Sunlight dappled through the ancient, twisting canopy of Heartland Forest, each shifting leaf casting playful shadows across Fable's back. His paws fell with muted thuds on the hard-packed dirt road, the rhythmic sway like gentle waves on the sea. The wind rushed around us, clawing at my hair, teasing it out behind me in rippling, crimson waves. Shivering, I crouched lower over his shoulder, pressing myself into his soft, silver fur, hiding from the chill. The summer had reached the peak of its season, but the air held the taint of the anomaly, growing colder the further we traveled east.
"What's the plan once we get there?" Korra's voice floated over my shoulder.
She was sitting but a foot behind me, yet her voice was faint and distant, nearly torn from the air by the absurd speed we were traveling at. To hasten our travel, Fable had returned to his full, forty-foot size, bounding through the woods at his full, peak fourth-level speed.