I peered into the cave with obvious and marked dislike. Apparently places I disliked were entirely content to survive. I had already discovered the return of the swamp in all its foul and hair-destroying glory and once more I was apparently unfortunate enough to discover that an entirely new system of caves had decided to infect the earth with their dampness. I smirked mildly at the memories of my mind, half wondering if Lucian lay curled within one like some viper ready to strike at my ethereal form with his bad comebacks and ill thought-out words. I chuckled, the sound echoing down the tunnel before I turned away from it. I had not seen Lucian for a long time and though never would I admit such a thing a small part of my mind wished to see him again, even just for a moment, just to know that some part of my past still lingered in all his horrifically ugly and rock-like uselessness. I sighed softly, quietly, turning away from the caves and pressing deeper into the jungle-like forest Moladion had become since the fall of the sky. Somewhere within the distance I was entirely sure I could hear the sound of water and yet the map within my mind was confused and fractured. The falls hadn’t been here, no, I was too far to the west I was sure and yet the rush of water seemed content to prove my aging mind wrong.

Long limbs carried my hard, toned frame forward , paws whispering silently across the earth, following the sound and faint scent of liquid while the violet of my gaze drifted from one shadow to the next. Old habits die hard, this land is as good as foreign and new and I refuse to allow myself to be caught off guard, even if only the most foolish of loners would ever dare attempt to ruffle the perfection of my pelt. Snorting I leapt up and over a fallen log, paws falling into damp soil with surprise, head tilting in mild curiosity as I ducked beneath a fern, slipping into a clearing that enclosed a tumbling waterfall. Thousands of litres pounded down against the rocks beneath, the sound familiar and yet new all the same as I loped forward, evidently the only one to discover these particular falls thus far as I made my way to the bank, dipping my head to taste of the waters, if only for a moment. Hmm, evidently water still tasted the same as I recalled. I raised my head, content to step back when I was given a momentary glance of my own reflection as I sat.

“Damn, when did I get so...old.”



h e y e l
The King