The air was thick today, the humidity high. One of the first signs that the season of winter was long gone, heralding that soon days would come when the sun beat down upon ones back, and the mere heat of the average day was enough to bring one to their knees with the desire for midday slumber. It would be even worse in these lands which the young stallion now found himself estranged within, for the murky waters would raise the humidity above even it's current levels, and the man had the foresight to know that if he should find himself here in such temperatures, he would hardly be surprised to find mixtures of condensation and sweat dripping from his name every now and then. Not to mention that the purification of detritus would increase exponentially, giving a cloying property to the smell that may hang here soon.
But that was then and this was now, and now, the only complaint to be found was the humidity. It was warm, yes, but far from uncomfortable. It helped that the night before had held a chill to it, lowering the temperatures of the swamps waters and making them almost refreshing in their coolness with hpthe coming of the sun. Each step gave a soft squelch, alongside a dim splash as he trudged through the stagnant waters, having long since given up on finding a dry path through this land. His limbs were growing heavy from the clinging mud, the long hairs wrapping around the sticky substance and soon almost cementing it to his form.
Yet the mud was soft and not too terribly thick, and a simpler part of the small man's mind actually enjoyed the sensation, the cool substance squelching up and around his hooves and limbs with every step, offering soft ground to grid upon. Granted, while each step was soft, raising ones limb provided a bit more of a challenge, a soft popping sound accompanying each instance he successfully pried one of his hooves from the water, to say nothing of the disturbances his movements caused in the water. He may have been pulling with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, not liking the sensation of being stuck, making his walk clumsier than it could have otherwise been.
But, it wasn't as though there was another to watch his struggles, yes? So it didn't matter to any but him in the end. Observant beasts that resided here may have noticed how ears perked up, rotating as if listening for something, to say nothing of the copper eyes that warily flicked about the eerily still land, watching. Looking to see what may lay in the shadows.
The fact of the matter is that he was lost, there was no other way to put it. He had fled the meadows of his foalhood, leaving their peaceful flowers in the hopes of leaving the shadows there as well. He had known from the start that his efforts would bear no fruit, but logically knowing the outcome didn't stop the trembling in his muscles of the twitching in his flanks and shoulders that was like an itch, one with tendrils that reached down into his heart and caused it to flutter with distress.
Run,
They whispered.
Run and perhaps you can escape.
He did not escape, but he did lose some of that nervous energy that made his shoulders tingle as though there were flies brushing against him, so it brought some mild relief in that.
Small mercies.
Tuthfully, he had not even the faintest clue where he was, or what borders he was within. He hardly knew of the courts at all, only the very basics. He knew not what borders he had grown up within, for his nomadic parents had brought him from place to place on a quite frequent basis, although they always returned to the meadows. They traveled so much the man could barely remember having seen the same face twice, and in time they had all grown to be blurs. He supposed that technically, he belonged to whatever court his parents hailed from, but they had seemed reluctant to discuss such things, and left him with a lack of knowledge of where to call home.
Perhaps it is better that way, you cannot be chased from a home you do not have. No need to fear another tracking down where you rest your head and breaking your bones in your slumber.
Of course, that does not exempt you from the blows of those who frown upon your mere presence within their lands.
But would others truly kill one who was only lost? Simply for not knowing where he set his hooves due to sheer ignorance?
You? Who could pass up the opportunity.
He couldn't refute the logic.
Nevertheless, the man soon found himself pried from his worried thoughts, lip finally freed from his unconscious nibbling. Before him lay what appeared to be a rise in the ground, a section of Earth and stone that rested above the water level, and while not as bereft of water as the desert, so much drier than any other resting spot in the vicinity.
And the small stallion was suddenly all too aware of the whimpering ache of his muscles from the difficult walk through sucking mud, and he couldn't deny the flame of eagerness that momentarily renewed his strength as he pushed forwards with a mighty heave. A rest seemed wonderful, and in this place, who knew when the next time came that he would find such a place? He had already been uncomfortable enough after the previous night, where he found himself forced to sleep in shallow water, unable to find dry land before he could go no further. Mud was still encrusted in his mane.
Nonetheless, the man sighed with relief as he hauled himself free of the water and mud, taking a moment to shake and wipe as much of it as he could from hocks along the edge of the rise, trying to cleanse himself at least a little. Task completed, or as completed as he was going to get, the man's hooves pressed upon the skills he walked forwards, looking for the area most bereft of stone to perhaps allow him a quick nap. After all, he needed to renergize if he wanted to brave the clingy earth that rested beneath the swamp's waters.
@Rannveig
OOC: Auru was born in Delumine not that that's relevant to anything nor as though he knows that fact. First post is a go, whoop! Hopefully it's not too awkward despite being written on mobile, I may have missed some autocorrect or lack there of while writing. xD
Also, this is technically open to any other members of Dusk who may wish to drop by, but it's at least involving Auru and Rannveig.
