You're so cold but you feel alive

Cold air whistled across her ears and whipped the mass of curly hair back from the face. The light of the autumn sun was pale and bright and caused the young mare to squint as she peered ahead towards the horizon. Though still small, a mere speck of green and black against a world of blue she was able to see the island now, it's sandy beaches and swaying trees as alluring as ever. Erthë threw a glance at the bird that had been sticking to her wing-tips for some time now, and as she imagined the creature sending her a challenging leer she laughed and surged on. The pace of rising and falling wings increased, numbing muscles screaming in agony as the girl pushed herself to get ahead; slowly, inch by inch she drew ahead of the bird and with a triumphant whoop Erthë brought her shadow in over the islands landmass.

It was a race she had made up just then, against an opponent that might not have been aware that it was participating, but nevertheless it felt great to win. Laughing from the thrill of the chase the pale girl looped and spun in the air, exalted by the feeling of wind beneath her wings and the cold, crisp air rushing into the lungs. Never did she feel so free and happy as when she flew, never did she ever forget herself in such a way as when she succumbed to the allure of the distant horizon. Before she knew it the landscape below had changed from the far-reaching mountains of the north to the glittering seas of the south, where summer never really left and the cold only lasted until she broke through the layer of drifting clouds into the lower troposphere.

Still, though Erthë felt as though she could fly forever her body knew better. Even through the high of pulsing adrenaline her muscles groaned, the long flight taking its toll. Reluctantly the crowned swan began to descend towards the beach, her mind occupied with drifting ideas of food and water when, quite suddenly, a call from below brought her out of her reveries.

Peering down onto the beach that wasn't so far away now, Erthë spotted a large creature emerging from the waves, a being of a color and make such as she had never seen before. It struck a chord with her however, because this wasn't the first time she had seen peculiar creatures on these islands. As she tucked the pale wings tighter towards her body the girl felt her heart beat race, the rush of wind around her body more agitating now than soothing as she dove swiftly towards the ground. Was it a Riftian again? Had the portals opened once more, would the pale sands be stained with blood and soot again, as they had in the past?

Landing hard, the slender youth wobbled as a jolt of agony shot through her leg; gritting her teeth and cursing her own stupidity for never learning she staggered upright and hurried as best she could towards the strange creature, even as other helovians converged around the creature. The closer she got however, the less certain she became that this in fact was a mortal being at all; it seemed composed not so much of flesh and blood as of matter, sea-shells and kelp and all manner of corals and more that she had no name for. Fear and suspicion was pushed back by the onset of curiosity, and before she could stop herself Erthë blurted out the first thing that reached her tongue.

"What are you!?"

Only, it appeared she was not the only one to voice that particular question. Her own voice overlapped in near perfect sync with that of a bay colt further up the beach, so unexpectedly that she nearly cricked her neck in the haste to see who had spoken. Blinking, Erthë listened in awe as the boy kept rambling, his brazenness astounding even her; here, she had clearly met her match in the matter of uncomfortable questions.

Grinning, the snow-cold hybrid kept an eye on the boy as she joined the gathering crowd, sidling in beside Lyanna when she spotted the friend amidst the audience. Reaching the older mare Erthë made to tug affectionately at the teal-tipped locks by the withers.

"Hi, Ly, what's going on here? There's an awful lot of people gathering, and so quickly too!"

She whispered the query as pale eyes raked across the people around them. Many o the faces were familiar while others remained unknown to her; she nodded politely to Alysanne, Roskuld and Anzanie and offered smiles for Bathsheeba, Volterra and Oizys. One of the present however caused a frown to appear on her brow; upon noticing the tall, dark stallion with the skull branded onto his withers Erthë quickly looked away. She hadn't forgotten their intermission in the red forest. The mere sight of the guy was enough for a lump of unease to appear in her gut; if she was lucky she would not have to speak to him at all.