He'd never felt closer to the heavens. The night was bright with thousands of twinkling stars, painting hidden constellations that had Kaladin tip his head to the heavens and recognize each by name. Cetus Maxima, Hippocampus, Aquila, Helena's Belt... he was alive here, amongst silver-gilded starways and the warmth of the glowing moon. His chest tumbled with both joy and an ancient, aching longing - a longing for freedom, to glide across the night sky, his mane rippling in the night breeze. But for now, he would have to content himself with standing beneath the indigo curtain of night, with the moon's light spilling across the lake ahead.

He picked up the pace once more, worn hooves crunching against the lake's smooth-stone holding. Despite his desire to disappear in the stars, he was here for a purpose - the ongoing search for the relic of Tempus. The treacherous mountain pass had proved almost entirely fruitless - but he'd taken the time to visit Denocte, home to the Night Court, and continue on in his efforts. Despite the dulling flame that was his hope, his resolution remained strong - if there were a relic, he would find it, and he would break the cursed collar that weighed down his body with every step.

Still, tonight he had almost successfully lost that weight in the cool night breeze. His muscles hummed with youthful energy, and he was once again reminded that indeed, he was but a boy - a boy with wide amberglass eyes full of stars and ancient knowledge. His excitement over the familiarity of the constellation had translated into energy singing in his veins, and he found himself trotting, then moving into a smooth canter, feeling the wind comb his mane with caring fingers. Unbeknownst to him, a rare smile touched lightly upon his lips. He leapt into a reckless gallop with a buck, now thundering across the shore of the glass-surface lake. For a moment, he was almost convinced he was free again.

Until he was not alone. Seeing the stranger in the distance, he managed to himself to a halt, though he did so grudgingly. Panting, his eyes glimmering akin to the stars above, he might have appeared almost like the child he could have been, had fate been so kind. Or like the wild creature of power that he had once been.

Spirit still high, he greeted the mahogany stranger with a nod. After a moment of scrutiny, he guessed they were there for the same goal - he had learned as much from his travels in search of the relic. After his reckless voyage across the mountain pass, he knew enough not to engage any more mortals in his own quest for divinity. However, the elation in his chest was bursting to be let out, and so he forced himself to recall the greeting the local mortals would utilize to convey their approach. Finally, voice still placed between excited breaths, he spoke, "Greetings, stranger."

The remark was quick and dismissive, meant as both greeting and farewell so they could both continue on their separate ways - and, so Kaladin hoped, the stranger was simply basking in the view, not seeking any godly relics. He hoped, prayed, that his search could continue uninterrupted. But if he'd learned anything about this mortal earth, it was that high hopes often went squandered.

"Kaladin"
Why Dohv sounded so bitter toward the ram-crowned stag no one could know, though, one thing Damascus knew for certain was that the jerboa was not a great fan of the stag who it seemed they would meet once again, now for the third time. The long-eared creature accompanying the boy of starlight had taken nest between his withers even as the the boy swooped low to meet the lake, close enough to brush his hoof upon the surface. 

It was shortly after the man they followed had met with another that Damascus pressed his weight forward, angling his flight downward to the fray and fog below that shielded parts of the moonlit lake from view. Landing with a beat an a thud, his monolithic tail soon to land with its own THUMP upon the ground behind him, Damascus spoke immediately.
"Kaladin - travel you far for man wings none" he had jested, a teasing smile curling upon his lips. Though truly, the man really did travel far and wide for one unblessed with the gift of flight. Many miles of boring marching, many days of bad sleep. Damascus certainly did not envy those without this blessing; just one wingbeat and he could be somewhere else.

Without much else to say to the stringy-haired brute, Damascus soon turned his nose over to the darker stag as he made his approach. "Friends you?" He asked Kaladin, looking back to the man he knew before casting his gaze once more of the coin-jingling stranger. "Damascus I am. Name of you be...?" Damascus had learned the past few days that waiting for an introduction was like waiting for grass to grow, so now he forged the opportunity to learn names whenever he told someone of his own. 

(( ooc; SPACE BBY WELCOME! so stoked you're here with me  ))
 

Kaladin was beginning to break records for absolutely rotten luck - or so he'd decided. It seemed that every step he took, he could not shake off the mortals that tracked his steps. Before the collar, he would have simply strode away from the other man, ignoring him and his pathetic small-talk. However, there was something innately hierarchical about mortals that seemed to come add-on with their bodies - as the older stallion continued to speak, Kaladin found himself halting and turning back to face him to allow him to continue. It was compulsion by age, he decided - in the mortal world, it was respectful for the younger to acknowledge the thoughts of their elders. Though Kaladin, in truth, had seen more years then this man ever could, he still found himself forming an honest reply to the man's inquiries.

"I am a Dawn Court caretaker," the half-truth had become his go-to by now."I have come seeking the relic in hopes of studying it for healing properties." though the words slipped off his tongue easily enough, he found himself stunned into silence. Not by the lie, as impressed by it as he was, but by the small truths that he could find within it - he would study the artifact, he realized. He would use it as knowledge before a tool.

