She stopped to rub her head against a tree. The bark was rough and black and felt incredibly good against her itching horns. They were barely more than stubs poking out behind the ears, but having two sets of them growing out at once was a bit too much. The skin felt hot and swollen, tense and fit to burst. Father said it would pass, Mother was full of sympathy, but none of them really understood. It wasn't their heads that swelled like an angry marmot every one in a while, and it wasn't their wings that itched and scratched and felt sore as the down grew out. They almost looked like actual wings by now instead of frog legs, but it would be months and months before she would be able to fly.

There were other things she had to learn first. Sighing and longing for the delightfully cool winds of the north, Erthë returned her focus to the task at hand. She was great at sneaking out on the steppe where the lingering piles of snow drew attention away from her pale coat. But Mother had told her that it was important to be able to blend into any place, and the best way to do it was to spend time in the environment, get to know it and understand it.

So, here she was, blending in. The blackbird mare was grazing in a clearing some ways away and Erthë was off on her own, trying her best not to make a racket as she shuffled through the forest. She supposed there were interesting things about it, but the girl didn't really understand what mom meant by becoming one with the location. Everything seemed to be working against her. Roots and rocks snagged her feet, branches, shrubs and thorns ripped and tugged at her curls, it was warm and sweaty and for some reason her breath kept fogging even though flowers budded in every clearing. She knew she was colder than her parents and that they were puzzled by it, but was it really that much of a difference?

It made sneaking rather pointless, she might as well lug around on her own personal fog bank.

She was only making half-hearted efforts when voices came drifting towards her. Woolly ears perked up instantaneously, and without feeling the slightest bit sorry the filly bounded off towards them, abandoning her training for something far better. She liked people! Other horses meant new things, new words, new perspectives and more friends. The world was a vast playground and every single bit of it was loved by her.

In fact, her heart was generous enough to envelop even the daunting looking stallion that came into view as she burst out through a leafing thicket, not to mention the wonderfully pretty mares he was talking to. She really hoped they hadn't been saying anything important, because she had already interrupted and there was no way she would go back to sneaking on rocks. No today. Not when there were an almost-Vlasi thing there, and a pretty red dragon and no less than three horses to ease her boredom. And all of them looked different. Horns, no horns, wings, nothing at all... But the only one who looked like herself was the black one, the stern-faced and quiet one that called himself Caleb. Erthë had heard him introduce himself.

She was incredibly impressed.

"Hi!" the snow-colored fawn tittered brightly, happily ignoring every itch, sore and boil that plagued her tiny body. "I'm Erthë! What are you doing, can I play too?"

The fact that adults didn't really play was beyond her. Of course they played, everyone played! Wouldn't the world be boring otherwise?