S O M N U S

"What if I fall?"
"Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"


"I must say, this is not at all what I was expecting when I suggested an outing this morning."

It was, perhaps, the understatement of the century. Somnus had always prided himself on the ease in which his mind processed varying information. He was borderline genius, a brilliant tactician, and inanely perceptive. As one who always had to be in control, of himself or the situation, as well as one who loathed ambiguity in any form, the arrival to a place like this was positively maddening. It clawed at his mind, driving a stake of anxiety and self-doubts into his breast, but he couldn't ignore the dredges of curiosity pulling at him like temptation personified.

A maze. It was a maze. Of all of the nefarious, vile locations that he and Ulric could have stumbled upon, being met with gregarious shrubbery in twisting and turning pathways was not it. It was oddly alluring, in a thoughtful kind of way, and they had yet to actually take the beginning steps into the maze, for Somnus was quite content to simply stand outside of the threshold into mystery and simply analyze it for some time before making a final decision.

He had invited his old friend along for a stroll, simply to recollect the events in their lives since their separation from one another and slowly learn of the world that they now lived in. The Dawn Court was one thing, but the land around them was vast and grand, and Somnus was always one for learning more about his environment, his appetite for knowledge and seeking out the unknown voracious and insatiable. This day was no different. The sun was high in the sky, the heat blazing down upon their backs with little remorse, but there were plenty of shade-spots to find and seek solace in along their venture.

Verdant eyes narrowed from his erect station beside Ulric, gaze judgmental and cautionary, and finally the golden tactician looked away from the beckoning entrance to brush his muzzle against the blue roan's broad shoulder. Then, he spoke, the elegant lilt to his voice doing nothing to hide the vague uncertainty, and curiosity that he felt. "... Are you feeling up to an adventure, Ulric?"

S O M N U S

"What if I fall?"
"Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"


Only moments upon their arrival and careful deliberation, a third joins them. Somnus scents her before he sees her, a gilded creature much in the same ways as himself. The lady smells of fresh grasslands and balmy evenings, a scent that is unfamiliar to the golden tactician's nose, but in looks, she is not so different. She is light and dainty, long and regal, with wild honeyed hair adorned with ripe, lavender flowers. She is sightly, but what truly snatches Somnus' attention is her tone of voice. It is light, airy, jovial and almost innocent.

This lady does not remain to introduce herself or make standard introductions, and that is when Somnus truly realizes that they are in the company of someone completely different. Instead, the gilded lady darts ahead, seemingly dancing in her stride, passionate and tenacious, eagerly facing whatever the overgrown maze held in store with a brazenness that would make hardened generals cower.

Somnus exchanges a glance with Ulric, flabbergasted emerald eyes seeking his dear friend's gold, before a mighty sigh escaped the hybrid's nostrils and he began to follow, kicking up in a brisk trot to make up lost ground. Gentleman though he was, he couldn't simply let the lady enter the maze unattended, even if he didn't doubt her abilities at handling herself. If Somnus had learnt anything in his short time in Novus, it was that the lands were tough, but the ladies even more so.

"Florentine!" He beckons in accented tones as he rounds the first corner of hedges, emerald eyes catching the drifting amethyst petals as they fell to the ground, "It may be unwise to venture ahead so boldly, good lady! We do not know what may be laying in wait!" Fear did not edge his voice, but wariness did. It was Somnus' job, or, well, had been his job, to inspect, to learn, to intimately map the environment and make the next plan or suggestion, the role of a King's chamberlain so deeply ingrained into who he was that he could not simply give it up. The tact would be with him until the day he died.

She was a stranger, this Florentine, of a land that was not of Dawn's own patronage, but Somnus was compelled to ensure her welfare all the same. It was only when he and Ulric lessened the distance between them and the Dusk lady that he went on, speaking to introduce himself, feeling somewhat harried and completely out of his element. This was too fast. They were moving far too fast through the unknown, and shouldn't they be taking this a bit more slow? Maybe hanging back, making a plan? Somnus was a creature of contingency plans, and this, diving headfirst into the unknown, was not his style.

"Somnus," he began, emerald eyes drifting to the gilded lady, mighty amber wings tucked close to pale flaxen sides, wings holding onto a considerable amount of tension, tight, tense against his body, and together they pass another corner, this one venturing towards the right, "That is my name. Since we will be traversing the unknown together. A pleasure."

A harried, hasty pleasure, but a pleasure all the same.