amaris

A small snort of surprise huffed through the mare's nostrils as the halfling unceremoniously plopped down before them, his voice immediately filling the milliseconds of silence that might have lapsed between the dragonmare's welcome and the newcomer's response. Amaris' reaction was simple - a soft snort, a rush of breath through her pewter-and-gold nostrils, and then, once she had ascertained that the 'threat' was no more than the stunted Throatian, resumed her pleasant, easy demeanour.

Dramyrth, absent in body for this, felt the prickle of emotions wash through his beloved, but was reassured by the subsequent thoughts of it's fine, it's nothing, his bonded sent to him to settle him. He was fiercely protective, and had he been present the halfling named Pippgrin might have found himself with a singed tail for his troubles.

Iye, the new stallion introduced himself as, once the compact guardian took a breath to allow others to contribute to the conversation. Amaris smiled serenely all the while, her thoughts guarded as she took in how the newcomer reacted with this information. He wants to know more before he jumps, never a bad quality, she mused as she took on his torrent of questions with an impassive glance, before arching a brow as Pippigrin felt so inclined to suggest that she should reside on the sandy lands of the Throat based purely on her appearance.

It was not the first time, and certainly wouldn't be the last, that someone had judged her for the scales upon her hide, declaring that she should be something she isn't necessarily already - she was part dragon, and therefore a predator, a bloodthirsty killer; she was part dragon, and therefore could not feel love or kindness or affection for anything bar shiny inanimate objects; she was part equine, and therefore not as strong as a dragon, or fierce, or 'special'; she was part dragon, and therefore evidently belonged in a place called the Dragon's Throat, and nowhere else.

"You pay me a great compliment, sir," she said with a smile at the short steed, "for the Dragon's Throat is certainly a wondrous place; alas, my heart resides in the forests of the World's Edge, and so the rest of me must reside there too." It was as 'deep' an explanation as she would ever give - perhaps if one bothered to look deeper than the scales upon her hide they might know that the dragonmare, through revering and respectful of all the Gods of Helovia, was actually born to the mists of the Edge, and not only that, was more happy there now than she had been in longer than she could recall.

Of course, that didn't matter for those who would declare otherwise, based upon nothing more than her hybrid existence. Small minds, she heard the echo from Dramyrth, who from wherever he was, still 'listened in' however much he could.

"To answers your questions, Iye," she said his name carefully, ensuring she got its monosyllabic intonation correct, "Helovia is home to a great many: unicorns, pegasus, equines and all those in-between. Within its borders you will find a variety of lands and adventures, and three established herdlands sanctioned by the Gods of Helovia: the Dragon's Throat, sanctioned by the God of the Sun; the Aurora Basin, sanctioned by the God of Time; and the World's Edge, sanctioned by the Goddess of the Moon. There used to be a fourth, the Hidden Falls; sanctioned by the God of the Earth, however recent events caused him to disband the herd and work towards stabilising the whole of Helovia." At least, that is my interpretation of his actions.

"Each of the herds exist under a governmental rule, with leaders who guide their ranked members towards survival, and the overall betterment of the lands. There are many opportunities for contributing to the herd, but I believe Pippigrin might be better at explaining than I." She conceded, whether it was truth or not that the small one could do better than her, she had spoken well enough by now, and was happy to let the other 'recruiter' fill in the blanks for their newcomer.