Merakerr
March 7th, 2012 at 12:05am

Weary steps carried the pale gryphon amongst the trees, her wings
trailing in the snow as she trudged forward. She'd escaped with the
other from Isilme, but had not been able to keep up, without the power
of flight and forced to race along the ground. But she could track
them, and had, until she'd reached this forest and lost the trail
amongst all the others that mixed and mingled here.

It seemed... a bit of a lost cause to keep wandering around in hopes
she'd pick up signs of those she'd known in the Woodlands, so at last
she flopped herself down in the snow beside a blanketed shrub.
Restlessly she preened the feathers on her chest, golden eyes studying
her surroundings while she rested. Where could they have gone from
here?

---

Ra the Sun Emissary
March 12th, 2012 at 3:40pm

Hoofsteps left tracks in the snow as the cremello stallion traveled
once more to the Threshold. His recent loss to Gossamer, newest lead
of the Foothills apparently, left him with a nagging feeling that he'd
need to visit the other regions soon. He held no grudge against
Gossamer for her successes, although he did find their prior encounter
rude, what with her blatantly ignoring him and seeming to glower at
him with suspicious eyes, but he still enjoyed the fair mare and her
pretty coat.

Kri though, she had him mildly worried. His herd was not well
protected yet, and so he tirelessly combed these forests, hoping to
welcome the newest arrivals before anyone else could.

With thoughts tumbling in this worried manner, Ra nearly crossed by
Merakerr without noticing her. It was only the sound of wings rustling
in the wind that had him slow and glance back. He had half a thought
that it was the pegasus Kri come to ambush him like some nightmarish
calling for thinking of her. Paranoid blue eyes however did not find
the feral birdhorse, but instead a curled gryphon. Raising his brows
in surprise, Ra shifted and ambled back towards her, cautious of that
beak so that he stayed a further distance away. Crown glinted in the
sunlight as he tilted his head at her, eyes appraising her light pelt,
even if it was the more distasteful hue of silver rather than gold -
at least it wasn't black.

"Hello," he greeted awkwardly, uncertain how she might respond.
Muscles were tensed, ready to shift to his cat form should she prove
hostile. "Are you injured?" he asked, perplexed at seeing her on the
ground. He'd never actually spoken to a gryphon before, as they always
stuck to the skies or the trees. Would she even understand him
wondered, feeling suddenly foolish. His tail twitched behind him with
anxiety, hooves pawing at snow in similar feeling.

---

Merakerr
March 18th, 2012 a 9:59pm

(Goss is welcome to drop by)

Ear tufts twitched as the sound of snow crunching beneath heavy hooves
reached her hearing, and golden eyes followed the sound with curious
interest. A pale stallion was spotted, appearing so distracted that he
almost didn't see her in turn. Indeed, she'd thought he would go on
past and had focused again on her silent scan for familiar traces when
he made his way back toward her.

With equal interest she lifted her head to return his assessing gaze,
bemused by the gleaming ornaments he wore. "Grreetingsss." She spoke
in response, dipping her beak slightly. "Hurrt, no. Jussst wearry. It
isss a long walk frrom Isssilme to herre for one usssed to flight."
One wing unfoled in silent explanation, displaying the prominant lack
of flight feathers. She didn't regret the choice that had led to the
situation. Instead, she wondered how he would react to the pocket of
cold air around her should he step closer. It was nice, as well, to
not see fear being his first reaction. Wary confusion was acceptable.

---

Ra the Sun Emissary
March 19th, 2012 at 10:41pm

There was a look of amusement in this griffin, or so Ra thought he
saw. He didn't think beaks were very good at conveying emotion, which
was so often birds seemed cruel and malicious when they stared down at
him from the trees. Perhaps it was just also their height, granting
them some version of immediate superiority, that only made him hunch
his shoulders even further in reproach. Either way, birds were mildly
creepy, and he tended to leave them be. All the same, he was certain
that the birdcat before him had a laughing quality to her eyes. His
feeling of foolishness rose like bile in his gut, but he shoved it
down stubbornly, raising his head a bit higher.

He'd barely had enough time to feel anything else before she spoke,
half startling them, although he couldn't really place why since he
had been expecting a reply. Or had he?
Her tones expressed certain syllables in ways foreign to his ears.
They tilted forward further, curious at the new sounds dancing in
them. He was no stranger to accents, as aside from Helovia seeing a
variety of travelers, his own feline form gave him a different quality
of voice. He found her's quite enjoyable, sliding through the air with
a fluidity, if perhaps a bit difficult to understand at times.

She surprised him again, when the word Isilme slipped free. Ra's 'brow
knitted at this, tail flicking in concentration. He'd heard that word
so often lately it was starting to feel like something nonsensical,
but he'd hardly expected it from her. He supposed if griffins lived
here they could also be in Isilme, but from what he knew, it was the
undead of their hoofed kind that destroyed the place. How had she been
tangled in their war?

"Do they grow back?" he asked stupidly. With a million different
questions burning on his tongue, the first he found sorted out was
weather or not her damn feathers grew back. He turned his head away in
embarrassment, though honestly he did want to know. He'd never really
learned about feathers, although he was no enemy to pegasus, he wasn't
exactly a friend of many either. His thoughts instantly flashed back
to Kri. He wondered if he burned her wings, if then she'd be unable to
fly and they'd never grow back, making her non-threatening. Somehow
though, he already knew the answer would be yes.

