[color=00FF21][h3]chapter 2[/h3][/color][hr]Morning dawned bright on the mountainous horizon like fire and violet and cotton candy, streaked with errant purple clouds and dotted with birds flocking to new adventures. The stilt-strider's long steps cut through a rich blanket of fog that swirled and puffed and reflected the bright oranges and blues of the sunrise. There was little to be seen of the ground below, save the tops of a few autumn trees and the elliptical silhouettes of the sloping mountains -- and, faint in the distance, the glinting spires and rooftops of a town.

Sunny had slept through most of the journey. She lay with her face pressed into the strider's fur, drooling a little and breathing peacefully. She had no clue how to steer their steed, and instead had decided to trust that wherever the strider was headed was exactly where they'd wanted to go.

A distant, rumbling [i]BOOM[/i] spooked a flock of bright parrots out of the fog and into the rich sunrise. The fog swirled and undulated at the site of the noise -- but from here there was no other indication of its source. Sunny had completely slept through it, murmuring in her dreams.

The silt-strider stopped. For the first time since their escape from the tower, everything was still.

Sunny shifted and blinked -- but she was only barely awake before their trusty steed began to descend toward the fog. It spread its legs in all directions, and like a spider lowered its torso down at their center. All around them, the other striders of the herd were doing the same.

[color=yellow]"Whoo-ooaah!"[/color] Sunny yelped, snapping awake in time to clench her fists in fur, stopping herself from falling over during the descent. Blearily she looked around, breathed in the chilled damp air, and checked on her companion with a grin. [color=yellow]"Hang on Laphi!"[/color] she called, just as the fog enveloped them. [color=yellow]"We're goin' down!"[/color]

After a few moments, the strider settled comfortably in a foggy field of bright green grass and yellow flowers, and heaved a tired sigh. They had reached their destination -- wherever that was.

Sunny patted the beast's long neck and slid off its shoulder to the grass. It felt weird to be standing on solid ground again. [color=yellow]"Thanks buddy!"[/color] she called to the strider, and she stretched out a hand to be sure she knew where Laphi was in the fog. [color=yellow]"C'mon, let's go see where we are!"[/color] She picked a direction and started walking, while the strider curled its neck and went to sleep.

Soon the flowered grasses gave way to roots and rocks and dewy fallen leaves underfoot. The air had a sharp woody scent of pine and petrichor. The trees here were white and gnarled and looping and woven, tangled in themselves and in one another, sharing branches and orange-violet leaves. The fog created a stillness here; a few birds whistled occasionally.

[color=yellow]"HELLOOOOO!"[/color] Sunny called into the fog, her hands cupped around her mouth. [color=yellow]"WE'RE LOOOOOST!"[/color]