Time was slowing in an eerie and unsettling sort of way. Or at least, that was how it felt.

Ashamin felt oddly energized. The sky was dim to the point where neither moon nor sun was clearly seen, but his odd sleep pattern--inflicted by his companion--had left him at a general loss when it came to determining the hour. He knew Lochan was awake, and if nothing else that was an indicator. Then again, just as Ashamin often stayed up at night for his companion's sake, the cerndyr had occasionally joined him to walk in the daylight.

All in all, it was enough to leave the Haruspex more than a little perplexed. That, combined him with his poor navigational skills, had left him without his company, unsure of both when and where he was. So much for wisdom.

When he had left the Aurora Basin in pursuit of, well, he wasn't quite sure, he hadn't been alone. Johnny, the herd's crafter, had been in quite hot pursuit. But Ashamin's energy had left him impatient, and soon the distance between the pair had grown into an eventual parting. Now he was so lost he wasn't sure if Johnny would find him at all.

Lochan led the way, now. Though Ashamin felt a nervous buildup of something inside him, leaving him jittery and anxious, he had slowed his pace for his companion's sake. Lochan was still sluggish from sleep, and though the cerndyr was generally quite speedy, his little black frame did not bound through the forests and snow, now. Instead the pair maintained an easy and relaxed pace, leaving four pairs of cleft hoofprints in their wake with every cycle of steps.

And eventually such motion was bound to bring them into the presence of others. Up until encountering that welcoming circle he'd been uncertain about the forest's identity, but now the buck was sure. They were back at the threshold. It was funny, how he always seemed to end up back where he had started.

With no wide canopies and distracting green to hide him, Ashamin was left in the open clearing as an obvious figure. Still, he stood apart from the others who had come here. He was blanketed in snow, some caught in silk folds, some melting away at the sparks by his tail. He was a coldfront, a newcomer still, a lonesome beast from the Basin that still stunk of its chill. As unfamiliar as he was in and to these lands, they had made their mark on him, from scar to scent.

Lochan brayed softly at Ashamin's side by way of introduction, sending images of the three figures in crayon sketches to his bonded as he did so. The haruspex would not discourage such double-vision; often the young cerndyr, perhaps with that third eye of his, seemed to catch things that Ashamin did not. Even in the crude drawings, there were contained details Ashamin would not have seen.

The others, strangers from distant lands, had taken care of their and the land's custom, now he would offer his own. He stepped forth, closer, long tail dragging and sending sparks across each icy patch, until he was closer to the mare with the fresh scent of an outside land. To the stallions, he extended two nods. To the mare, he extended his cheek.

"Greetings," he said softly, no longer hesitant. At his back, his dark companion lowed quietly, the same.

"" ""
[[Welcome to Helovia, Lark! Permission from Sarah to include Johnny.]]

ASHAMIN

I've grown so used to being lost
sceneries change, the compass remains
a shattered watchface, broken chain,
I stand, irresolute