Patref Ochilliet stood on at the edge of the observatory overlooking the the red and orange canyon glowing in the late afternoon sun. He could feel the heat radiating from the stone below. Quite suddenly, shadows bled onto his back and cascaded over the canyon. He experimentally held out his arms to watch the dappled sunlight play across his hands before looking up and behind him.
Overhead he could make out a tremendous flock of birds swirling in silence on the thermals, the leaves of their wings a translucent and ornately variegated green. Other households had noticed the change outside and were now gathering, murmuring, on their own balconies to watch the spectacle. Patref chuckled and patted his pronounced belly like the taut skin of a drum.
