The apology about not making introductions sooner was brushed off with a shake of Alysanne's dark head. “Oh, I’m sure we would have gotten around to it eventually.” A warm, crinkled smile at that – introductions were polite, of course, but exciting things were happening! Understandable that they would forget their manners for a moment. “I’m Alysanne. It’s very nice to meet you both.” She added, looking to the dappled mare. She looked forward to getting to know them both a little better but now was just not the time to start asking questions about where they were from or anything like that.

Having not experienced the bond with a companion herself, Alysanne could not help but be impressed by the depth – Parelia knew so much about the little Penna already, her instincts kicking in. It did seem likely that he was rather hungry – breaking his way out of an egg would undoubtedly work up quite the appetite. But the problem of just what to feed him was definitely a problem. Parelia mentioned seeing adults go for other birds – which would be rather difficult to accomplish for themselves. “Birds yes, I’ve seen a couple go for rodents as well.” But again, how do you go about catching a mouse?

This was a problem Alysanne had never faced before!

There was some consulting with Silas – who Alysanne could only assume was Africa’s companion (a quick glance around was cast but she could not see where he might be) – and their suspicions were concerned. This little chick needed meat.

At the grey mare’s words, Alysanne didn’t nod her agreement but rather her face furrowed in thought as she tries to recall whether she had ever seen a carnivore, especially a bird of prey, eat anything other than meat. She remembered owl-watching with Miykael, trying to stay as silent as they could – which was rather hard, because during the day this owl did absolutely nothing and the novelty of hiding in the bushes had worn off rather quick. The first time she had seen that great bird swoop down and catch prey, she had been alarmed – but a quick explanation showed her that sometimes these things needed to happen. “If he’s a carnivore, anything besides meat might make him sick. I mean, if you take the reverse – wouldn’t we get sick if we tried eating meat?” She was uncertain and it showed, but the logic seemed there for her.

When her emerald eyes returned to the chick before them, it was not hard for her to come to terms with the idea of finding and killing another creature to ensure Penna’s survival – for his and Parelia’s sake. It would bother her, she knew, and she would need to make sure if it came to that she’d find a way of saying thank you. “Worms might be a good place to start, though I don’t know how we might find them given all the snow. Perhaps we could find something dormant underneath?”