Worry quickly faded into a smile when she explained what she “had heard” about Mesec - he even breathed out a quick chuckle at the mention of skin fungus. Whatever reason she had for saying these light-hearted things, whether it because there had not been any rumours or because the real rumours didn’t actually matter to her (or whatever other motive she had), he appreciated the effort to make a joke out of the situation. Visibly, he relaxed after hearing her light tone, watching as she began to walk. He stayed where he was, that smile still warmed up his dark face, eyes bright in the light of the mare’s halo. Shaking his head to diminish the chuckle, sending droplets of water against the cave wall, he responded in kind. “Ah yes, luckily the... cactus juice has cleared up the skin fungus.” The returning of the joke fumbled in his mouth but it hopefully the effort would still be recognizable.

He briefly wondered whether drinking cactus juice would be easy or whether you’d just end up with a muzzle full of spines and have to go find someone with a companion to help pluck them out, one-by-one.

But his mind was soon distracted by such silly thoughts as those when she asked if he would care to accompany “this old hag” on her journey down, deeper into the caves. Old and hag were not words that Mesec would have used to describe the mare before him. When your mother was ageless, it skewed your view on what was considered old or not. Nothing was old when you compared it to the Moon, or the Earth, or the Sun. He wasn’t really sure about Time itself, perhaps they all just started existing at the same time. And hag, well, perhaps this exotic mare was a witch but she certainly wasn’t an ugly one. “I would be happy to.” Exploring the caves again, especially when accompanied by the soft light of a halo and some stories, seemed like a great way to wait out the storm. Another glance outside and the constant rumble of the let him know that the rain would not be letting up anytime in the near future. He couldn’t say he minded the company he had happened across, however.

He moved then to join her as they faced the pathway that would lead downward and then step by step moved deeper into the caves until the mouth opens up and the red glow of the heart’s lava joins in with the gentle white glow coming from his company. The residual rain water continued to drip off of him, slower now, from the long tendrils of his mane and tail as they clung damply to his silver-lined skin. The impact onto the ground echoed just slightly whenever it hit stone, but presently he spoke - using a hushed tone. When he had last been here, the caves had been filled with the population of Helovia - you would be hard pressed to find somewhere that a voice was not at least echoing off of the cavern walls. Now, though, with the absence of so many bodies, he couldn’t bring himself even to speak at his normal volume - his voice would simply echo too much. “You know my name, might I know yours?” Mesec felt he should get to know those that he shared a herd with, at least by name, and felt a little embarrassed over the fact that she had seemed familiar with his name where he had no knowledge of hers.

sorry for the wait! <3 @[Maren]


I’m trying to find my direction home, ______________
A question of space, a matter of time, _______
I follow the stars until the first light.