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A soldier’s life was rarely stagnant. Repetitive? Maybe, but never still. Sleep, eat, patrol, repeat with a spar thrown in for flavor now and again. It was a difficult life but ultimately a rewarding one for the young battlemare. She was serving her herd in the best way she could and since the reign of darkness and mystery in Helovia had ended, life was good. Plus, she had the added bonus of a blossoming new relationship with her young companion.

A quick pass of the lands directly north of her home was a common practice, even if they were an island now, awareness of the surrounding lands would never go amiss. The blessed breeze carried Meg towards the entrance of the Heart Caves. Wings alternated between full extension she glided over the stretch of ocean and furious flapping to give her bursts of speed. Along for the ride was the youing eable that clung to her withers. The adolescent was rather unfortunate looking at the moment, still half white downy feathers with patched of stronger, dark brown plumage beginning to emerge. They kept a breakneck pace for thrill rather than necessity, though the endurance training would undoubtedly aid her in the long run.

The racket coming from the cave entrance reached the warrior, who immediately set her course for the source. The cloud of ravens was wreaking havoc upon a group of some of the strangest creatures Megaera had ever seen. Small and hairy, and totally foreign to Meg’s base of knowledge regarding the inhabitants of Helovia, the situation definitely warranted investigation. One of the creatures seemed to catch sight of the airborne mare and made an attempt to signal to her. Meg landed a few seconds later, a fair stretch from the small creatures and made her approach at a canter.

Sharp eyes tried to examine the funny little things, with their bundles and packages, but it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to make much headway with the din of the chaos created by the angry birds. Determined to clear the cawing hellions, Meg gave a few stern snorts and beat her wings from a standstill near the group in an attempt to scare off the birds. From his perch on her back, the Gwaihir attempted to mirror his bonded’s movement, though the display was certainly less intimidating on him.