"Riel, huh..." She tried the name with a thoughtful expression and found that it rolled easily from the tongue, foreign yet pleasant enough - suitable indeed to the gilded angel whose appearance alone warranted a sweet title. To the shame of the ill-mannered young dove it turned out her personality was equally pleasant. Instead of baring down on the rude curtness of the response Riel simply conversed pleasantly, spilling words with a speed and enthusiasm that was almost alarming. It brought the ghost of a smile onto the lips of the frosty teen, a bit hesitant at first but with a suggestion it might widen, like the warmth of sun thawing away ice from budding flowers.

"From the Throat? I have friends there, an uncle... I live in the Edge myself though. If you tell me where..."

She was interrupted by the sound of approaching feet. Riel started beside her and mostly in response to her sudden agitation, paired also with her own frazzled nerves perhaps, Erthë turned sharply when the sound of anothers words disrupted the stillness of the morning. Even before she laid eyes on him however she recognized the deep rumbling voice of Volterra; surprise mingled with apprehension and delight as she turned to face him, the smile widening even as brows traveled up the face.

"I could ask you the same" she retaliated with a lopsided grin. "Riel, this is Volterra. Not sure if I want to call him a friend exactly... he's a bit too grumpy for my tastes. I bet it's the size of his butt that's the reason, I wouldn't be too happy either with all that flabbing going on."

With their first encounter in vivid recall she poked her tongue out towards the big stallion, eagerly expecting him to quip back like he usually did. Large alabaster wings extended out from shoulders that seemed much too frail to support their collective weight as she stretched, tense muscles relaxing now in the presence of a familiar face. As they settled back down it was against sides no longer childishly chubby but curved, subtly rounded hips explaining what her cheeky words failed to convey. It had been a long time since they last met and the wild swan was growing into herself more and more with each passing day. She did not even realize it herself, but there was nothing childish about the way she stepped in close on slender legs to jokingly nudge him in the shoulder or how she lingered in his presence, delicate and tantalizing like the first berries of summer.

"To be honest I was just on my way home" she continued to say, smiling as she peered up - always up - at Volterra. "It's about time I got back, before they send out a search party!" She laughed, then looked about around the stud for his usual companions. After searching both trees and sky she came up empty however; "Where are the dragons? Off playing hooky?"

It was too bad, Erthë loved watching them. There weren't that many dragons around in the Edge, and she knew no other person who had two. As much as she envied him for his luck there was also respect there, for the strength of mind required to sustain and control the connection with such magnificent creatures.

She hardly realized it but her attention had shifted almost entirely towards the stallion as he entered the scene. Though she had been in the middle of saying something before, the words had left thought and memory already in favor of her over-sized friend - he had a knack for taking over the stage where he went, and she merrily allowed herself to be dragged along.

Well. At least for the time being.

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Waiting for the rain I'm bracing for the thunder
A twig that wouldn't sway in the wind