Solira: The Ocean: Dazrah

Kahana is driving him nuts right about now. Previously she was dancing between his legs in a constant game (like someone stabbing a knife between their fingers who is positive they won't miss the gaps) but now she's taken to hanging from his tail, like a monkey on a vine, swinging from side to side with it as it moves. He stops suddenly and she is somewhat unprepared for the change of pace and looses her grip in his tail, falling to the floor with a thud. He smiles amusedly, turning his head to watch her shake herself off before she turns back to glare at him through her little dark bandit mask. He giggles, lowering his head to her level, gently nudging her proclaiming, "Well that serves you right didn't it!" And then (like the mature, wise seer he is) he proceeded to stick out his tongue at the young polecat. Kahana simply scowled more at him before darting forwards and flinging herself onto his withers (digging her claws into his skin as she settled), deciding to not speak to him until they were back in Solira.

He is grateful to feel the hard ground give way to the soft shifting sands he is so used to, perhaps it will always remind him of Leviah and Oreallo, but the smell of the Soliran ocean remains unique. Today however, Solira smells differently - it looks differently and not just because he has been away for a while. It is not the same happy lively place it was when he left to go to Desreal, and then he knows they have been punished in his absence; it still smells a little like charcoal and burnt flesh mixed together with that salty sea air he knows so well. He feels a sudden wave of shame, of guilt that he was not here when his country could have used his help. In his defence (not that he would even consider it an excuse) he was trying to persuade their country's queen to allow him to free her from the shards when their punishment had been bestowed upon the ocean and so he had continued with his daily to-ing and fro-ing without realising quite what had happened. Then he had been called upon by the elements to undertake his quest - he had waited so long to reach this stage and so he could not resist the call; in hindsight he knows the rainbringer would not have allowed him to have resisted it.

And so it is only now that he returns to see the remains of the scorched land, realises the extent of the damage that he had not been here to repair. Solira is regenerating, that he can see, but the guilt from knowing he could have helped (knowing there are injured and deceased that he could have helped, could have saved) momentarily threatens to overpower him before Kahana dashes from her resting place to bite him sharply on his ear pulling him out of his spiralling thought cascade. The slight pain causes him to shout upwards at her, receiving only giggling laughter in return; "call it slight retribution for earlier" Kahana smirks across at him. The polecat sits up on her hind legs atop his poll, making him look odder than usual, as if he is wearing some sort of odd weasel shaped hat, her eyes scouting across the landscape, just watching before she pipes up, "this is where you live?" and then almost immediately afterwards squeaks with excitement as she spies a small gathering ahead of them. The skewbald turns to look in the direction she was facing, smiling as he realises the group is comprised of both those very familiar to him and some relative newcomers.

It is once the conversations with those familiar to him have ended that he resumes his scholarly duties once more, feeling the need to venture towards the nearest unknown to greet them, enquire after their health, ask if they like cheese and other such random questions that he has a burning desire to ask all of a sudden. It is the skewbald in his happiest element, doing something he enjoys - talking is after all his second favourite thing after bouncing and singing! He can recognise the distinctive curious pose of a scholar, after all his time spent in the academy it would be worrying if he couldn't recognise one of his own class to be honest. He is more familiar with those from his own pillar having seen most of them from various nations in the academy so the fact he doesn't recognise this one suggests they are new but he hasn't been around in a while to really be aware of how long anyone has been here - they are new and unfamiliar to him and that is something he is rather keen to change. Kahana is sat straddling his shoulders holding on to his mohawkish looking colour splashed mane clinging on as he trots bouncily forwards approaching the warrior, her little bandit mask across her eyes making them a little reminiscent of Dick Turpin. She relaxes her grip as he stops beside the scholar, sliding into a more relaxed position across his neck watching the world go by as the skewbald pony slips into easy conversation. "Hey there! I'm Gecko - ambassador of Solira. How are you today? How are you faring in the academy?" He's never appreciated the way others can simply drift in and out of his mind and is determined that he is not going to become one of those just yet - after all what's the point of asking questions and having a proper conversation if you already know the answers?

GUARDIAN OF THE RAINBRINGER
WATER III & LIGHTNING III