In the soft evening light that filtered down through tall canopies, light and shadow reached for one another in a merry tumble of tag among the trees. Reaching here and there as branches swayed and sighed in a gentle afternoon breeze, they danced through the thin veil of mist without a sound, laughing voicelessly at the two mares that squared off against one another in a different kind of game. One had noticed the creeping fog, so out of place in this smothering heat, yet chose not to speak of it, and the other had opted to disregard it as yet another peculiarity so commonplace in Helovia, of import only should it begin to cause harm to herself.

No, of more immediate interest was the pathetic, dwarfed wings that flapped and flailed behind the ears of the smart-mouthed girl. She didn't mean to stare, yet somehow Shadow couldn't seem to peel her eyes from the pale appendages, so similar yet fundamentally different from her own raven feathers. Jewel-bright eyes followed them back and forth as they moved to accentuate the words of their owner, weaving an elaborate tale that the blackbird stopped listening to about partway through. Her expression seemed to change from near anger to a stubborn, bull-headed patience, but inwardly the pegasus merely yawned and regretted she'd gone through the trouble to react at all.

"Yeah yeah, whatever" she said eventually, rolling her eyes as dark legs turned her sideways - a tuft of juicy green grass caught her eye and received a swift, merciful end beneath starving ivories. "Sorry I said anything. But I mean... that's a really weird way to start off a conversation, ya know? If you want to be friends, just say so from the start... How's a mare supposed to know unless horses come clean and spit it out?" She was no mind reader after all, nor was she very patient. Shadow couldn't exactly say she was delighted to have made this particular acquaintance either, but it was far less of a hassle than staying angry.

"So, Maren, was it? I'm Shadow. You from around these parts?" She actually paused in her grazing for a moment, dark head rising to give the other a new, thorough look-over, at once sharp and fleeting; the kind of look that appeared to cut through everything and forget nothing. It wasn't until now that the Blackbird noticed that she actually was taller than the flightless pegasus before her; unconsciously she stretched up a bit, puffing her emaciated body to look as big as it could. It wasn't every day she encountered someone that couldn't look down on her... that alone would serve to make this a pleasant encounter.


@[Maren]