onni.</style>

A voice from behind her makes her head turn around, remembering well the sound, but not being able to place it until the golden face of the protector is nearly upon her. Her eyes widen, owlish in the dark of the shade, pale face flushed in sudden embarrassment of being caught in such a predicament by someone who was not a well trusted friend, but rather a stranger who had called her impressive. Would he still consider her impressive now, standing underneath a great tree with a reddish gold chain in her mouth?

Her name. The painted mare could have closed her eyes in embarrassment. Instead, she smiles around the chain, lips held firmly closed, eyes warm, as if to invite him under the shade with her. She could do little else at this point. He smiles in return, and the worry furthering itself in her chest quells. Kaj, a kind stallion, she thinks before blinking rather surprised as he begins speaking again, asking her a question she has no way of answering. "Kerrrrrggsh," she manages from behind the chain, holding the her front teeth closed tightly, golden stone jingling underneath. The painted mare's light eyes plead for him to not judge her too firmly for being otherwise unable to respond to his polite question. One thing almost made her chuckle, though. He almost seemed surprised to see her within the Throat. Was she not the one who lived here? Shouldn't he be a surprise and not her?

Finally, as though the chain had finally caught his attention, the stallion looks at it. His question is sincere, Onni nods with fervor, excited to have the weight off of her ill-equipped teeth.

The bright face of the golden boy dips inward, his lightly colored muzzle brushing against her own in an unfamiliar sensation of warmth. On her shoulder, Lyhty watches with a rather unfriendly death glare, his chirp sounding clipped and selfish as the stallion aids her in the adornment of the strange jewel. Lightly, she drops the chain from her mouth, allowing him to grab hold of it entirely as she bows her head to make the process easier, closing her eyes from embarrassment of being so close to another. Normally, the only occasion for her pale face to be in such close quarters was during healing, but even then... aside from her mother, who had she drawn near to?

The weight of the jewel is placed on her neck and then her chest as it slides downward into place, the tobiano opening her eyes to see the stallion backing away, her light eyes drawing curiously to his movement, which feels oddly stiff. Kaj's voice catches her off guard, and shaking her head like a fog, she smiles broadly at the compliment, though her neck turns her face downward toward the ground. Sky eyes cling to the crimson dirt at Kaj's hooves before peeking up sheepishly. "Thank you," her voice barely audible over the wind. She remembered how surprised he had been at her shows of modesty; perhaps, this would be a step in the right direction.

Her companion, however, is much more robust in his response to being called little. He flies up to Kaj and begins to chirp irritably, flaring his wings outward to show the stallion just how much he had grown! Onni turns her head up surprised, and steps closer to reach out with her muzzle and gently grab hold of his tail-feathers, pulling him away slightly before releasing, looking back with chiding eyes. "Lyhty, be kind to our guest," her tone matching the expression in her face. With an inward grown, the small songbird comes to rest easily on her back, moping as he settles for preening his feathers.

Turning back to face toward the horizon instead of the golden stallion in their midst, Onni glances over her shoulder, bicolored beads clicking sweetly in her golden mane. "What brings you to the Dragon's Throat, Kaj?"
""