kawa~ inspiration #28
Jan. 22nd, 2005 12:17 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
annarti.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
yrae
Title~ Invasive Sand
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ Yaknow what? It's mine.
Notes~ kawa~ inspiration #28. Mmm, sandstorm.
~ ~ ~
Nimay spilt the warm air from her wings, swooping down from her vantage point high above the Raykinian desert to glide alongside the General.
Rau glanced over to her, eyebrows raised in question. “Sandstorm?”
Nimay nodded, waving a hand to the southern horizon behind them.
The General squinted back over his shoulder where the slight hint of a smudge was present on the horizon. “Sandstorm,” he repeated blandly, this time for all the Own to hear, then reined in his horse and began to dismount.
Nimay dropped back to where Ashburn trailed along with the rest of the group. She set her feet on the ground, took the black mare’s reins and coaxed the animal into stopping. She looked Ashburn in the eye, held her right hand up and brought it down, as though pressing something into the earth.
The mare digested the action, flicked one ear, snorted, then obligingly began the awkward process of lying down in the sand. It was the first thing all horses were trained upon arriving in Raykin.
Nimay squinted out again at the horizon, then quickly tied a cloth around Ashburn’s eyes, so she wouldn’t get too scared by the approaching sandstorm. She curled up beside the horse, on the side opposite where the storm would approach, and whipped her cloak over her face, not minding so much that her legs below her knees were uncovered. The sand would creep into her boots, but it was better than her face being pelted with flying sand.
In a few moments, the sandstorm hit. Nimay realised she had been incredibly tense, and forced herself to relax against the raging winds. So long as Ashburn didn’t decide to stand up, she’d be fine. She and the horse had been through an uncountable number of sandstorms, not only en route between Kazin and Ni-Yana, but while they were in the city as well. True, they tended to be in buildings when storms hit in Ni-Yana, but so long as one knew how to deal with them, they weren’t particularly dangerous, even in the desert.
Despite the wailing winds of the desert storm, Nimay almost found herself drifting off to sleep by the time it had passed on. She yawned and blinked a few times against the sand that had woven its way through her cloak. The dead silence that followed a sandstorm always amazed her.
She threw back her cloak, took Ashburn’s blindfold off then slapped her neck a few times, causing the horse to leap awkwardly to her feet, prancing around and snorting, shaking the sand from her mane and tail.
Nimay sat back down and took off one boot, pouring the sand into a small pile at her feet while she squinted at the sun. It appeared they’d only lost maybe three hours to the storm. She shrugged and forced her boot back on, wincing as the sand still grated against her skin.
It wasn’t so much the sandstorm that annoyed Nimay, but the sand left over from it. At least at the palace there were people to sweep the invasive sand away, but in the desert, if it managed to seep in anywhere—and it would—nothing would get rid of it for a week at least.
She shook her head violently, teasing her fringe with her fingers and groaning at the virtual sand-fall that cascaded from her scalp.
‘I’m going to itch for days,’ she muttered silently to herself.
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ Yaknow what? It's mine.
Notes~ kawa~ inspiration #28. Mmm, sandstorm.
Nimay spilt the warm air from her wings, swooping down from her vantage point high above the Raykinian desert to glide alongside the General.
Rau glanced over to her, eyebrows raised in question. “Sandstorm?”
Nimay nodded, waving a hand to the southern horizon behind them.
The General squinted back over his shoulder where the slight hint of a smudge was present on the horizon. “Sandstorm,” he repeated blandly, this time for all the Own to hear, then reined in his horse and began to dismount.
Nimay dropped back to where Ashburn trailed along with the rest of the group. She set her feet on the ground, took the black mare’s reins and coaxed the animal into stopping. She looked Ashburn in the eye, held her right hand up and brought it down, as though pressing something into the earth.
The mare digested the action, flicked one ear, snorted, then obligingly began the awkward process of lying down in the sand. It was the first thing all horses were trained upon arriving in Raykin.
Nimay squinted out again at the horizon, then quickly tied a cloth around Ashburn’s eyes, so she wouldn’t get too scared by the approaching sandstorm. She curled up beside the horse, on the side opposite where the storm would approach, and whipped her cloak over her face, not minding so much that her legs below her knees were uncovered. The sand would creep into her boots, but it was better than her face being pelted with flying sand.
In a few moments, the sandstorm hit. Nimay realised she had been incredibly tense, and forced herself to relax against the raging winds. So long as Ashburn didn’t decide to stand up, she’d be fine. She and the horse had been through an uncountable number of sandstorms, not only en route between Kazin and Ni-Yana, but while they were in the city as well. True, they tended to be in buildings when storms hit in Ni-Yana, but so long as one knew how to deal with them, they weren’t particularly dangerous, even in the desert.
Despite the wailing winds of the desert storm, Nimay almost found herself drifting off to sleep by the time it had passed on. She yawned and blinked a few times against the sand that had woven its way through her cloak. The dead silence that followed a sandstorm always amazed her.
She threw back her cloak, took Ashburn’s blindfold off then slapped her neck a few times, causing the horse to leap awkwardly to her feet, prancing around and snorting, shaking the sand from her mane and tail.
Nimay sat back down and took off one boot, pouring the sand into a small pile at her feet while she squinted at the sun. It appeared they’d only lost maybe three hours to the storm. She shrugged and forced her boot back on, wincing as the sand still grated against her skin.
It wasn’t so much the sandstorm that annoyed Nimay, but the sand left over from it. At least at the palace there were people to sweep the invasive sand away, but in the desert, if it managed to seep in anywhere—and it would—nothing would get rid of it for a week at least.
She shook her head violently, teasing her fringe with her fingers and groaning at the virtual sand-fall that cascaded from her scalp.
‘I’m going to itch for days,’ she muttered silently to herself.