The days of imprisonment in the blazing desert had started to blend together, become a blur of heat and sand and discomfort. Longing started to consume him, slowly but surely, a taunted look in his heterochromatic eyes. Snow, frost, lush green grass – the Basin seemed like pure haven compared to the parched, sour-tasting grasses and lukewarm water that existed here. Yet most of all, it was his comrades that he missed; Lena and Huyana most of all, but also the Doctor, the Empress, even the grumpy little antlered Korra and the rest of them. The dwarven steed heaved a deep sigh, shifting uncomfortably in his spot, sweating even if he tried to stay in the shade. Aurelius was not born for this heat; his coat was armor against blizzards and snowstorms, but now all it did was coloring his chocolate nape perpetually dark with sweat.
Restlessness was plaguing him, stunted legs slightly sore and swollen from the heat. Best to walk it off, he gathered, and so he set forth from his resting place into the sun, red sand whirled up as his tail dragged over the ground behind him. Small hooves dug into the sand deeply, making it difficult to walk as he seemingly slid back half a pace whenever he stepped forward. He wanted to scream out his frustration with this entire place and all the creatures in it, vent out all of his self-pity and frustration, but he sucked it up and clenched his teeth. They would not see him crumble; he would not give them the satisfaction.
Eyes darted upward, noticing several winged creatures circling above. Like vultures, the pegasi seemed to keep a keen eye on him, no matter where he went. Bitterly, he thought the comparison quite appropriate. It was the slightest comfort that he knew he wasn’t forgotten; but he regretted not being there when Lena and the other delegates had tried to negotiate his freedom. Striding along, absorbed in his own thoughts, he suddenly heard voices ahead. Tiny, fuzzy lobes perked in the direction, wise head raised as his peculiar gaze was diverted upwards. "What business do you have here in the Throat?" The voice belonged to one of the soldiers, a mare that he had not seen before. Not that he really made much of an effort to socialize with his capturers, especially not when homesickness was getting the better of him. The tiny gentleman was strained by all means, even in his manners, but it was refreshing to encounter one from the outside world. Eyes drifted to the young stallion, an equine, one that he did not recognize. The youth was accompanied by a dragon, and momentarily, Aurelius thought he felt a slight sting from his old wounds on his rump. His last encounter with a dragon had been anything but pleasant, but that was not to say this would be the same.
“The courtesies in this place leave much to be desired,” he remarked dryly when he came upon them, eyes for once twinkling with a bit of mischief, peering out from under his silvery forelock. He did not understand the hostility with which the mare addressed the youth, for he was merely standing on the border and therefore not strictly trespassing. ”My name is Aurelius, of the Aurora Basin,” he spoke, with a polite dip of his ram-horned skull. “Though, I must admit to being curious - what would bring you to these regions, I wonder? And of your own free will at that,” he added, giving the Pegasus mare a sideways glance. It was no secret that he was not enjoying himself here, but he was genuinely curious about the red dun before him.
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