Meadow

The weather of the day has been a bit dreary up to this point with the overcast sky diminishing the polished gleam of the new-fallen snow. While it is a relief to the eyes that the sunlight is hazy (and thus the snow not quite so dazzling to behold), it also seems to add a morose weight to the world. Up to and during their walk Kendry has been aware of the potential to fall into winter doldrums, but when his companion smiles it is like watching the sun emerge from behind a veil of clouds to coax life back from the sleeping world. He watches her expression warm and meets it with his own genial grin, blowing out a gentle breath of approval. “Well met, Banks. I am happy to help however I can.”

As if to echo his observation, the sky above has grown incrementally darker, and the light snowfall that precipitated their meeting increases in both size and pace. Kendry lifts his nose to meet it, laughing softly as Banks snorts. It feels good to stand in the snowfall, as refreshing as a summer drizzle but with far less danger of endlessly damp hair. Winter’s cold is much more preferable to him than spring’s rain and mud. Ice is much easier to dislodge from the thick hair feathering his hooves than clumps of dirt.

Kendry keeps his eyes skyward as he responds to Banks’ question. “Not really. The one, Luthien, is perhaps the closest in regards to climate. I’ve heard Salem is a place of heat and sand, more desert than beach, and that Tinuvel boasts a challenging tundra.” He pictures swaths of pine trees amid rocky, irregular slopes, broad fields broken up by more stands of trees and a wide, wide sky waiting to dump all the snow he could ever want onto the waiting earth.

He lowers his head, ears flicking toward the black mare while his eyes follow snowflakes toward the ground. “I’ve been to Atlantis a couple of times. It’s very... green.” And humid. The air there feels so thick one could choke on it if they breathed too deep. “I’ve lived here on the Crossing the longest. Winter doesn’t get much worse than this, except when the wind kicks up. There’s plenty of shelter to be found amid the trees here, especially up by the Falls. I’d keep north if you plan to home on this island,” he adds with a glance her way, his expression sober only for a moment before his grin returns. “Have you been on the Islands long, or is this day one for you?” Almost, Kendry wants to tease her, but he holds off for now. She seems slow to open, a flower reluctant to unfold, and he does not wish to risk missing the bloom.