[AW] slick like sunlight ;

[Eik]

"Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls."

- - -
The story begins before the first word is even thought of.

It starts before the father, before the mother, before their fathers and mothers. Before there are memories.

It unfolds now with each step, the dirt pressed beneath each hoof, and the dirt beneath the dirt, and the rocks beneath that. It unfolds and curls back into itself. The horizon dances with a heat he is not accustomed to. His body responds with sweat, lazy sweat- different than the frothy sweat of a fight or a hard run. As he wanders through his new home--

(Home was once the long cold winter)

He wonders how the walls were built, how old they are, the stories they'd tell. He sticks to the shade where he can find it and winds along the walls. It is not long until he finds himself before someone who looks very shiny and rather unapproachable. So he approaches. He isn't eager to make new friends but feels a sense of obligation to introduce himself. And besides- this world is still very much new to him. He isn't really sure if he's even in the right place, although it feels right. The heat that slaps you in the face and the smell of sweat and sand and blue sky- a sense of... of rightness settles over him like a blanket.

"Eik." He states, the word spoken with the odd lilt of his accent. It sounds like ache. He blinks twice. "My name," he clarifies. He shoes the flies that gather on sweaty, scar-flecked hindquarters with a lazy flick of his tail. He tilts his head, as though asking a question.

The memories, they build upon memories. And the story continues.

-  -  -

E I K