I'm not giving up...
I'm just giving in.
Eon was still unfamiliar with this new world he had washed up on. It was exciting but also filled him with anxiety. This was a feeling the small canid wasn’t used to, and it weighed heavily in his chest. While fear was a normal part of life, he had always learned to live with it… no, thrive in it. He had never let it swallow him, that was, until recently.
The events that had played out prior to coming to the realm had been too much. Too much, that he decided to leave his old life behind entirely. He had hoped forgetting everything and finding a new place would allow him to never face the emotions that he didn’t want to deal with. He had quickly learned, however, that wasn’t the answer. After running into several wolves he had known in the past, it seemed fate had other plans. It wanted him to face what had happened. It wanted him to feel everything so he could conquer it. Even as dread still filled his pacing heart, time passed and he was able to see the picture a bit more clearly. He had found he was slowly accepting this fate.
The fear, the acceptance, the excitement - it all pounded through his veins like lightning. Every bone in his body was itching to know more. To find the mysteries this realm held hiding in its shadows. He figured, he would explore the lands while he could, before his duties to the pack took up his spare time. If he was going to be a herald, he had to be at least moderately acquainted with the land anyway, and as of right now, most of it was still unknown to him.
A day had passed since his encounter with Maliha and Janus. His decision to track on paws instead of on wings meant he hadn’t gotten far, but it also meant he could become more acquainted with the land - studying it more closely and appreciating its beauty a lot more. He had to admit, the realm was breathtaking. The pines of the temperate area provided just enough shade, and the sun dappled down through the branches with splotches of gold that covered the grass below, contrasting the dark shadows of the trees. Slowly the world began to get darker, as the sun set over the horizon. It became harder to see, luckily, the small canine had excellent night vision- and the lights in his tail lit his path for him like lanterns.
As he padded onward, the trees became more and more sparse, eventually scattering completely and revealing a clearing - but not just any clearing. Eon could see the faint silver glow from the distance and curiosity instantly pulled him forward. The nearly full moon above stared down at him with its hypnotic glow. He first caught a glance of her with the corner of his eye but felt instantly pulled to look up and meet her gaze. A sort of familiarity washed over him. A memory he didn’t quite understand. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and he forced himself to look away. Whatever the moon was trying to tell him, it was too much for him to deal with right now. He looked back at the lake.
Slowly he approached, hypnotized by the beauty of the silver waters. The moon showed above, reflecting its light on the still water. It was impossible for him to escape it. He breathed in heavily and released an audible sigh. Life had pulled him in too many unexpected directions. It was never a straight path forward, it was a windy road with so many obstacles, so many dead ends, and so many directions to choose from. You just never know where your destination might be. And now, he had to make a choice. Did he want to take the path before him? He didn’t know where it would lead, but he did instinctively know, if he were to take the other direction, it would simply loop back to the same place. He would be forced to take it eventually - he might as well -
No… not yet. He wasn’t ready. He looked back at the star-speckled sky and the large spotlight that hovered above him. He wasn’t afraid to face her, to tell her to meet him here again in the future, but not now. For the time being, his duty was to get acquainted with the realm. He would continue his exploration. He’d note this silver lake in the back of his brain as a location he would eventually double back to, but for now, he would continue his journey passed it - looking forward and concentrating on what else he might see, and what other faces he might meet. Would they be new faces? Old acquaintances? Only fate would know….
For Eryx