"Salem?" a quiet voice calls, half mistaken, into the chill of winter air. The mare flew above, great chocolate wings unfurled into the bitter air, a small song bird resting just in front of the joint. A curious chirp rings in her ears and she glances back toward Lyhty, her blue eyes taking on a bit of excitement, even if her brow creased in worry. It had been a long while since the mare had seen a new face from times past. Isilme, she thought. There might be survivors from the land yet.

Her wings tilt downward into the descent toward the pit of fire below, the Heart. Before she falls far in altitude, however, the flash of another, traveling much to fast for her patient and careful descent, plops into her peripheral vision. A pale face turns to watch a mare target the stallion, and Onni's wings hesitantly pull back, stabilizing their height in the air above the lifeless plains. Complaining about the abrupt change of speed, Lyhty lets out a chirp as well as a peck on her shoulder. "I do not wish to intrude, Lyhty," she says, circling above in the sky, her blue eyes watching the scene on the ground unfold. A slight coo, exasperation, billows out of the song bird. Ever considerate of others before her own feelings, Onni was often one to trip over her actions.

Observation spoke volumes that her limited knowledge could not provide, but the healer noticed how the mare shied away from getting too close to the stallion, approaching him as though he were a cougar. So, they do not know each other. Steeling her resolve, the tobiano sets back into her descent, circling in loose loops to bring them steadily closer to the ground. Hooves touch the earth smoothly, and she easily walks off the slow landing and begins to trot gracefully toward the pair. Salem's odd coloring was what made him stand out the most, perhaps, more than anything in her mind. A smile makes waves on her face as she approaches them from the front, coming to a quite stop before them, eyes passing over the mare before falling gently on Salem's figure.

"I am delighted to see you, Salem," she says, quite calmly. "I had thought the last of the survivors already arrived."
""