The child did not expect a reaction – from either of the mares. The act itself was like common language to Ru. Like passing kisses on the cheek, a handshake, a ‘welcome’ and ‘adieu’ dissolved into the simplest form she could think of. Well, a step further than that of a head nod or a bow. Yet, neither of them had nipped at her in return. Or outright retaliated with a shove or a kick.

It was progress. Considering…

For a moment she was surprised to see the impenetrable stone melt from December’s eyes. It struck a chord in what she had thought was a very simple heart. One that was impervious to fear and sadness, because all that had ever done was slow progress down, hide the reality of the world with a dim view. When clearly, there was so much in it to learn from and see. Her eyes and yes, perhaps her heart too, pulsed with a desire to tear the fabric of things apart and learn their materials from the bare bones, but… December’s gaze beckoned something she yearned for even more. Far beyond the fabrications of her mind, or understanding, and it prickled the edges of her eyes with an all too familiar sensation. She bit her tongue, and struggled to keep the swell in her chest from rising and springing out into tears.

Ru was strong! And like the mountain she would stand firm. Her best defense under strange and extraordinary situations was to shrug off these odd desires. At least until the emotions settled right?

The filly quickly blinked a few times and wiggled her tail. A distraction technique that worked well in most circumstances – for now it had, just barely. She grinned and bared her heart’s yearning for a mother. Fixating on the mean looking creature instead, and snickered half-heartedly under her breath. It was a good thing it  didn’t have wings. If things did get out of hand, she could high tail it out of there in a second or two. Perhaps more, now that the fatigue of her journey settled into her bones.

An appreciative rumble escaped the filly’s lips as the silver mare returned the gesture with her muzzle. Made those lips quirk, and keep her smile – happiness warming, and battling against the depravity of having to be alone for so long. She nodded in understanding, and snuck another glance at the creature. Cute, fluffy, and deadly – beware of Carl and his eyes of doom. Check!

But as she had given the same ‘hello’ to Maren the reaction was quite opposite. This too intrigued the girl; frowning lightly as the mare seemed to recoil and grow taught and tense; as if touching was a curse not lightly given. How bizarre then it seemed as the child stepped back and watched. Tilting her head as her ears flickered with the tightened vocals, once graceful lyrics taking on a struggle to breach between the air around them. And just like that – as if recovering a distance that mare preferred, these mannerisms a-washed without a trace. The youth grunted – it seemed selfish of her to own that space in the first place. As if anything was inherently personal?

… was there such things as personal space?

Ah- yes, this was something Ru would have to investigate! At least from what she could garner, personal space appeared to be a preference and a… a trait? It didn’t take long for Maren to respond, after all; it was like sneezing or, perhaps as routine as a breathing pattern?

The filly raised her brow at the odd mare, which she was starting to find a little amusing. She curled her lips in a brief, mischievous expression. Of all the things she could do to figure out what the mare really meant… heh.

And then there was the proposal. Ru straightened out her features, hoping that the striped mare did not notice the peculiar expression. A promise? She frowned once more. Mother had always been strict about promises – promises were one of those things like… doing one’s duty. It helped the world spin a little, made sense – at least, that’s how Ru recalled the explanation. And in many stories characters were often congratulated for their trustworthiness. Isn’t that what made a character, ‘someone’? And then, there were those who had made promises and broke them all together – either to trick, or cause harm, to lie. Lying might be beneficial, but in this circumstance?

Why should she promise to do something she wasn’t even sure she could keep?

She sucked in some air as she seriously considered this. Her bright eyes dimmed as she stared at the ground for a moment. This was BIG. Pursing her lips together – she’d made her decision and regarded the mare once more. Letting out her own long puff of air she shook her head outright. Couldn’t help the shy giggle erupting from those lips and stepped away with her head slightly ducked.

The filly’s ears twisted back to December as she began to speak, lifting her head up again. She shuffled in her spot, and shook her body once more as the cold began to press against her flesh. Ru’s bright eyes quickly filled with her own steady gaze, taking in the words and briefly wondering - what the heck was a Tallsun?

Tall-sun, high sun…? Heat and tall sun… ah. That was a pretty way to say summer, she thought. The smile on her lips was soft now, dreamily, wondering what they called the other seasons.

And yet, Maren proposed something elusive as she spoke. Ru squealed shortly, stumped and surprised – a boat?! Who was this woman? And why did she have a boat?!

A roaring challenge saturated the child with a competitive snort. Like hell yah I’m sailing in your boat! Her eyes darted around them, looking for something in particular. She moved about, turning around and walking beyond as her eyes pierced forward. Ru would need roots.

She huffed, jumped on her spot and faced them as she started digging in the snow. It wasn’t incredibly deep, and did not take long for the young one to find the dead grass. She paused then started trying to kick up the earth with her forelimbs. At least, perhaps loosen it a little before she dipped down and ripped a good cold chunk with her mouth.

Feeling rather smart, she trotted back to the pair and placed the clump down before Maren. Ru grinned, and shifted her weight so that she could point her hoof at the other end of the grass. She pawed at the dirt, trying to get rid of it, before stopping and pointing at it again. The foal looked between them, wondering if they could understand her. A nod and a neigh, should the word ‘roots’ partake in their voices.

[[all's good! :3 Thanks! I'm still trying to figure her out... I apologise for any inconsistencies XP ]]