[AW] I lived like a man, oh, I'll die like a king

[Eik]

There are thoughts with words and there are thoughts without words. It is the second we embrace as we stand alone in the forest, the rain and the sound of the rain washing over us. The feeling floods our soul. There is divinity here, in the place beyond words, in the pattern of the rain falling on Eik's face and the smells that rise from the ground and trees around him. The problem is that he can never bring it back with him, to the realm of words.

At the arrival of the stranger, he opens his eyes and reality floods back. Bright, solid, reality. The ground beneath his feet, the dark whispers at the frayed edge of things, all of it returns and he is left with the feeling of something missing. But it is a familiar feeling and he knows how to live with it-- ignoring it works best for him.

Eik is relaxed as the other man approaches. He's met too many friendly strangers in Novus to feel on edge with the arrival of another. The pied stallion is young and heavily decorated with piercings and braids- a stark contract to Eik's tattered, aging body. He almost sighs.

(You've stretched your life, old man, to the point it feels you've lived twice as long as you have.

You've misspent your youth, old man,

Is a good death really all you want now?)

"It doesn't rain much in Solterra." He says simply, and perhaps it is reason enough. Of course he hasn't experienced it often, but there is nothing in the world like the smell of the desert after the rain- damp creosote, cold sandstone, and wet sand. The land sings a silent song of gratitude, a single, long exhale of a breath that has been held too long.

If he suddenly grows aware of the cold air on his damp body, he does not show it. His attention is turned to his new companion, and the flicker of movement near the base of his neck. "Who is that?" He asks gently, surprisingly charmed by the creature so comfortably nested in the stranger's mane. How nice it seems to keep your feathers warm and dry even as the rain falls down around you.

"I'm Eik." He says, half to the stallion and half to the bird. And though he does not smile, his voice is warm and calm.

-     -     -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood

@Ipomoea its perfect <3