A Girl and Her Dragon

[Roose Hurro]

Wind and Water...



On his way in, Roughshod had indeed passed by more interesting places. Nature of flying the Gateways. Passing from world to world to world, each different. Each... well, he did find this world's single yellow sun interesting. No Palesun. No Brightsun. Just one yellow ball of fire. One shadow. Daylight, strange. Night, only one moon. Plants. Animals. Different. But not so different he couldn't separate fish from fowl. Similar looks, different taste. Yes, he could breathe the air and eat the food of this world...

... "Your land is very wide... " Another thing he found different and interesting... "Not like Home, where wind and water share connections with land everywhere. Ocean not very far away, whatever way you fly." As he passed back over the very same lake he'd breakfasted from earlier, he turned wing and circled over the water, a glance over his shoulder at Kolda... "But I know a way to find ocean here."

He did, indeed. All water flows towards the ocean, so he simply circled till he spotted the lake's outflow, then started following that. Could take anything from several hours to several days, or more. But they were in no rush...

... "What will you do when you finally stand on beach sands... see the waves roll in?"

All words Roughshod spoke came clear to Kolda's ears, his voice pitched to carry through the windrush of flight.......

 

[Red Sinfonia]

The thought that the ocean was within reach no matter the direction was inconceivable to Kolda, who had lived the stretch of her life in an isolated place. The only reason she knew it existed, she realized, was from word on the lips of traveling merchants and from the strange, smooth shells that they had brought from the shores. The smell on them had been peculiar, of salt and fish, but she was attracted to the strange vision of them nonetheless. With that in mind, she absolutely had to agree with Roughshod that her world was indeed very wide. Too wide, she had thought long before she'd ever made contact with a dragon or something like it, for her to ever explore in her lifetime. That seemed alien now, the unknown that she had always gazed from far away at now just out of reach.

The question that her new friend posed to her was one that took Kolda by surprise. Not shock that he would ask, but shock that she was unsure of how to answer. Why did she want to see it?

"I'm not sure, Roughshod," she called out, followed up by a semblance of a laugh - much as she could get out with the wind buffeting her. "Maybe I'll try to swim!" Kolda came up with and shrugged, though she supposed he probably didn't see the gesture. Maybe she'd get lucky enough to spot the sea nymphs dancing on the waters, the sisters of the dryads and one of the last shining things in the world.

"Why are you here?" Kolda finally asked, the excitement of the new companion dwindling long enough to incite her curiosity. "You said that you are far from home and loved ones. Why did you leave and come here?"

 

[Roose Hurro]

Reasons...



No, Roughshod didn't see the gesture, his eyes and focus at that moment forward. But he did feel the gesture through his sensative hide. Felt the cool, clear rush of water in his memories. Try to swim? No, if she wished to swim, he would teach her. He did not want her to drown, something humans were prone to do. Then...

... "I'm here to learn. To grow. To gain knowledge, and with that knowledge, strength."

He didn't elaborate, not out of a desire to hide things, just because he wished to keep things brief. Wings tipped one way, then another as he worked over a sudden gust of wind. A brief "wing-waggle", to use a flying term. A slight dip and rise...

... "I did not come here. I ended up here. I wanted to explore new places. So I followed Gatepaths I'd never flown before. My home will still be there when I return. My family... Kirin... will be there. She understands."

He gave Kolda a brief turn of head, a glance eyes to eyes, with a practiced smile... "Why did you never explore?"