We were flying.

That is to say, my beloved was flying, while I was clutching to her mane with my jaws. I wasn't flying's biggest fan, I had no wings of my own, and most of the time, Iw as happy to experience it through my bonded's eyes, while I ran in her shadow upon the ground. However, with her being so determined to fly long distances, there was no way I was going to be left behind.

Her broad wingspan took us swiftly south from the Threshold, and it was with some curiosity that I felt her magic stirring stronger and stronger within her. Only a few hours ago, she was pondering leaving the lands of Helovia, to find out whether the Sun rose beyond the horizon elsewhere, and yet now, now I could feel it returning. I grumbled quietly, my mouth full of her hair, my bark twisted into a strangled groan. To the east! I managed to exclaim through our private path of communication, my voice thick with excitement and hope. Her flight changed, her wings tilting towards the eastern horizon. My jaws relaxed their grip upon her mane as she then hovered, barely flapping - her magic was supporting her, her ability to craft the wind around her filling her wings with all the lift they needed. From out vantage point high in the skies, we both watched, and celebrated, the return of the Sun. I felt another magic reawaken within her too - that of healing. It thrummed just beneath her skin, humming, waiting, itching to shed its fiery light and heal those whose bodies were broken.

Time to go home, I wasn't sure who said it, but we were both in happy agreement, as with the wind filling her sails, my little cloud flew with the Sun in the sky and upon her pelt, the weather that perfect comfort of not too hot and not too cold - at least, in the vicinity around us. I was unable to focus much more on our surroundings after that, for the young girl that was my beloved then decided she would fly a bit more adventurously - meaning, of course, I had to hold on a bit tighter.

The Deep Forest was not a place we frequented, though I remember it as the first place I ever saw my beloved. She told a tale to a strange talking skull, and opened the gates to a realm I did not enjoy remembering - the place of my birth was fiery and dark at the same time, causing burns and chills simultaneously, and endless nights of terror and pain. I remembered the moment she fed me, the moment that our eyes locked and our souls became one - the Deep Forest was perhaps, a special place to us, and yet, we mostly passed over it in our travels.

Today however, a strange burning came to my nostrils. Land, I said, somewhat urgently, impressing upon my beloved the strange mixture of scents I was picking up. With careful strokes and the fortunate support of her weathered magic, my little cloud landed amidst the dark, eerie lands just northeast of our home, peering into the shadows with her clear, cerulean gaze. My own pierced the darkness with a slightly keener stare, as my nose divulged everything that went on here recently. There was soot everywhere, ask and the stench of rotten, burned flesh. Death has happened here, I said sadly, as my beloved began to walk a trail nearby. I follow her on trotting paws, my tail erect and my ears propped to detect anything that might follow us.

It was not something following us, however, but rather, someone we happened to be following. Sitka, my cloud murmured with shock in her tones, she's from the Throat! I confirmed her suspicions as we approached the pale mare, my beloved singing out with her angelic voice, her limbers legs moving into a trot as she neared the damsel. I lingered behind, sitting back upon my haunches to watch the events unfold, and to ensure no unwanted company arrived here unbidden.

"Madam," her cherubic tones began, as she approached and realised the full extent of the mare's injuries. The stench of rotten and burned flesh was coming from her, she soon realised and with a dip of her crown, she recognised the signs of blindness in this mare's eye. "I'm Cirrus, of the Throat. I can help you," she said with a confidence she wasn't entirely sure was true. Breathing deeply, she neared the mare slower now, step by step, hoping not to startle her, even as she pulled upon the magic of the Sun only just returned to her. It's effects were dramatic upon her frame, as her pelt took on an illustrious shine, the clouds that were scattered across its blue seemingly glowing a rich silver, her very voice seemed to take on many levels at once. She began to hum quietly, as she prepared for perhaps the biggest task ever presented to her.

@[Rasta]
Sorry for the wait love. Right now Cirrus' magic will have a soothing/sedative effect on Rasta, and in my next post, she'll heal her with Rasta's permission :)