She wasn't alone for long. The heat was unsurprisingly addictive, warming her flesh and chasing away the pervasive chill of the season. It seemed this winter was determined to freeze them all out, or send them into some sort of species crossed hibernation. Ice felt as if it had sunken into the very marrow of her bones, and the warmth was welcome. The waterfalls of her herdland were not always conducive to heat, after all, with the freezing mists of the unfrozen ones always seeming to drench you when you least wanted it. Lakota had hated winter as long as she could remember, if only on behalf of her brother. Seeing him suffer through the season was like an exquisite torture of her own, and she wondered dimly if maybe that was why he'd dropped off the map. It was hard to keep a positive outlook when Hana seemed to have disappeared for good. Her family had crumbled, and though she had been graced with a beautiful new one, one could not simply replace the other.

Belatedly she realized that perhaps she should go fetch Murtagh. Before she could act on the impulse, a voice graced her ears, bumping along the ridges of her name. It had been too long for her to recognize the adult voice, but when she turned towards the speaker, the figure itself was undeniable. And oddly appropriate considering she'd been thinking of the little lady not long beforehand. Surprise etched itself into her features, and she was instantly turning to advance towards the hybrid dame. "Ranjiri?" she called in bemused answer, hooves carrying her ever closer. A smile broke across her face, or a least her version of it - jagged and rusty though it was. Almost sheepish. Nose was instantly thrust towards the younger mare (for she was a mare, not a mere child anymore) in obvious greeting.

"You've grown so much," she breathed through her smile. Oh she couldn't wait to tell Ktulu. Oh god. Ktulu. Ranjiri didn't know anything, much less that she had a baby half-brother or that her mother was a vixen with an interest for foul-mouthed mares. "Are you well? It's been so long, where are you living these days?" Oh gods how the fuck did she even broach the subject? 'Sorry to be the one to tell you, but your mom is totally boning another mare, and surprise we magicaly conceived your half-brother! How about that weather?' She was going to give herself a fucking heart attack at this rate. 

Lakota the Poisoner