With the turn of the season, Mesec was determined to not let his responsibilities lapse and actually take part in a patrol. His assigned partners this time were familiar faces - the young Aakesh, who had introduced himself at the herd meeting, and Gaucho. He looked forward to catching up with the Sultan and updating him on his progress - finally having chosen which ranks to join. And he looked forward to seeing the colt again as well, hopefully he had patched things up with his father.

Mesec, with Lucius holding tight, regretfully left the relative warmth of the Throat and flew northward. Indeed, Gaucho was not hard to miss - a bright orange spot in a white landscape. Tilting his wings, Mesec glided into a landing - feeling the crunch of the snow beneath his hooves with the impact and the steps that followed as he moved to catch up. “Hello Gaucho.” He greeted the older stallion with a friendly smile and a nod - folding his wings tightly against his sides to keep in as much of the warmth of his core where it was needed. L

ucius, despite the chill, was curious about the companions that were perched atop Gaucho’s head and was clamouring up Mesec’s mane to get a better look. The young zephyr was still a mass of black, purple, silver, and teal down feathers - though his beak and talons were already formidable. The rest of his body just hadn’t caught up yet. Once atop Mesec’s head he peered over at the other companions with obvious curiosity. He did not yet call out to them, choosing instead to watch.

After flinching slightly when Lucius the base of his twisted horn, Mesec’s attention turned from Gaucho to the scenery - the bitterly cold scenery. His winter coat was not growing in as well as it had before, not after spending Tallsun and Orangemoon in the Throat, and he was feeling the difference. “Certainly a long way from the Throat, aren’t we?” Although he had visited the Basin recently as part of an ambassador, every time he visited the north it still felt strange. He had gone so long between visits and now it was seeming to be a fairly regular thing. Perhaps they would run into Ophelia while they were up here - he did not know that she had moved herd lands.