like the ocean kissed the sky,
at the most beautiful place under the sun

The ocean mare is delighted when the tall stallion returns her gesture of friendship, their warm breaths mingling in the moist, fresh air of Birdsong, whiskery muzzles brushing against one another in a warmth of companionship. There is a smile upon her lips when they withdraw, easy and brilliant as it reaches up to the brightness in her eyes. In her innocence, the blue mare can only assume that the dark stranger’s comparable grin is sprung from a similar happiness, a similar acceptance of their camaraderie (despite their unfamiliarity with one another). She cannot fathom the possibility of anything else, and is only too happy to oblige in his amiable smile.

He soon speaks, a voice much deeper than her own (more like the hot rocks around them than the trickling of rain), commenting on the cluster of massive trees that rises above them. Tiamat’s gaze follows his up to their boughs, trailing along the crimson leaves as they dance about like ribbons in the breeze, catching the sunlight that halos them in a soft, fiery glow.

The young mare hums in agreement, entranced by their majesty, for surely they are royals among trees. “You are quite right,” she muses softly, her smile fading to a gentle curve of wonder. Slowly her eyes fall from their branches to find that the stallion’s gaze has already settled on her again, and her grin broadens almost bashfully. “Nature sure has her own mind.” Tiamat knows this—she is a child of nature, after all, born from the vast depths of the ocean and risen by the sky. She loves nature for all of its power and wonder.

With delicate ears tilting forward, she listens as the dark stranger introduces himself, and she nods graciously, but it is when he refers to their home that her eyes light up. “You’re from the Basin too?” It is an exclamation of delight, thoroughly elated to be given the chance to meet another one of her herd mates. Truly, making any new friend is a welcomed pleasure, but there is something about the fellowship of the snowy mountains, the camaraderie of the home that she holds so dear. “It’s a pleasure, Rikyn. I have found our home to be large and full of unfamiliar faces—I haven’t met nearly as many people as I’d like,” she shrugs her shoulders, but she can barely contain her enthusiastic smile and excited bubbling of her muscles.

“It’s wonderful to be a part of though,” her love for their home is infectious. She cannot imagine living anywhere else—sure there might be a lot of unfamiliar faces, but she doesn’t speak of it as a bad thing. Quite the contrary! There are so many chances to meet new people, make new friends, that every day is an adventure. “How long have you lived in the mountains?” Tiamat inquires of him eagerly, the length of her tail curving in her happy anticipation.

No sooner had her question slipped from her tongue, that she notices something else—someone else. “Hello!” The ocean’s child readily accepts the other mare into their little conversation, admiring the stranger’s beauty and oblivious to her reserved aloofness. “My name is Tiamat,” she smiles and bows her head in a dainty curtsy, not knowing how much of their conversation Zandora had overheard, having only noticed her moments before. “Are you from the Basin as well?” The inquiry is just as eager as before, her white eyes dancing beneath the sun’s light.


notes; I'm so sorry for the wait! Been feeling sick and museless heh.
“Speech.”