S O M N U S
"What if I fall?"
"Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"
Only moments upon their arrival and careful deliberation, a third joins them. Somnus scents her before he sees her, a gilded creature much in the same ways as himself. The lady smells of fresh grasslands and balmy evenings, a scent that is unfamiliar to the golden tactician's nose, but in looks, she is not so different. She is light and dainty, long and regal, with wild honeyed hair adorned with ripe, lavender flowers. She is sightly, but what truly snatches Somnus' attention is her tone of voice. It is light, airy,
jovial and almost
innocent.
This lady does not remain to introduce herself or make standard introductions, and that is when Somnus truly realizes that they are in the company of someone completely
different. Instead, the gilded lady darts ahead, seemingly
dancing in her stride, passionate and tenacious, eagerly facing whatever the overgrown maze held in store with a brazenness that would make hardened generals cower.
Somnus exchanges a glance with Ulric, flabbergasted emerald eyes seeking his dear friend's gold, before a mighty sigh escaped the hybrid's nostrils and he began to follow, kicking up in a brisk trot to make up lost ground. Gentleman though he was, he couldn't simply
let the lady enter the maze unattended, even if he didn't doubt her abilities at handling herself. If Somnus had learnt
anything in his short time in Novus, it was that the lands were tough, but the ladies even more so.
"Florentine!" He beckons in accented tones as he rounds the first corner of hedges, emerald eyes catching the drifting amethyst petals as they fell to the ground,
"It may be unwise to venture ahead so boldly, good lady! We do not know what may be laying in wait!" Fear did not edge his voice, but wariness
did. It was Somnus' job, or, well,
had been his job, to inspect, to learn, to intimately map the environment and make the next plan or suggestion, the role of a King's chamberlain so deeply ingrained into
who he was that he could not simply give it up. The tact would be with him until the day he died.
She was a stranger, this Florentine, of a land that was not of Dawn's own patronage, but Somnus was compelled to ensure her welfare all the same. It was only when he and Ulric lessened the distance between them and the Dusk lady that he went on, speaking to introduce himself, feeling somewhat harried and completely out of his element. This was too fast. They were moving
far too fast through the unknown, and
shouldn't they be taking this a bit more
slow? Maybe hanging back, making a plan? Somnus was a creature of contingency plans, and this, diving headfirst into the unknown, was
not his style.
"Somnus," he began, emerald eyes drifting to the gilded lady, mighty amber wings tucked close to pale flaxen sides, wings holding onto a considerable amount of tension, tight,
tense against his body, and together they pass another corner, this one venturing towards the right,
"That is my name. Since we will be traversing the unknown together. A pleasure."
A harried,
hasty pleasure, but a pleasure all the same.