"Isilme you said? You aren't the first to come through here from that
way. Many in fact, have since passed this threshold into the lands of
Helovia. I must admit though, none looked like you." He tilted his
head, still mildly baffled, though the weariness had sunk out of his
muscles and left him relaxed. She seemed amiable enough, and injured
as she was, he doubted she was itching for a fight. That suited him
fine, he preferred talking. "Will you be alright, on the ground?" As
much as he knew of wings, he knew even less of griffins as a whole.
Somehow he thought she might die right here in front of him being on
the ground, although she did blend in neatly, as he nearly failed to
notice her.

He wondered why he really even cared. It was not in Ra to be very
empathetic, but neither was he heartless. He was no scholar reaping
the world of information, but he would rather educate himself than
remain ignorant, for that would lead to folly in time. Perhaps he was
just bored, and maybe lonely. After giving up his moon to turn to the
Sun, unable even to spare many thoughts of her, his heart had swollen
and shrunk and flipped and flipped and now it hammered in his throat
in an annoying way. He was heartsick, though that was nothing new, and
longed for some form of company aside from Flick, who he loathed to
detest. Flick was nice, but he could only lie around her. Here, before
this griffin, what did she care of horses and their affairs? Besides,
her color reminded him of the moon and that instantly made him feel
better.

---

Gossamer the Benevolent
March 20th, 2012 at 3:57am

The delicate white form of a Pura Raza Espanola mare flitted amongst
the trees of the woods. She was out searching once more, to offer
haven to the lonely, when Lazulli, who had been flying ahead, said
there was a strange mare with wings and the odd white stallion again.
Gossamer nearly sighed. Why was such a rude stallion always out and
about if he didn't really care for any of the horses he was trying to
recruit. The fact that everyhorse should worship the sun was important
to him, but again, he didn't like everyhorse. The fact of his
motivations perplexed her, simply because she couldn't figure them
out. At their first meeting she had sensed the essence of them but
could make neither heads nor tails of anything he'd thought. Though
she was nearly always open to those troubled, she found him
distasteful. Perhaps it was because of the racism, or simply the fact
that most of his words were no match for his thoughts, she really
couldn't say. One thing was for certain though: she was not looking
forward to battling with him over another member again. He had a
silken tongue that spoke convincing words.

She weaved her way amongst the trees and came out to be, rather
unusually, not bombarded by loose tendrils of projected thoughts.
Horses didn't know they did that, projected their strongest thoughts,
but they did. The most important things that were in their minds were
sent out like shoots of roots from a tree. Things they cared most
about, things they thought strongly of, loves, hates, true intentions.
Ra had been especially loose at their first meeting. But this time the
clearing was empty, dull even, and there was Ra. Bizarre. The mare, a
griffin she could see now, was quiet as well. But then she saw that
both looked very tired, Ra bored and dull, the mare merely exhausted.
Ahh, so there was the explanation. Horses, and apparently griffins,
did not project thoughts when tired or bored or feeling dull simply
because nothing was strong enough and everything was muffled in one's
mind. She kept her bearing honest and straight as she walked up to the
pair. She nodded at Ra to show him respect for his title, and then
spoke to the mare, "Greetings traveler, I am Gossamer, Chieftess of
the Windtossed Foothills. If I may say, you seem weary and in need of
rest." Her gaze was truly concerned, for the griffin mare was missing
feathers and her wings hung loose at her sides. It was not good to
remain thus way in such inhospitable weather.

---

Merakerr
March 20th, 2012 at 11:52am

She'd surprised him. It amused her further, ear tufts twitching gently
as she resisted the urge to give a beaky grin. She always seemed to
have that sort of affect on others that assumed she'd be like her red
meat eating cousins, and a little bit of patience went a long way
toward developing an amicable relationship with those she met. But his
first words made her chortle softly.

"I will grrow them in again in the sssprring when I molt for warrmerr
weatherr." Which was entirely true, even if she was to have a
perpetual cold bubble around her. Molting was linked to the seasons,
just as shedding was for him.

His knowledge of Isilme interested her, and she was pleased with the
knowledge that others had come this way from the place she'd called
home. "I am glad. Perrhapsss sssome I knew frrom the Woodlandsss will
be herre." His unspoken question about her made that threatening grin
come to life, beak gaping slightly. "No otherr grryphon hasss everr
sssought to make theirr home amongssst the horrssssesss beforre me.
But verry few arre borrn with my appetite eitherr." There was much
more to it than that. She was from much farther south than here or
Isilme, where gryphons were not so hard pressed for food that they
could develop intellectual skills and learn about the other
intelligent species of the world.

Before she could assure him of her safety, another appeared. An ear
tuft tilted toward the approaching stranger before she turned to watch
the pale mare walk forward and introduce herself as Gossamer... a
leader of a herd here. Who was also concerned about the young
gryphon's well being. Her long fluffy tail coiled lazily across the
snow as she chortled softly again. "No need to be concerrned about my
sssafety herre in the cold and on the grround. While I cannot fly, I
can rrun and climb ssshould need be. And I am built for the cold. The
airr clossse to me is colderr than it isss next to you." Not to
mention she was the perfect hue for blending into the snow... and was
perfectly capable of using her talons and beak. Though she was
starting to feel hungry now that she wasn't so tired. "Do eitherr of
you know wherre I might be able to fisssh? I do not hunt like my
cousssinsss."