![[Image: 500_by_memuii-dbfxt60.png]](http://orig02.deviantart.net/75f6/f/2017/192/d/5/500_by_memuii-dbfxt60.png)
" BEXLEY BRIAR "
The desert blazes now with unsustained heat, and Bexley delights in it. Summer is her season without a doubt. The incessant dripping of the sun onto her skin, the wind less of a breeze and more of an exhale, the sand radiating rays back and forth from the atmosphere. Everything is stagnant and seasonally-depressive. Except for Bex, who lives and breathes not only under the sun but for it, who has, for the past few days, been entirely absorbed in the excitement of the oncoming dog days.
She’s grown into Novus over the past few weeks. Now the Day Court is becoming her home, and she knows how to traverse the world around her, smart enough to start picking less fights and making more friends. Bexley’s never been unsure of herself, but her confidence is is still increasing by the day. For example: she’s in the middle of the desert all on her own, picking her way through the dunes on nimble, bleached hooves, ignoring the way sweat is plastering her curls to her skin, and she’s not intimidated by the vast stretch of the sands because she knows where she is, and who she is, and how not to get lost. It’s exhilarating to be so independent.
After hours of walking she slows to a crawl, sloughing sand off to the side of the dune with each step. Sweat sparkles over her chest and legs. And then, from nowhere, she becomes aware of a second presence, a body somewhere near, followed by footsteps and the sound of sand shifting. Bexley’s head turns, and her indigo eyes fall on a man, even smaller than she, making his way up the slope. That’s interesting, unexpected. She draws to a stop. Gaze inscrutable, Bex watches his smile but does not yet return it.
Forever, she answers after a moment, but then breaks into a wolfish grin, belying the falsity of her answer. Quite a while, I mean. Hours even if you know where you’re going. Bexley squints at him through her reddish lashes. Do you know where you’re going? It’s meant to catch him off-guard. He seems nervous, a new kid - bad for him, but fun for her.
@charlemagne <3
