Aether had not intended on becoming a wild beast unfit for company, but here he was: eyes glassy, hair matted, and hip bones sharp as the stones that clattered beneath his feet. He could not have said how long it had been since he had fled the monstrous stallion in the Dunes — or how long it had been since he had squirreled himself away into the desolate fringes of the territories — only that it had been weeks, or possibly even months. The days had long since blended together. In a land with no true seasons, Aether supposed this was inevitable.

The Desert was Aether's birthplace, but his memories of it were as indistinct and hazy as the horizon was on a particularly hot day. He had not recalled how the days burned and the nights froze, how his throat ached from the dry air, or how the water — when it could be found at all — smelled faintly of sulphur to a nose unaccustomed to it. In his self-imposed exile, he was learning many things, and not all of them pleasant.

Aether was utilizing his knowledge today, as he lifted one white foreleg and struck out at the knobbly arm of a cactus. Once disembodied, a brutal slice with his hoof revealed the sweet, wet flesh inside, which he licked greedily while carefully avoiding the spines jutting from the exterior. His lips glistened when he finally lifted his head, pricking his ears as he looked out across the wasteland that stretched before him. He was perched on a hillside, which gave him a bird's-eye-view of his surroundings and the setting sun, and he took a moment to appreciate the kaleidoscope of colors that stretched like godly fingers across the sky toward him. In this lonely land of extremes, such beauty was one of his few pleasures.

Then — the sound of a small rock clattering downhill, somewhere on the slope below Aether. His bi-colored body stiffening to attention, he followed the sound with cupped ears, but nothing appeared amidst the craggy red rocks and scraggly shrubbery. Nonetheless, his instincts told him to be careful. Occasionally he did encounter jackals or even other horses, and not all the friendly type.

While keeping his attention fixed on the spot in question, Aether swivelled his body slightly, stepping carefully so as not to make a sound, so he could be ready to slip quietly away.