[companion egg finding/soon-to-be-hatching!]

Now that they were free of the caves, Alysanne had made it her mission to explore as much of Helovia as she could. There had been too much on her mind before, too much guilt weighing her down and keeping her from exploring the place that she considered home. Were there other dangers lurking wherever that sickness had come from? Where were the other herds that she had heard about? The Basin was in the north and for a moment she had almost gone that way, almost went to go check up on Lena, but changed her mind.

Okay, her mind was changed for her. Alysanne thought she was heading in a relatively north direction but instead of encountering deeper snow, the temperatures remained relatively moderate – for winter, anyway. The longing calls of gulls alerted her that she was near the coast, and that unmistakable breeze bringing to her the smell of the sea confirmed it. Although she had always much preferred the forests and the fields, she could not even remember the last time she had done anything more than fly over the coast. She had never even been to a beach before.

With the overcast morning sky, the beach was a grey atmosphere – the dark horizon blending the point of sky and sea together. She imagined it would be something to behold in the summertime, when the water and sky were clear blue and turquoise, but now it was an odd combination of gloomy and peaceful – a combination that suited her current frame of mind well. She disliked these times alone, times when she could reflect and tear herself up about what was missing in her mind, what memories were real and what were false. Summer-green eyes looked away from that hazy horizon, looking for something else to focus on.

Large feathered wings folded at her sides, she was just passing from the point where grass turned into sand when something glinting in the sandy soil caught her eye.

It reminded her of the spheres from Nocturne, those delightful little glowing things that were where they stored their magic. She often preferred to absorb them, rather than having them float around her all the time, but then… maybe this was different. It looked more like an egg. She looked around for the parents, something that might give her an idea of what it could possibly be.

And that was when it dawned on her that maybe this was a companion egg! She had never seen one before, just the remnants of the ones that had once housed Penna and Ouija. Oh what was she going to do? She nuzzled at the soil around it, freeing it a little more and taking in the earthy, rough scent. As she touched the egg, it began to wobble – causing her to jerk back just slightly, those shining eyes widening. “What is it little one? What do I need to do?” Though she knew she would get no answer, the two-toned mare’s soft voice broke the silence anyway. Children she knew how to care for, but an egg? Where to even start?

[open to anyone!
@[Nayati] if you're still interested]