[ please let Arielle and Arah post before going again ^^ ]

The sun was bleeding out across the snow as Mauja and Arah led the new mare home. Long shadows mimicked their every move, dark hooves rising and falling above the snow before plunging back to meet the body. Darkness rolled in like waves from the east, slowly devouring the sky and turning it inky black behind the cover of clouds. Blood red painted their undersides red, and as he moved across the wasteland of the steppe, he thought that it was an unusually vibrant sunset. Soon enough he knew they would grow colder, the sky shifting to dues of green and purple as it sank, but for a while yet the splendor of summer lingered. The further west they went upon the snowy fields the fiercer the wind grew, and he grunted quietly under his breath. It seemed that autumn in the Basin would prove a stormy business, and part of his cold heart ached for the trees and fog of the Edge, the crash of wave against cliff — the proximity to the sea had kept much of the snowfall at bay, showering them incessantly in rain instead.

But on the days the Edge had been cold.. it had been deathly cold. Born and raised far to the north, Mauja didn't think much of neither the Frostbreath Steppe nor the Aurora Basin. In summer it was pleasantly cool, the mountains keeping most of the wind at bay, and the hot springs beneath the ground thawing the earth and providing them with lush grass. He knew that in winter, it had to change. Cold and wind seemed to be the precursors, and light snowfalls had already come to their vale. He could only hope the presence of hot water would give them enough to feed off during the darkest days, and he made a mental note to explore the cave systems deeper, and see if any of them contained a spring. It could be a warm place to shelter.

Another gust of wind came howling as the neared the foothills, and he winced as it blasted him icily in the face. His winter coat hadn't begun to grow in yet, but his body seemed to know what was up. Already he'd felt the first itches of shedding.

With the sun slipping behind the horizon, out of sight behind the mountain range cradling their home, Mauja stepped into the shadow of the mountain pass, leading Arielle, the newcomer, and Arah, the antlered Phantom. "It's a bit windy during fall," he told them both, assuming the weather pattern would stick even though he couldn't know. He didn't know the Basin as intimately as he had the Edge. Turning his head back to home, he pressed on through the stronger winds; the narrow pass funneled the air in a most displeasing fashion, its speed increasing as it sought to pass the same amount of mass in the same amount of time. Growling under his breath Mauja flattened his black-rimmed ears to his neck and pushed through the gale.

Once at the mouth of the pass the wind receded somewhat, and the Basin spread out before them; a light snow had begun to fall to cover the yellowing, frostbitten grass, and the massive lake hinted in the distance. Towering mountains rose protectively around the slopes, and he turned to give Arielle a smile. "Welcome home, Elle. Let's see if there's anyone else about." Flicking his tail he set off along the rim of the valley, breaking into a trot to cover more ground. He was so used to navigating the slightly uneven, rocky ground, and the snow and odd patches of ice. He could only hope the new mare could keep up without breaking her legs.

[ I feel this is already long enough xD either ignore us for a bit or Roland or Illynx is welcome to spot us coming! ]