Morningside Cuesta Act I, Scene I

It’s early spring and the morning is luminous, flowers in bloom seek out the sun and young buds sharing their stems will soon follow. Tauris eyes this young bud, his petals droop, body staggers, and wards off her attendance with two words that never fail to hold opposite their meaning.

'I’m fine.'

He turns towards her, hooded eyes intricate and easily bruised. “Well, if by chance, you’d find the perspective of an impartial stranger helpful…” She attempts to hold herself gently.

“I’m Tauris. I live in this valley.” She makes a general sweep with her muzzle, maybe with a little pride in it. Snowmelt had revealed the beautiful greenery it had hidden all winter. Tauris had seen nothing like it in her natal land of ice. The vale was beginning to feel a bit more familiar, and though she remained unaffiliated, maybe it was something she could take some ownership in, if only the little blooms near her feet.

“And you?” She prompted for a name to put to those lost blue eyes. “Are you from here, too?”

He didn’t have to talk. She could distract. Maybe that was enough.