Dusk is one of his favorite times of the day. The sun casts long shadows that stretch their way across the earth in twisted, darkened tendrils, like fingers clawing hungrily at the last rays of light. The earth seems to be temporarily suspended in a world of shade, leaving the imagination to its devices at the approaching darkness. All your unprecedented fears and worst nightmares turn into something more of reality when you watch the shadows dance uncontrollable and wild across the earth.
It is in the darkness that Shuler finds he exists entirely.
The golden unicorn studies his surroundings from his perch within one of the many caves that riddle and litter the side of the mountains that surround his new home here in the Aurora Basin. He would commit to memory every nook, cranny, game trail and hiding spot he could find. Queen Psyche would expect nothing less, and he would accept nothing less from himself. Liquid brown eyes observe the land below diligently, their golden flecks reflected by the light thrown across the land by the setting sun. His legs, black as the shadows that encase him, fade and mix into the gloom. Shuler is for the most part obscured by his darkening surroundings, hidden, just as he would like.
It is hunger that drives Shuler from the safety of his cave. He begins picking his way carefully down toward the valley center, where green grass has started to sprout and the welcoming hot springs lay in wait. Though Birdsong has begun, the Basin still remains entrapped in its own chill, and ice covers the rocky surfaces he must traverse in order to reach the bottom. The young stallion is no stranger to danger and hazard though, and with adept skill he navigates his way past rocky outcrops and ridges laced with treacherous ice that would have caught the unsuspecting and sent them tumbling to their deaths.
His knowledge of the surrounding Helovian lands, and his proficient abilities to lie and manipulate those around him, were just some of the things that made Shuler valuable to Psyche and her Plague. Though he had yet to formally converse with the mare outside his pledge of allegiance, he knew her scheming, power driven agenda suited him. It gave him a purpose, and given his analysis of Psyche’s nature he highly doubted that his usefulness as a spy and informant would ever go unwanted. A sigh of accomplishment slips past parted lips as he reaches the valley floor, along with the silver ghost of his breath on the frosty air. Like a specter he moves toward the hot spring, fluid and cat like through the night, the last blood red rays of sunlight reaching in desperation from behind the mountains to the west.
Satisfaction. It hovered in his mind and sent a pleasant hum thrumming through his thoughts as he went. For so long Shuler had felt lost and uncertain as to which path he was meant to take. Helovia had called him home from his travels, Muaja had shown him the way, and here he was. The slender, leggy stallion trotted briskly, purposefully through the dark, taking note of his surroundings as he went. His head bobbed in time with his stride, black, barbed horn atop his brow. Satisfaction yes, but there was still more to be had, more to be discovered, more to want. And he would have it, all in due time.
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