A crystalline sky dotted with the cotton, airy whisps of clouds illuminated the surface of the nearby lake, creating a mirror image that almost made Izzy unable to believe it was real. How had she never found this place before? Stray tendrils of her mane whisked and whipped against her neck in a gust of winter wind, reminding the champagne mare that winter had once more fallen upon these lands. Her gaze lingered on the water, brow furrowing in sudden thought. Had a year passed already? A year since she'd met him? A year since they'd started their travels together? Izzy's gaze traveled across to the familiar buckskin stallion, a warm smile blossoming immediately upon her muzzle. Cloudskipper. Once someone who had become a dear friend had developed into something more and now Izzy couldn't imagine doing her travels without him at her side. Already they had seen so many more things than what she had captured during her years alone. Each dawn brought with it the possibility of coming across something new, different. How had she managed for so long without taking pleasure in the simple things around her?

"How are you feeling today, Cloud? Is your shoulder faring well?" Moving from her place near the waters edge Izadora pressed her nose to the stallion's shoulder, taking a moment to breathe in his familiar scent before speaking again. "We've not been going too fast have we? You're still comfortable?" While Cloudskipper had told her many times he'd voice his pain, Izzy still fretted and worried over his well being. She had learned a lot on their travels, but even now there were still things she worried over- like ensuring Cloudskipper remained comfortable and as pain free as possible.

CHARA: Cloudskipper

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TAGS: lumi

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NOTES: Notes

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WORDCOUNT: 312

The stallion wandered in his own thoughts as he gazed out over the blue-stained lake. The breeze flowing from the water bit his flank and sent shivers up his back. It brought him back to the present. His attention turned to Izadora beside him, who looked dreamlike as she stood against the wind, mane fluttering.

Cloudskipper nodded his head in response to his companion’s questioning. He tried not to smile like a fool at the care in her voice, but it made his heart swell with adoration nonetheless. “My shoulder is doing its best to bother me, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” he replied as he picked up the aching leg. It eased some pain in the joint, but soon he had to set it back down and assume a stiff position to keep it from protesting again. “Though don’t worry, your pace has nothing to do with it, I promise. Just the weather.”

Despite clear skies above, winter’s fanged grip did not relent on his body. He was at least thankful for his coat growing in thicker, and the slightly warmer weather of the desert. Nighttime was no less brutal than winter in the north, though.

“What about you? How are you feeling? It’s been a long year, and we have come a long way from the valley… If you ever want to go back, you need only say the word.” He glanced toward the lake again, and the jagged red horizon beyond it.

Cloudskipper tossed his forelock out of his face and tilted his head as he turned back to Izzy. Though she’d long-since assured him she wanted to be by his side, his old anxieties were hard to kill. Even now it bubbled in his belly as if Izzy would suddenly run off without him.

Made by Zeref of THQ