Hearth

My dreaming had been sweet nothingness, an outward bonding with the rhythm of my breathing and the hum of the wind through the grasses but is at last disturbed by a hammering in the earth, a tremor I feel through my own body, the unmistakable beat of hooves thundering over the soil. Instinct naturally breaks me from my rest, whatever my resistance, and in the haze of my waking I felt the heat of the sun vanish from my back as a shadow cast from unfurled wings overtakes me, if just for a moment.

From my side I raise my face to meet another peering down upon me, our gazes meeting fleetingly as he considered me with some worry curving the corners of his maw. He is not wrong to think that way and I forgive the youthful colt his frank invasion of my space. No doubt I am an oddity to lie like this, especially for a winged beast, for it is not wantonly that beings of my kind do so lightly. It is a risk for us, a slight towards pride even, for those who have it, to lie upon the ground so openly and vulnerable. But such was my exhaustion from my endeavor and I feel no shame in my chosen method of respite, nor could I ever be made to regret it. Besides, in truth, I was not all that harmed and could have well fled at the first signs of the colts coming if I had chose too.

His voice, so young still, chimes in my ears and in kind I chuckle faintly, putting strength then into my legs to raise my ponderous bulk well above the colt and stand beside him. " By nothing that won't mend in time easily." I say calmly and resolutely, smiling back to reassure him of my state. I do in fact bare marks from my trials with the storm and it pains me only a little that they are discernable. I could hardly expect otherwise. Among the feathering of my great wings there are a number of broken shafts, gaps that hinder the lift necessary to give me flight and won't be repaired till my next molt. Thankfully flight still comes to me easily enough. Beneath my skin there yet remains a soreness in my body and in the arms of my wings most of all, a pain which perhaps will linger for yet a few more rises of the sun and moon but I am not fretted by that fact. I know my mortal body and how it heals, knowledge all travelers’ posses. It is not the first hardship I have faced.

In another moment I learn the name of the youth and quickly I peg it to the form before me. I take comfort in being in the presence of my own kind, it beckons at the memories of older days I can no longer lavish in, but I can't withhold the surprise at being found by one so young as he. I reckon him to be near his second year at the most, right on the bridge of colt and stallion and I would be lying if I said he did not impress me. I am not a weak-kneed mare by any means, nor am I shallow enough to be wooed by appearance alone but I can appreciate beauty and strength when I see it. Already he had the promise of a formidable form. The sun shined brilliantly on the jet of his coat, the jagged white marking on his face was a fitting mask for his prideful baring and the steeliness of his eyes. My own were a cool shade such as his, save mine was of a deeper hue, and where his eyes were bare I had a pupil of ember. On his sides drooped massive wings while his brow bore two black horns, the first I've ever seen on a Pegasus before. Most notable, strangely enough, was his tail. It was leonine and tufted with feathers where my own was equine, shielded under a small length of tail feathers.

The admiration was mutual between us it seemed.

Oh, I did not miss the subtly in his gaze, young though he was, and I gave a quiet chuckle as I offered my name in return with a curt nod." Hearth is mine." I offer, ruffling my wings a bit to comfort them before making a pass at the grasses around me. I see no reason why I can't feed and have a conversation at the same time.

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"blahblahblah." Speaking
Thoughts

OOC: Tag please. It serves as a good reminder for me. Also, if you need Hearth to talk more, I'll give her a nudge.

For flame, for heart