[Training] Deep Breath In

Basalt awoke in the early morning hours, and after some restlessness he gave up going back to sleep and slumped out of his dwelling and into a gentle sunrise. It'd be more beautiful if he wasn't in a sour mood, letting out a snort of irritation as he shook out his mane and unfurled his wings to their widest breadth. The air was already humid.

Eating breakfast took the edge off, but the Iso still couldn't dismiss the feeling that he needed to be gone for the day. Like he needed fresh air... or just a higher altitude. The sun had drenched everything in a warm orange hue by the time he leaped from a cliff face, taking flight just above the rippling waves. He flapped his wings to send him higher and higher, gliding on currents as he made his way towards the mountains.

The wind rifled wildly through his fur, whipping across his face as he kept his ears slicked back against his head and his eyes narrowed against the sharp chill. He cut through the faint fog wreathing through the mountain peaks, banking to one side so he could gradually veer further away from the ocean and into the looming and dark formations.

Their shadows were sharp in the morning light, and as Basalt flew closer inland he scanned the craigs and rocks for somewhere interesting to investigate - or at least to fly through and challenge his reflexes a little. He was already feeling better just from all the exertion, and he wasn't about to stop now. As the mountains reached upward, he spied a gap between them and pulled in his wings to dive low, swooping through the opening and down beneath a natural bridge before rising quickly back up again and rapidly tilting side to side to weave through the jagged passageway.

At one point he was too confident, going far too fast, and a close call with a cliff face had him slowing down rapidly as soon as there was extra space to fan his wings out so they'd act as breaks. Cold air filled his lungs as he hovered for a moment and then dropped down onto a ledge, reclining to his haunches to watch the sun climb entirely out of the horizon.

Maybe he really did just need to fly.