Tae had begun not only sleeping with her wolf-pelt strapped across her back constantly, but she'd also taken to sleeping on Grusha. Or under her. Or as close to her now much larger twin as she could manage. Having been born when the sun was regularly high in the sky, nothing had prepared Tae for the colder climates. Oh sure, Ampere told her stories of frost dragons and beasts of ice that would come down from the mountains and chill everything that their paws touched, but having never actually seen ice or snow, Tae had no idea what the stories actually forecasted. Now that she felt the tepid chill of frost in the air every morning, she loathed it.  

Little did she know that the Frostfall's which the Throat experience were nothing compared to what happened in the rest of the world. 

As Ampere roused them, despite the cold, Tae was more than happy to give chase. Even though she would never readily admit it to her Mother (for fear of that look she often got in her eyes .. that far off, glassy sort of why-are-you-the-way-you-are?, look), Tae loved these moments, if only because they served as training. Hadn't Father always said to be prepared? And if being prepared meant the ability to jump up from dead-sleep and give chase, then Tae was happy to practice.

That, and tag was fun.

Mal ran at her heels, nipping her fetlocks like she was some bovine to be herded. Every now and then she would kick in his direction if his antics became too bold, but they rarely did. The pup was a pack animal, and it set his mind at ease to know that Tae was his alpha.

Running swiftly behind her Mother, Tae let her wings sprawl from her sides. Her flight feathers were of course still growing, but every now and then if she ran fast enough and held them at just the right angle, she could feel the wind trying to lift her up into the skies. Her heart would soar momentarily, and then gravity would grab her legs and she'd be force to continue along on the ground. But it wouldn't be long now...

Tae wanted desperately to stop and investigate the snow, but given how quickly Ampere hurried by it, Tae didn't dilly-dally. The last thing the girl wanted was to feel that cold, buzzing feeling that she had that day in the meadow, when all of a sudden it felt as though Mal - and part of her soul - had been clubbed by a hammer. So she merely followed, shooting curious glances towards Grusha and nosing towards the snow with a look of let's come back later and see what it does...

Tae wasn't at all interested in the trees, as Zero seemed to be. But, like him, she did assume that the gods had something to do with their shape. Superstition had taken a strong hold on Tae's mind and heart. It only took a few of Ampere's fanciful tales for the small mandible-marked filly to assume that the gods had their hands (teeth? scales? claws?) in everything. 

As Ampere halted, stalking forward silently and slowly, Tae's body burst apart in a ghostly wind as adrenaline raced through her core. She peered around Ampere's side, trying to hide her curiousity, as she spied Caneo and the creature. And, just like Zero, she knew that this probably meant there was going to be a fight.

However, unlike Zero, she was looking forward to it. Her Mother was a badass, and so long as her anger wasn't directed towards her, or her twin, she didn't mind one bit seeing just how powerful Ampere could be, when she wanted to. Short and stout just like Tae would grow up to be, the dark filly knew that she could learn a lot from watching her Mother in action.

But ..

It will need your help to grow, especially at first, and it will stay with you for as long as either of you live. Have you ever taken care of something before?

Tae exhaled, audibly disappointed in the direction that this outing had taken. If she wasn't going to beat his ass for bonding, couldn't they at least go continue their adventure?