If the slight fever of warmth that rises when we hold hands lights a light
Look, It will shine until it reaches even the corners of the dimmed world, so brightly.

Riel accepted this information without question, simply nodding the lithe, chiseled head before finally managing to raise the neck a few inches. She had started to walk again within seconds, but paused to look over at Ampere as the black mare stretched the wings and hesitated; the measuring look at her shoulders didn't go unnoticed.

"Sorry" she said with a slight smile, the expression apologetic; "I would fly if I could... but extra wings add extra weight, and just two won't be enough to carry me." She stretched out the uppermost wing on the right in its entirety and raised it high enough for her guide to see, displaying the impressive length yet somewhat lacking width and sparsity between secondary feathers that explained the need for a double set.

"I have to overlap them like this" she continued as the second wing stretched wide and covered the gaps of the first - seemingly unperturbed by the unveiled interest from the older female - "and then beat them simultaneously..." She made a slow movement of the pair to mimic a stroke through the air... then lowered both wings with a sigh and folded them back in place. "It's more troublesome than convenient really" the sparrow added and managed a brief smile, glad to have something else to talk about as she once again started to walk, expecting Ampere to catch up and take the lead, "but most other people seem to think it's really impressive. The wingless of the place I come from call us Angel Blood or Seraphim and act all subservient, expecting us to be able to solve all the problems between heaven and earth..." She rolled the pale gray eyes and smirked, hints of spunk and humor shining through the downcast expression to whisper of the merry, untroubled and high spirited child she normally was.

"We're really normal though" the girl added in quickly and stared intently at the blue-jay as if wishing to quell any expectations before they could arise. "The only thing special is that some family bloodlines have a gift for healing, and it's really really rare... There hasn't been any for generations, that I know of."

"There are other, more interesting people to pick from if you absolutely have to be ruled by someone. Like the crowned ones, there are plenty of them that can do amazing things... My best friend, Kehar, is like that, he makes it rain when he is sad, and when he gets angry you can feel the wind start to blow all around... I used to tease him really badly when I was little because I wanted to see it" she admitted, the grin she made carrying equal parts guilt and sharp-toothed mirth that hinted she might not necessarily have stopped teasing just because they became older.

"Our herd was a mixed group really.. A few clans of us double wings, some horned families, barren strays that didn't want to stay with their own herds and quite a few travelers of other creatures that were on their way from one place to another and ended up staying with us rather than continuing onwards... We even had a lion with us for a while, but she left after just a season because it became too tempting for her to remain."

The memory made her eyes shimmer and dazzle with memories for a long while as she moved through the forest, sustained by new hope and the promise of food and rest - but eventually this high spirit faded and Riel grew quiet again, subdued as reality returned to her. It was all well and good that she would be able to keep looking for them all, but even her optimistic nature couldn't stifle the probability that most of the families likely had separated by now. They had been a loose community joined together by convenience - and if one group was separated from the others they likely wouldn't bother searching for the rest for more than a few hours. The people she really needed to find was her parents and two siblings; or any who could tell her where they had gone. She told Ampere all of this too, but after that the gold-skinned sparrow seemed to close up on herself, retreating into memories and unspoken hopes and wishes - anything that would let her cope with the loneliness that seemed to squeeze all breath from her lungs.



@[Ampere]
ooc: we can keep going if you want to, I'd love to wrap things up soon tho. :3

Sadness sinks, and look, the night comes to an end.
Let's go searching for you
And your warmth, in a world yet unseen.