ooc: backdated to summer

It had been some weeks since Thranduil had brought him back to the Lagoon, and the fresh weight of the title Associate still sat uncomfortably on Abraxas's shoulders. His initial excitement at being welcomed as a Brother, at seeing the Lagoon for the first time, had been strong as the blazing sun, but fleeting as a cool breeze. It still returned occasionally, in fits and starts, whenever Abraxas awoke and remembered that he was finally part of something, but at night, when he curled up alone with only the latent summer heat to warm his back, he could not help but miss his mother, and the days he had spent glued to her side. Sometimes he looked up at the night sky and felt so small and out of his depth he might as well have been a colt again. His heart ached for what he had left behind, even if he knew he had made the right choice.

Those feelings haunted him tonight, as he grazed the beach grass alone along the lagoon's edge. A mist had rolled in, shrouding the evening landscape in an eerie grey cloak and making it feel later than it was, though there must still have been an hour or so of daylight. It clung to everything, settling in droplets of condensation on Brax's bronze coat and hiding almost everything more than a few paces away, including the vast steely expanse of the sea. It was as if Abraxas had been swallowed by an abyss, and unease at being unable to see his surroundings curled in his stomach like a writhing snake. He still did not know his Brothers well, and worried sometimes about the looks they gave him, as though they would eat him alive. As he grazed, his ears worked double time, swivelling atop his crown like small radar dishes.

His head shot up when his ears brought him the sound of hooves approaching in sand, and he stood at attention, stiff and waiting for a figure to appear out of the gloom. He swallowed his mouthful of grass and gave a low whicker to inform the Brother of his proximity, hoping his Brother would sense him in time to avoid walking straight into him.