It was cooler here, or perhaps that was simply the virtue of the night. Perhaps the new heights they had reached, in the most literal sense of the word, was another contributing factor.
Of course, it also meant that they were required to move at a slower pace due to the thinning air, such was the fate of one hornbill to deserts and sea-level lands who now walked among mountains.
Although, the cooler temperatures also sapped less energy from their form, their coat of dark hues allowing them to be far more at ease with the chiller air than among the blistering heat of the desert sun. So in a way, they felt more energized in that they didn't feel as though their soul was being bled out through their sweat. They were both less and more energized by the change in climate and atmosphere, so would that's not render them to be in possession of their usual energy levels?
Hmm... questions for the sages and all the noble minds of the courts. Perhaps they ought to deviate from the path towards home and set out for the Dawn Court, if only to ask the court of the greatest sages this question of utmost importance.
But to be so close to home only to turn away? Later, perhaps they would take the journey later.
For now, hooves the color of mosses, of evergreen grasses as the more poetic might claim (were evergreen grasses even a thing? Another question for the Dawn Court), clattered against stone as they hauled the form they were attached to up and over that mountain that impeded their path.
They were far from an experienced climber, but they were determined, as well as creative and willing to explore atypical methods of climbing. (Or were they truly atypical? The equine with the crown of antlers was not one to know.)
There were more than a hooffull of incidents where they found themselves on ledges too narrow for their build, and it was only quick thinking and the refusal to let themselves fall that kept the equine of dark hues from succumbing to an early demise. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the situation was simply the way they seemed to take their situation, even as the crested the most difficulty part of the climb so far and found themselves looking down upon a relatively gentle decline that, while with the occasional obstacle scattered here and there that should make for an easier descent, it did not stop the echoes of their laughter from ringing throughout the mountain pass.
The sound of gay and carefree merriment were fading as the sounds ceased to spill from their lips like a bubbling brook, but the impressions were still upon their face, and the laughter could be read in their eyes.
It seemed that their current dance, a gentle waltz in the mountains, with death, was over for now. No longer pushing the limits, no longer daring to take the path least traveled for the certainty that it would be more expedient, even if it came with a hint of danger. Their eyes still glimmered with the joy of the game, the dance, but they bid their partner farewell and set off down the slope, finding themselves headed deeper into the territory of the Night Court, shining eyes curious as to what they may encounter in this new venture as they headed home.
@Reichenbach
OOC: Phone post.
