and I eagerly seek out the fastest ways to escape. Where will I flee to in such an event? A chuckle is barely suppressed as I instantly think of the Threshold where my feet always seem to take me. The entrance to these lands is nothing spectacular and I know it is not the forest scenery that draws me there. It is the aching pit of loneliness firmly nestled into my heart that keeps me coming back, even on days when I think I want to be alone.

Raven tassels quake as an equally dark head shakes in effort to clear it.

I will not dwell on those thoughts today and turn cerulean eyes to a trail on the right side of the Falls entrance and I change direction to pursue it. Away from the Threshold and my vain attempts at companionship…it is foolish of me to attempt to change the stars of fate. My voice echoes thought, “Accept.” The singular word would make little sense to any nearby to overhear but I know the meaning in the chastising tone. Time, blissfully, passes quickly as I absorb myself into the newness of an unexplored area until onyx limbs are stretched enough and I slow to an easy walk as the ground underneath begins to change. From dirt and sticks to rocks and periodic unappetizing grasses.

Bright eyes shift and glide, back and forth, back and forth.

The difference here compared to my usual haunt is impressive and I am instantly drawn in to its stark beauty. Almost immediately I get the impression that all of this land is typically snow-covered and I am happy to have found it knowing I will return when the snows begin to fall once more. Voices begin to trickle my way as I move toward a pointed section of large rocks. The shifting of my eyes slows as I zero in the source, or rather sources, of the youthful voices. To my surprise there is a girl resembling both unicorn and deer; the mingling of the two species beautiful in her slight frame. I approach the group to seek the reasoning for the gathering, my eyes lingering on the boy I met on the beach for a moment before moving on. A young deer-relative shakes and cries, the sound placing a new crack in this already fractured heart. I shift toward him cautiously and lower my eyes to his level, the tiniest of smiles playing the corners of my lips as I whisper near his ear. “Oh, dear one, you must be lost…but if you stop and listen carefully I will tell you a secret.” My experience with children is limited but this is what my siblings would say to me when I was a foal and it nearly always worked on me.


To this lost heart be kind

"speech"

OOC: