welcome home

Rixen Rise and rise again until lambs become lions; Each day flowed into the next, as if all of time was just one dreadfully long day in itself. The heat of Scorch had passed, replaced by the gentle rains of Drench, the new season. The day had been rainy, but every now and then the downpour would stop as the sun briefly poked through the thick grey clouds. I was not too far from the walls of Halyven, waiting beneath a tree. Waiting for the rain to let up again so that I could admire the ruins without being soaked. This came as no surprise; a long amount of time had passed since I last visited the crumbling city, at least longer than I would have liked. Khairi’s call was not a difficult one to recognize. Immediately, I thought of the meeting that was supposed to be happening soon. It was almost time that we gathered again, and I remembered the celebration, and Hope telling us that she wanted to be there when we did. With this in mind, it was no surprise that the bird was now summoning me to Halyven. Although it was strange that it was not Otem calling this time. She had been absent as of late, and I was beginning to wonder what had become of her. After all, the autumn-colored mare was responsible for initiating and leading our first gathering, and I’d have expected her to assume a similar role in conducting the second one. Maybe Otem would show up, though. I’d just have to wait and find out. With Otem nowhere to be found, and Khairi calling me to our designated meeting place, the next horse to cross my mind was Kiada. She must have assumed the role of initiating the meeting and sent the vulture out to gather myself and the others. I looked forward to seeing her again, and had no trouble setting off toward the city at a swift pace, even though the rain I'd been hoping to wait out was in fact still falling. Halyven rose out of the darkness, out of the silent charcoal curtain that was the horizon. The blurred outlines of the few spires that still stood came into focus as I neared the city, growing larger and larger with every stride, until the great stone structures loomed before me, ominous yet somehow alluring against the darkened sky. My tiger-striped pelt was damp with water, but I paid no notice. My thoughts were fixated on the gathering, who would be there, and what sort of things we’d be discussing. These meetings had been a good idea. They offered us structure, unity, and safety in numbers without having the commitment of a herd, and there seemed to be no reason why any horse would turn those things down, certainly not when living in a place such as the Rift.  I stepped into the walls of Halyven, a pleasant bounce in my step, visible evidence of my gladness to be there and to see familiar faces. The walls, though decaying, were just as comforting as I last remembered. Staring at them couldn’t be helped, even though most other horses would probably scoff at my fascination with the piles of crumbling stones. We could not have chosen a better meeting place. Not in all the world. Kiada was standing in the clearing, bright golden figure impossible to miss given her rather colorless surroundings. A nicker escaped my throat in greeting, and I couldn’t help but smile as my hooves closed the gap between us. "It is good to see you again, Kiada." My voice was rich and warm, each of my breaths forming a small cloud in the cool air. When there was a comfortable distance between us, I came to a halt, adding in a polite tip of my antlers. "It seems like just yesterday we were all discussing the idea of gathering in this place and, well, here we finally are." As I spoke, my emerald gaze ran briefly across Kiada and then moved to the surrounding walls, examining them thoughtfully, before glancing back in the direction I'd entered from to see if anyone else had arrived behind me. "TALK HERE"

image

@Kiada