A boy (too old to rightfully be called a boy, but a boy nonetheless) with coal black wings soars high above his kingdom. Fog enshrouded the banks of the river, a thick fog that was beautiful seen from above, or from its thinning edges, but so very eerie to be caught in the middle of. It had the tendency of trapping and stretching sound, so that the river at its heart echoed throughout the valley.
Near the border of the fog walks a mare. At first glance, he can tell she's a soldier on patrol by the way she walks, comfortable but focused, like she knows exactly where she's going, exactly which steps to take-- like she's done this before, many times. She probably has, but not often in the morning-- surely he would have noticed her before.
Mateo drops in elevation to get a closer look at the mare. There was no rhyme or reason to his curiosity, other than the vague, unwarranted feeling that early mornings in Delumine were his, his alone, and anyone else awake was his business, whether they liked it or not. "Good morning!" he calls out before he swoops low and lands gracefully just a few lengths in front and to the side of her. "Mind if I join you?" He shuffles his feet in place, waiting for her to catch up. From the ground, even with the fog muffling some of her features, he quickly recognizes her. "Maerys, right?" Mateo had taken to watching the soldiers in training-- their movements were not unlike a dance, once you had the eye for it. There was repetition, of course, the same repetition at the heart of every dance, but there was also improvisation. And where there was a dance, there was music-- even if the dancers did not know it was there.
Of course, familiarizing himself with the population, especially the soldiers, was a matter of self preservation. If one could not fight, it was good to have friends that did. "I'm Mateo. I've seen you training." He remembers inquiring about the tall newcomer who did not much look like a soldier. Someone had told him that she talked funny, but moved nicely, and they gave him a name with similar letters to his own, but a completely different sound. His name ended in an O, introspective and closed, but hers... Maerys reminded him of a bird rising in flight, catching the ocean wind in its feathers.
"So how is Dawn Court treating you? Is it to your liking?" Mateo was ever the helpful boy, even to the most complete of strangers.
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@Maerys I hope this is okay! <3
