Jade Fern Grove sturdied up boulders and loosened the river

@Arbiter ?

dusk settled over the forest like a shroud. too far gone to spring and summer to be silent any longer, the air carried with it the ceaseless buzz of crickets, the chatter of birds who had not settled with the sinking sun. not even caligula's presence seemed to deter them; they swept above him in a rustle of leaves as he walked, and slowly, slowly, the thin rays of watery light filtering through the branches dimmed until the forest before him spread out dark and still.

he did not move with any ear to silence, nor with any aim, only a cautious flaring of nostrils on occasion to reassure he had crossed no border, found no other drifter he might disturb.

caligula had once had it in him to be a purposeful man, but those days felt a long way off, distant and blurred as mist over the water. perhaps he would know where he was going once he arrived, but it did not concern him overmuch. after one step, there would be the next. the sun would rise, and it would set. there was nothing else left to do.