Spotted Eagle Mountain ethuil

early spring.



snow clung to shaded places. grass, fresh and green. sprouts yet to bloom.

the hollow, below, a kaleidoscope.

her breath left in a puff. vibrant blue lake, trees remembering their leaves. terrain revealed by snow's absence.

medalina stood at the same place, knowing it unlikely she'd see @Siku again.

still she stood.

THE SPEED WITH WHICH I AM RUNNING HERE

he was tall.

taller than last time, taller than most. yet still he walked with the same uncertainty of the boy she had first met. in a lot of ways he still was that boy.

even if he prepared himself for a life of trading for paleo.

yet here he saw her again and his heart lurched just as it had the first time. a bloom of butterflies in his gut. she had been gone so long that he had thought —

medalina!

he had called out before he second guessed himself.

slight wind brushed her loose hairs. her face turned southway: a conglomerate of овци, picking their way up the rise.

another puff.

medalina!

braids whipped.

he was that same вук of high winter - now more grown. 

in height, not mass.

mountain boy, wearing a father's overlarge cloak.

she found her tail languidly lashing the air.

"siku." she greeted, some pleasure in her voice. long-legged, better-learned, she found her way down rock and snow.

to him.

my speed is lesser but i am a marathoner :flex: 

she remembered him!

somehow the mountain air felt sharper. crisper. colder. like icy water had suddenly run through his veins in the most enjoyable way.

(nobody had informed him of the emotional sides of growing up. of butterflies or birds or bees — or lovely fae.)

he found that the sunlight of early spring fit her. even if he had once thought of her in a full moon!

his cheeks flushed warmly.

you've come back.

and he found himself without words suddenly!

there was an awkwardness to the boy. concerning. was she intruding?

yu sed us l'rning. she reminded the youth, stepping from stone to stone. ai leyt.

baht,

a leap. a landing.

ai hir.

сику exceeded her height. proper adolescent, he lacked strong form. speckled. pale. tree-eyed. 

планинско чедо.

he fit this scenery as she never could.

in place of greeting, medalina's muzzle lifted to what she'd seen.

siku. vhat iz neym of thoze?

his ears swept back and he wondered if she was angry.

even if she did not give teeth or claws. the reminder just cut a bit sharper than he had anticipated. he hadn't...missed their lesson had he?!

but she confirmed it herself.

it seemed now they would pick up where they left off.

his eyes turned to spot the thick forms that dotted the mountainside.

ram. he said, then repeated it with a bit more knowledge.

rams are...unsafe. those horns are used for battle. have you seen the ram charge?

in which ram stops being a real word

ram.

committed to memory. a light nod as he explained. brown eyes never left the subjects.

charge? her head lifted, turned, tilted. braided ears fell over shoulders. 

a word heard before, in the place of straight walls, and fake sunlight.

pardon the lull + micropost, i vowed not to post until i put together some art for this gal <3