Mara glanced up. The canopy above was beginning to thin out. She could see some of the stars winking in and out as they flew. They were getting very close now to the edge of the forestry. Fey suddenly withdrew her wings and dropped a few hundred feet, causing Mara to grab wildly at the saddle. The Avian made an amused noise as Mara attempted to calm her racing heart.

You’re getting distracted, Fey teased. Mara made a face and snorted. The Avian’s wing strokes sped up and suddenly they were free of Eidolon’s trees.

Unfamiliar air with a tang riding on it filled Mara’s lungs. Faint sounds of water crashing thundered from somewhere ahead. Before and below them stretched a vast expanse of dark water glistening silver from the light of two waning moons of different size hanging above the horizon.

Heads up, Fey warned. She back winged hard, tilting Mara so far backward she would’ve fallen off without down to grab at. Then she landed heavily on the stone of a cliff, jolting her friend viciously. Sorry. That was a little harder than I expected, she grumbled, furling her wings.

“Oh no, don’t apologize,” Mara replied, dazed. “I’m just fine. I only almost fell off.” Fey rolled her eyes, then lowered her chest to the cliff so Mara could slide off. She did so but landed on untrustworthy legs that crumpled under her. As she groaned, Fey chuckled.

I can tell long-term flying isn’t going to be something we do often. Mara grumbled. Fey gently grasped her tunic back in her beak and helped her up.

“So what is this place, Fey?”

The Avian walked to the edge of the cliff and gazed at the water. This is the Long Water, she replied, eyes glittering in the faint moonlight.

“Long…Water?” Mara stared at the water until she could see no further. “It’s huge…bigger than Lake Ne Hani. Has anybody ever crossed it?”

Fey turned to lock eyes with her friend. No. A few of my kind have tried, but they never returned. And your kinfolk never got past the Big Island.

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Full view for best picture. It's kinda blurry from the camera though.

This is a scene from my...book, I guess, that I finished...oh, 6 weeks ago, maybe? It took a really long time but I'm happy with it. Done in oil paints on an 18x24" canvas, I think.

Fey, Eidolon, and Mara (c) me