He could not remain contemplative for long, however. He heard the steady hum of strong wing beats off in the distance, then a resounding thump as said approaching figure landed. He jumped, startled by both the noise and apprehension of what could be coming towards them, glancing to Reichenbach (he'd remembered the name!) in small alarm. It was, however, a needless feeling, as Kaladin soon found himself face-to-face with a familiar silhouette.

He was not exactly pleased, to see the adolescent pegasus, but his previous good spirits had somehow maintained themselves aloft during his interaction with Reichenbach, and he could not find it within himself to be bitter nor dismissive towards his fellow travelers. Instead, he tipped his head, mouth quirking upwards in light amusement. "You are either an extremely adept spy, my friend, or luck simply has us both clutched in her palms." he remarked, voice lined with fairly amicable sarcasm. To the second question, he simply shrugged."I suppose you could say that."

He glanced around, from Reichenbach to Damascus, and decided that if he was going to enjoy his night, then he would do it despite the mortal presence. He guessed now that they all had the same goal, and perhaps with the stars above them they would be successful. For now, he would remain with them - perhaps learn more about the relics that he so desperately sought. It was possible, after all, that the other men had insight that he did not. They would prove useful - at least for now.

Curiously the colt closed in on the pair, heaving his mass of hair along the ground behind him as he did so. In one great SWOOSH hee managed to heave all twenty feet of hair up and over his right wing joint, sending dirt and all kind of debris flying. 
"Damascus! Yew shud warn folk when ya do that!" Dohv barked through thier bond, a cough resonating from his mouth as he clambered thought the lifted dust to stand upon the silken black boy's head.

The bay fellow had spoken, one of muscle and gypsy song - Reichenback of the night court. Eyeing the precious coins that adorned his mane and glinted upon his leg, Damascus felt a slight sense of fraternity. Both were plain and simple men of little colour of bravado it would seem, though still Damascus viewed him as an attractive male none the less, and the kind that likely got many a damsel's attention (or so he assumed). Maybe it was just that devilishly handsome voice that rumbled like thunder from within a chest of Andalusia.
"Reichenbach" the boy practised, eyes of silver hardly straying from the matching pair that glanced back. "Long name have you..." He commented, squinting as he rehearsed the numerous syllables (only to realise that his name had just as many). 

Instead the boy straightened himself, puffing his chest ever so slightly and crooning his neck to it's full height to appear a little less clueless. He was among gentlemen, the kind he wished to be like some day.
"Look me relic for" He spoke, eyes narrowing upon Kaladin "Think you still be one and only to find it?" 
(( weeeee @kaladin ))
 

He was surprised to find himself smiling amiably, this time an expression come naturally instead of forced. He grinned at Damascus as the youth stumbled over the words of Reichenbach's lengthy title, then tipped his head at the boy's inquiry. He recalled with dread that the last time the two men had met, Kaladin had divulged to Damascus an amalgamation of personal information, spurred on by the fruitless frustrations of his search and his temper's ending fuse. The boy seemed to bear no grudge, however - and Kaladin himself had been mortifyingly grateful for the ability to speak honestly to another - even a mortal like Damascus, with halting speech and naive outlook to the world.

He shrugged upon hearing Damascus' inquiries about the relic. His heart gave an anxious tumble, recalling his true goals this night and acknowledging the competition he would be faced with now that he was no longer alone. He tipped his head in the direction of both his fellow travelers and acknowledged, "I doubt I will be the only one to find it. But I know I will be the first to use it." he glanced nervously to Reichenbach, amberglass eyes flickering as he realized too late that his words might hinder his previous front. "Either way, this relic remains a great unknown. What it does and who can use it is any of our best guesses. But an item of power should be held by one of equal power." And I am the one to bear that power, he finished in his mind, unwilling to speak further of his past aloud. They could never comprehend what it is like, to bear that burden...that freedom...that loss. They are only mortal, after all. And...so am I.

He was not set apart from the others in any way. Not any more. His chest clenched, and he had to grit his teeth against a wave of sorrow that struck him, shattering the night's blissful illusions. In an attempt to regain his composure, he glanced to the sky, eyes reflecting the glimmering starlight and nostrils widening as he inhaled the lake's misting breeze. He was always so close, and yet so far. It seemed the world only taunted him, his fate dancing in and out of reach like a marionette in the hands of a wicked pupeteer. I will prove you wrong, father. he swore. I will take back what you stole, and then I will take what is yours as well. And then I will make this world anew.

Naively, he pressed the hope down within himself, as if enough willpower could force it to be true. Using all his willpower, he wrenched himself away from his sorrows, glancing back to his companions and hoping that the crack in his facade had gone unnoticed. "We shall never know if we do not find it, will we? Then let us search." he glanced back up once more towards the sky, and he swore he could see father's iron eyes reflected in the moon's cold surface. He glanced away and stepped out before his companions, proclaiming with feigned confidence,"Whatever god loses his relic can do without one." And whatever father abandons his own creation can suffer at its hands. he added, wondering childishly if father could somehow hear.

@Damascus @Reichenbach i now bring you this needlessly self-indulgent post as presented by Kaladin, the ultimate trash bin