Meadow

"No longer than usual." is his immediate answer. And then he is squinting at her mare, and then the sky as he gauges the morning light. It was hard to settle into such clearly marked circadian rhythms, daylight so rarely reached the depths he was used to frequenting he was accustomed to his body regulating itself to the currents which were slower to change. The rise and fall of the sun was a much more abrupt and definitive guide. Still, his initial assessment feels right so he doesn't correct himself and lets his gaze drop back to the mare. "Have you been awake long?" he asks because tit for tat, right?