Energy pulsed through me, and I let it carry me into an elated state of joy and happiness - the same that I had felt on my previous encounter with Lace and his dragon, and I did not shy away from it. I welcomed it, embraced it, paraded it all around through the dancing motions of my legs and the swinging of my hips and tail. My wings fluttered by my sides still, moving so that I appeared to be flying while keeping my feet planted (it was actually hard exercise), as I etched my dance around this steed into the dry grasses of the Fields. The tundra was like a stadium, and I it's performer, Lace my audience (Fajira, evidently absorbed by her prey), and I gave it all I could. My movements were not like before, with meaning and well-thought-out purpose, but rather done with passion and reckless abandon, enthusiasm, simply communicating the sheer power of my will to live, demonstrating how far it had come. I held onto it as long as I could, though it felt slippery, like a bar of soap, where the tighter you squeezed the quicker it shot away. So I slowed my motions down, allowing his words to reach my ears, allowing my laughter to dance lightly from my throat at his comments. Yes, he likely would have survived just fine on his own, but this way I could revel in the happiness it brought me to have contributed to his ongoing survival, I could joyously hold the knowledge that he and his dragon would be alive for me to laugh with (or at?) another day.

"Well, you do seem to keep a healthy diet," I jested, indicating his robust flank - truly he was simply a stallion in the prime of his life, one who looked fit and well. A wall of heat seemed to radiate from the area of the body, and I turned my vision to watch the dragon roast her meal - there was a panicked second where I thought perhaps my father's spear would also be roasted, but I saw that it had been placed safely a few strides away from the carcass. I was happy to leave it there for now - I trusted the dragon implicitly, despite having only met her once, she had seen more of me then anyone, besides you, Sitka. Though I was used to watching a predator eat meat, having seen you do it enough times, it did unnerve me to think that carnivores survived on the death of others, that blood and meat filled their stomachs and that they found enjoyment in feeling the last breaths of a creature die.. It gave me a shiver, and I was happy to nod along to Lace's words, though they did seem rather odd - I brandished him with a quizzical expression, did he not recall how he had guarded me that fateful night, did he not realise the precious gift he had awarded me with through his simple gesture?

"Enjoy your meal, Fajira!" I called out to the feasting dragon, a smile pulling at my lips as I then tossed my tiara in Lace's direction, ears pinned playfully, a squeal escaping my lips. My nape arched as I swept up my wings once more, lifting my forelegs from the ground before surging forward in the stallion's wake. Laughter and silliness resulted, and it was beautiful, and sweet, almost magical and surreal. Though my thoughts inevitably drifted to you, and your absence from here, I found it was slowly getting easier to still hold onto your memories but remember to live on myself - staring into a certain set of golden eyes aided me, reminding myself that this was my saviour, my champion, my guardian seemed to help. I had managed to find happiness in his presence once, perhaps I could do so again, perhaps you had sent him to me, to give me back my happiness. I thought of all those I had hurt after your death, all those shameful behaviours I had performed (and still felt inclined to do), all those confused, misguided curses and offenses thrown at strangers who meant no true harm, but my broken, hollow self could not see that then, and still mistook it even as the fracture slowly caked over with layers of scabs built from persistence and determination to live on. On and on, onwards we danced and played and ran and bucked, movement never ceasing, perpetual motion the key to keeping the happiness, to filling the abyss with light and bright feelings of wonder and enjoyment. But physical energy only ran so far, and I was a pegasus, meant for the skies (though I do recall my father's voice imparting upon me the importance of keeping fit both on the ground and in the air, in case an opponent I faced was s- and I remember laughing at him in response, stating how anything that couldn't fly was surely no worthy opponent for me), dragging my fit bodice across the loam was work enough, add onto that the exercise routines I had been doing earlier - I think it was safe for me to claim that my body had endured enough for today.

"Payment, huh?" I asked, somewhat breathlessly, my smile lingering as my jaws widened into a yawn. I had slowed down to a walk, and now decided to stretch my worked muscles so that they didn't ache too severely come morning. The Sun had moved across the sky, and with it, the pattern upon my hide was altered - the blue seemed richer, darker as the day waned, the clouds more prominent against the darkness of my sweaty pelt. I paused my motion to stretch a hind leg out, slowly reaching backwards with each one, before standing square once more. Deviousness entered my gaze as I very artfully leaned back then, stretching my wings up, hoping to hold my gaze cheekily with the stallion - hoping to ring some bells in his head, remind him of who I was and where he had met me before. I basked for a moment in my pose, remembering the little sun he had created for me, shutting my eyes now to truly let the memory sweep me away. I was embarrassing, yes, but it was also peaceful and pleasant, and I found myself okay with reliving it in front of Lace now.

"Hmm. Perhaps a future favour, one that you cannot refuse." I say to him as I rise from my stretch, tilting my tiara as I now stretched my neck. Eventually I stopped all the stretching and simply shook my bodice out - before folding my wings down tightly to my sides and allowing my knees to buckle beneath me. I went down with a soft, feminine grunt, and relished in the feel of the dirt against my sweaty skin, happily stirring it up with my feathers and flailing limbs. With a deep sigh, I then lay upon my side and simply watch the world go by, feeling strangely secure and peaceful in this strange, definitely not normal, circumstance. But, I always did do well in strange situations. Maybe they were my 'normal'; maybe I needed a bit of strange to function properly.


@[Lace]