The Afterglow.

WAKER

She lets you touch the charm. Trying to not feel weird, you extend your head and neck, and press your plush nose against it. It is, indeed, warm—not unbearably so, just pleasantly so. You don't want to step back, but you have to, and so, you do. You're not cold by a long shot, not even with the sweat freezing on your fur, but something about the charm's warmth had been so nice. You choose not to be envious, though, but rather to be happy for her.

"Alright," she agrees, and sets off towards the barrier. You glance behind you at the gathering, where Kiada is leaving with someone you've never seen before, and then you follow Taivas out from the snow and back into the cruel, scorching heat.

The difference is.. immense. One moment you're cool, the next, the dry, hot air laps against you again, and the sun's rays are no longer pale and beautiful, but somehow over-saturated and relentless. Everything has a different color all of a sudden, and you feel your confused body break out into a renewed sweat. You spread your wings slightly, hoping for some remnant of a cooling breeze to touch your dark skin, but nothing comes, and holding your wings out like this will only tire you. Still, you can't bear holding them tight against your sides just now, so you bear them up.

Taivas suddenly stops, and you do the same. You're a few paces behind her, like some weird bird of prey following her. Her eyes are wide with surprise, and for a single second you're worried that something really weird has happened; you jog the few steps to catch up and come up next to her, trying to not look worried. But when she finally speaks, what she says is, "it's cool now," and you release a breath you didn't know you had held. "Huh," is all you say for a moment, peering at the charm braided into her mane. The ember is gone, replaced by a pristine snowflake. You don't touch it again, because you haven't asked for her permission, but you let your nose hover just over it. Sure enough, the air there is colder.

Maybe it's time to get envious now?

But you don't want to be envious, so you just smile. "If this summer has been anything to go by.. yeah," you respond thoughtfully. You don't remember much of the winter you arrived in, and besides, it was mostly over by the time you got here, but blast it, it had been cold. At least, you think so. It might've been a normal winter for someone else. Your plains never had much of that season—it was mostly cold mud and cold rain.

"Uhm.." you say after a moment, lifting one of your wings to fan your neck, "speaking of the Rift.. what is this place? How did you get here?"

All the things you wish you could've asked her weeks ago.