The Basin was broad and open before them, the Lady weary from the long travel that she had purposefully made harder than it should have been. It was not that she was afraid that the shadow creature described by Deodat would have already made it this far north; she was afraid that more of them would be born, not so far away from their home. Of course, she kept these secrets to herself for the time being, mentioning only that Helovia was often a dangerous place during the dark, the mountains especially, and that she’d rather they not spend too much time resting.

They of course stopped for water when necessary; she was no slave driver, at least not of her own kind.

Her steps are long and graceful despite her tired muscles, head held proudly upon a gracefully arched neck as she pulls off to the side of the hoof worn path to allow Tangere to see the vale in all it’s splendor. The sun has risen during their travels and stands at late morning, a beacon that gleams across the still tall and gradually dying grasses, their golden color symbolic of the season that grasps at the land.

It is her favorite time of the year, truly, for the world matches her in hue. The burning yellow of the leaves and grasses against the earthy browns, centered in the midst of pale white peaks, lifted all of the pressing fear of devils from her heart. Perhaps it helps, also, that she stands beneath the 20 handed bronze shell of a unicorn, the beginning of a new era for her people and a key piece of their safety strategy against whatever death came their way, if at all.

The shadow of its body is long and casts itself across her bodice, her rump angled on a pointed hoof of relaxation as she smiles at the grey mare she has brought up the hidden path. "Welcome home," she says cheerfully, her golden gaze sweeping across the Basin in search of patrols come to greet them, "we should have company here shortly." It would seem they’d missed the pass patrols, but she knew that they would not avoid the guards for long while within the borders.

While they waited, she began pointing out some of the features of the herd land. "Ahead of us is the lake, and the large cave along its eastern rim is the Haruspex Cave, where we keep our mirror from which to call the Lord of Spark when his council is needed," her horn angles itself further in towards the rear of the valley, the plumes of steam that could be seen faintly rising into the horizon, "and those pillars of steam rise from the Hot Springs. You can chose to sleep in forest along the perimeters or select an uninhabited cave…" Her pause is filled with a thoughtful glance back to the woman, the Lady having decided to divulge some of the dark nuances of this particular era of the kingdom. "Though, if it holds gold, iron, copper, or coal, expect us to be mining in it within the next few months," she playfully angles her eyes upward at the statue towering behind her, its proud muzzle as large around as the more slender parts of her neck, "for this handsome fellow, and his companion. To guard this very path we stand on."

@[Tangere]