Since I'm not quite sure on the geography of the Sharian lands where Samanayrs live...I'm hoping that there actually is a semi-tropical beach that he could safely travel to since Gyre is taking his Song to a nice warm beach here...
Flare won't show up until my next post at the earliest, but I'm going to include his picture here anyways.))
It had been a long journey to reach the shore, yes, but worth it he felt. Especially as the air had gradually grown warm again as they headed back south, though not towards the desert where he had grown up. And there had been much to see on the way as well. Also a pair of inquisitive and fortunately very small Oquiesa to chase away... But mostly a good trip.
And now...they had reached the shore. It was like and yet utterly unlike the desert of his youth. Sand stretched out far and wide along the edge of the sea, but swiftly gave way to odd grasses as you walked away from all that water. Desert air was dry and nearly scentless. Here though the air felt wet and heavy and practically reeked with scents that Gyre had never before experienced. A heavy tang of salt provided the base, but the air was also filled with scents of water and plants and death and life and things he couldn't put words to. It was all a bit overwhelming for a young stallion for the desert. And he hadn't even gotten close enough to really see the ocean itself. Instead Gyre had stopped his Song on the other side of some comfortingly familiar dunes to graze on the strange salty grass that grew there.
The sun had reached the midway point in the sky and was beginning to make its way back down when Gyre lifted his head from the grass and turned to stare at the dune as though he could see through it to the ocean beyond. "I'm going." He nodded his head decisively and set out over the dune. They hadn't seen or scented anyone out here for the past few days, so he felt it was safe enough for him to leave his mares to graze. If they wanted to follow him, they would; they hardly needed his permission to come see the ocean with him. At least he didn't think they did...
It felt good to be climbing over hills of sand again, and when he reached the top Gyre looked back down proudly at the three mares who had chosen to join him. He smiled, eyes seeming to glow in the light for a moment, then he turned to stare out over the vista he had come so far to see. His jaw dropped as he stared. None of the stories, the tales, the pictures he had formed in his head had prepared him for this. Endless green blue stretched out, out, out away from him, all the way out to meet the sky. Sun sparkled off the shimmering expanse and as the water came to meet the sand it foamed up so that it was white as it washed over the beach. The sands themselves were not the barren stretches of the desert either, but were covered with bits of plant and odd lumps.
Breaking the silence with a loud, sudden whoop Gyre skidded his way down the side of the dune and took off at a gallop for the ocean, skidding to a stop as he hit the damp, hard packed tide washed sands closest to the water. He lifted one foot and then another, staring at the grit clinging to them. He scuffed the surface, watching water ooze out of the sand which did not fall back into the hole he'd made. As he stood staring at the sand the water washed up over his feet, making the stallion dance and prance away, staring at it with wide eyes. "Look at it! Just...look at it!"
A short distance away Gyre spotted a gleaming spot on the sands and sidled over to it. As he got closer he could see that for some reason water was collecting in a hole in the sand. A big one, bigger than many of the oasis he had seen in the desert. Never having seen a tide pool before Gyre had no idea what to expect as he cautiously leaned over the edge of the rocks (not sand after all) that formed the edges of this pool.
The last thing he was expecting was to see a pair of golden eyes suddenly snap open as a large shape shifted, rushing to the surface in a foaming froth of water, fanged mouth opening as it rose. "Gaaaaaahhhh! Sea monster!" Tripping over his own legs in his hurry to flee Gyre wound up flat on the sands, staring wide eyed at the wicked red horn on the creature's head as it rose up over the edge of the pool.
((Ummm...yeah, Gyre is definitely his mother's child. Just pick up your mares from grazing in the meadow if and when you join Harro, Celestial, Kendarath! And don't worry, the rest of my posts shouldn't be this long. Just had to set the scene.))