Själ

So cold and alone was she that the immediate problem did not seem to be where she was or with whom she spoke, but rather that there was a fire and there were others and somehow, maybe, they would accept her. Her thoughts were jumbled, fluttering about in her mind as though unable to aggregate into anything more than pieces. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, came the thought of a million meanings, words meant for a thousand different things that the young princess was incapable of.

She allowed herself to be ushered in by the stallion, wrapped in a warm embrace of flames and companionship. It took her a few moments to find her tongue, and by then, it was too late - she shrank beside the fire as more and more unicorns appeared, overwhelming her delicate senses with their chatter. She had never seen so many creatures in one place before, and as the cave grew more and more crowded, she grew less and less bold. She wrapped her nape around the egg carried in her makeshift sling, clinging to it as though it were a lifeline, tying her to the reality surrounding her, preventing her from simply floating away.

The stallion became a whirlwind in the young fae's mind as she watched his kindness distributed throughout the group. She had never learned how to be social, and she watched him, as she began to thaw, with a keen interest. How did he do it? How did he convey such calm, and yet demand such respect, all at once?

The girl's gaze was drawn to a familiar form, which she regarded with some surprise: Erebos, the colt from the mountain pass. Relieved to recognize someone at last, she slipped from the fire to stand in the space he made for her. Why she had not chosen to join these ranks before, when she spoke with him, she could not remember now - for some reason, she had wanted to explore Helovia, to understand its depths before settling in one place. She hadn't wanted to choose simply because Mother had said to; no, she wanted to make her own choices, her own path, at least until she understand her past. "Erebos," she greeted him with a nod, still tenderly holding the egg to protect it from bumps. It was quickly growing crowded, and her protective instinct was on high alert.

Ashamin gathered her attention with his welcoming speech, and her brows raised in excitement as he began to introduce a time of storytelling. Would any here remember her mother? Would the DarkEmpress make a show in any of their stories? Or would this simply be a passing-along of fairy tales? Either way, she watched in silence, eagerly awaiting the tales to be spun.

"Talk."

Tag :: @[Ashamin], @[Erebos], @[Thranduil] was next, I believe!
Words :: 466
Setting :: In the Aurora Basin Haruspex's cave, stumbled upon accidentally on the night of a massive winter storm.
Notes :: Carrying a griffin egg in a sling made of leaves and vines from the south.