Bitter Taste

White. White, but not snow. Seiji recalls this place almost as one recalls a dream: wavering and strange, half unbelievable. He followed the Matriarch through this way before Hope arrived. He and all the others. Now he is alone. Now he wanders, not lost but curious, a lonely shadow in the great expanse of sand. Sort of an ugly place. It makes him long for the smell of the ocean, the soft voice of the waves. Sand shifts below his hooves with every step. Wind whispers secrets around his ears. No, he thinks, a little annoyed, and with a shake of his head he leaps into a canter. A long, fluid gait. Carrying. He moves at that pace for a long time, and the scenery doesn't change. Seiji isn't sure how long he's moving. Only that eventually there's a strange taste in the air, something not like the ocean but a little reminiscent, nonetheless. Bitter. His ears come up; he slows to a trot. And because he has nothing else to do but search this place in every crevice, every corner, he moves in the direction of the stench. It grows stronger quickly. And now: a darkness on the horizon. A darkness growing nearer, nearer, like a pool of shadow nestled between great shoulders of sand. Now his interest is truly piqued. He trots up to the very edge and with a snort, he pauses there. Gazes in. Thick. Dense. Not water. But.... something else. He's never seen the like before. His long face tilts; he contemplates dipping in a hoof. It feels warm, and it smells horrific, but.... While he thinks, he dances along the edge, surveying the circumference of the pool. A lonely bird wheels high above, unidentifiable from its great height. Eventually, he stops again and tentatively lifts a hoof, about to dip in his very toe. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

@Ahlora or maybe @Requiem?