Noctisardor Bypass Let's go dancing on the backs of the bruised.

The afternoon sun beamed from its pinnacle in the center of the sky, not a cloud in sight. A warm wind blustered across the valley. He felt the sun on his back and the wind against his cheeks as he ran, thrilled by the rush of it all. There was no reason for him to be out this far from the claim - except he was bored, and this landscape was not known to him. Revui was not often curious, but he knew to value landmarks and that studying the landscape would be beneficial, so he tried.

The gaps between the forests seemed thinner the further north he went. Sparse tree growth peppered the dry fields, casting irregular shadows across him as he veered beneath the shade of one copse or another, but he was always off again within moments. When he finally slowed to a crawl it was to catch his breath alongside a muddy river, the silt darkening the water to something slick brown and disgusting - but still, he dipped his snout and drank his fill. A line of algae stained his chin green, not that he noticed.

He carried on from there. The river was winding, and he wondered if there was an alpine lake somewhere that fed it. The further north he went, the more apparent it became that Revui was not alone - and as he crossed in to the grove, ducking among the trees, his fur bristled. This was unproven territory to the leviathan, so it was best he stay guarded.