A shadow moved slowly along the edge of the oasis. It was a small, scruffy figure that inched forth only a few steps at a time, pausing ever so often to raise a dark head topped with thick and wild tassels to look across the landscape. There was something slightly off about the mare. Not so much her lack of height or the stocky built, because there were plenty of small and runty horses out there. Neither was it the wings that jutted from her shoulders. They were perhaps the most normal about her where they lay folded against inky black sides, shimmering faintly in the evening light. No, it was more in the posture, the twitchy way she kept looking around and the apparent tension of someone who had ended up in a place completely unfamiliar to them.

A sharp snort sent a plume of breath exploding from flared nostrils, and with a twitch of an ear the shade kept pacing around the cold waters. She wasn't entirely sure that this had been a good idea. For all that Shadow wanted to find a stable home and some semblance of a family, she hadn't been entirely sure what that would entail. At most she had been surrounded by three or four pegasi at a time when during her roaming childhood her parents had joined up with other vagabonds for a short time. She had seen everything from mangy old mares with no teeth to newborn foals struggling to keep up with their mothers, but never before had she been surrounded by so many scents, hoof-prints and traces of activity.

As if it wasn't enough with having a giant herd all around her, Cirrus had disappeared almost as soon as they had arrived, leaving her recruit to fend for herself while she went off to heavens knew where. The young mare flicked a bushy tail in unease, peering around with her vivid eyes for a glimpse of the color-changing filly that had dragged her into such a strange world only shrug and leave as if there was nothing more to add. Shadow found that tantamount to irresponsible. The girl knew how unfamiliar this Helovia place was to the purple-eyed crow, knew more than well how little she knew about magic and other races, or even how this herd worked. Really, she hadn't even thought of revealing the name of the leader of the group!

With a huff the shadow bent her head down and nibbled restlessly at a patch of rough dry grass, frowning at the bitter taste but continuing to chew none the less. Hopefully nothing would go wrong, but it was hard to make promises when left with so little information. Shadow wasn't a stupid mare and she had every confidence in her ability to take care of herself... but that was out in the normal world where the most dangerous creatures were wolves and bares and she could out-fly most others. Here it seemed that none of those rules applied. Here there was magic and creatures without wings, and predators were going to be the least of her problems. She sighed and came to a halt, peering curiously up towards a tall red tree, completely barren and seemingly petrified. If only she had thought this through more carefully.


@[Hector]