Cheska had only just retrieved the bucket when she was met with a mare, the first she'd seen who could match her in height or size. She held still while the other plastered a leaf to the bucket and let out a surprised squeak as it became watertight again. "Sanks!" she chirped appreciatively. A quick mind was a welcome asset in any situation, as far as she was concerned, and despite the slightly chilly greeting, Cheska was pleased as punch to have run across a helpful team. When Auriel similarly pasted over the hole, she grinned outright. She was quick to acknowledge the new names and the help, filing them away under favors she owed. She managed to slur a thank you and a nice to meet you around the bucket handle, nodding warmly toward the stallion not far behind.

Then just like that, all her goodwill toward the pair evaporated. Well, that escalated quickly. Every hair on the back of her neck prickled as the draft addressed her little friend and insulted her family. Gasp! Swearin, you say? Well, I never in my life heard a sin quite so egregious! Of course, the bitter sarcasm she kept to herself, instead warily keeping watch over the ensuing exchange and pondering on Auriel's yet unnamed exploding sister. She tried to imagine what an exploding child looked like, but even for her it was a step too morbid and she suppressed a cringe. Even Auriel seemed unsure about the combustible filly's true nature, but it wasn't Cheska's style to judge sight unseen. And she expected the same courtesy to be extended to her friends. She got the distinct impression that neither of them was all that familiar with the filly.

So when the exclamations and accusations started flying, she took the defensive. She set her bucket down, trying to look intimidating. She wasn't a fighter. She was a storyteller. And here the grand story was that she was willing to fight. "Then I suppose it's Oxy you ought to be having words with. The girl hasn't raised a hoof against you." She moved just ever so slightly in front of Auriel, instinctively sizing up the potential threat. She'd taken hits from horses bigger than Snow White there for horses she liked less than her spitfire Auriel and lived (though her hip still ached a little in thunderstorms). It was the horns she was worried about. She'd never faced a unicorn before. She tried to comfort the sudden storm of tension inside of her with logic. Neither of them looked insane enough to assault a child for the sins of her father (or sister), but she didn't know the first thing about them.

She wasn't thrilled when Auriel escalated the situation, but she was only a child defending her family. She could be afforded some latitude. "Settle down," she cooed to the little one at her side, simultaneously trying to diffuse her and the tension amongst them. "Nobody's hurtin anybody here," She said deliberately, eying the two adults from under her thick lashes. "Besides, we've all got an important job to do."

So much for that owed favor. Cheska chalked it up towards making sure nobody took a horn to the chest ares (or wherever else Auri could reach) and turned to follow her partner, bucket handle balanced on the bridge of her nose. She swung her head back momentarily. "Good luck to you." Hope you don't drown horribly in a flood!