A whinny greets Yves, and he startles in spite of himself. He is not usually the jumpy sort, and his “startle” is admittedly quite mellow by a prey animal’s standards – his crested neck shoots up as he leans his weight back into his hind legs, a half-hearted spook that fizzles out on its own accord like a dud of a firecracker. Embarrassing, but hardly the biggest of his problems. The damn sourgrass! His thoughts start to race as the little woodland congregation grows. I can’t swallow it. Well, I can, but I don’t want to. Nasty stuff. But I can’t very well spit it out, either, see – shit, look, they’re bowing! They’re classy! Don’t spit in front of the classy horses. Smiling bashfully, he tries to discreetly force the cud into a pocket in his cheek, feeling (and looking) distinctly squirrel-like. Charming. He has traveled alone looking like a normal, respectable equine for months, but today, the day he is drooling green slime like some kind of rabid forest hellbeast, is the day he meets someone else. Four someone elses. Of course.

The bearded gray unicorn who approached first calls himself Cassius, the Aurora Basin Haruspex. He is an attractive stallion – vaguely baroque, which, coupled with his easy bow, gives Yves the distinct impression of elegance. The word “Helovia” sparks Yves to life, but before he processes what this means (I’m here! I’m actually here!) the massive masked dunskin colt introduces himself and his brilliant blue dragon, Astarot and Zafir from the Dragon’s Throat. Yves smiles sheepishly, still painfully aware of the green foam around his lips and the lump of sourgrass sitting uncomfortably in his cheek. He offers his own nodded half-bow in a show of respect. He clears his throat and is warming up his vocal cords when a “Hullo” greets the gathering from above, followed by a small tumbling through the trees. Quite the study in contrast with the giant Astarot, the sprightly pegasus warns of a bear menace, leaving Yves both bemused and slightly concerned by the mental image of this breezy little creature in an altercation with a bear. Suddenly, the little one’s wings tickle Yves’ belly as he ducks under him, forcing a stifled giggle, the girly sound incongruous with his heavy masculine frame. “That tickles!” He slurs, the wad of sourgrass obscuring his accented speech. Pippin, the pegasus introduces himself, also from the Dragon’s Throat. A warrior? It would not be the first time Yves has been deceived by looks. He opts to keep his surprise to himself.

With all the hubbub, Yves fails to notice the arrival of the teal-accented mare. As if out of nowhere she appears, calling herself Lyanna from the World’s Edge. He is too impressed at her correct recognition of the sourgrass to stop himself from nodding excitedly, sending flecks of green foam flying. “I would have made myself more presentable if I knew there would be a welcome committee.” He half-mutters with another rueful grin.

The crowd finally seems to reach its plateau. “I am Yves, a traveling scholar.” He offers no more explanation for his arrival in Helovia – he can’t very well tell these strangers ‘well, my dead best friend told me to come here and everyone I know is either perished or lost, so where else would I go?’ He has looked for this place for so long, he had come to expect his arrival to be heralded with some great fanfare of pomp and circumstance; it is with relief and not disappointment that he realizes this is not the case.

Yves

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OOC: Thanks for the welcome! And sorry about taking forever to reply – I made the mistake of starting this thread right before finals and got swamped. Spring break now!
@Cassius @Astarot @Pippigrin @Lyanna