It had been a long time since she had spied the arches of the Rotunda. She had been here a handful of times before, admired the way the arches rose from the tundra surrounds, she had hidden in their columns within, sheltered from the rain and storms that raged outside.

The storms, of course, had been of her own making.

As the mare ran her maw along the edge of the entrance of the great structure, she breathed in the morning air. It was chilly, the seasons were shifting, the days growing shorter and the breeze more often than not cooler as it wove its way through her tresses of mane and tail. The young warrioress swung her tail to and fro as she decided not to enter the building just yet - she was on patrol, she could explore its innards more when her herdmates arrived.

Time trickled by, as the Sun rose up over the horizon and peeked through the leaves that were turning vibrant hues of orange and red, the mare reflected on the last time she was here. I never got to explore this place with you she thought sadly, though the sadness wasn't as consuming as it had been the last time she had come here. She remembered the dream, the virtual reliving of all the dreadful times in her life, the vivid remembrance of her father dying, her mother's estrangement, her companion's departure…

She blinked back the tears, swallowed her fears and walked on, ready for what the day would bring her.

---

@[Sikeax] & @[Cathun] & @[Rei]
Patrol time!
Open for anyone else too :)

with love, Cirrus

The storm had come unexpectedly. I became aware of it as the air suddenly cooled around me, teasing its chilled fingers across my back and flank as the warmth fled like prey before a predator. Startled, I watched as its heavy and cumbersome form crowd the open skies around me, seemingly congealing from nothingness of its own accord like a living plume of ashen grey, sealing away the sun and saturating the atmosphere with the promise of rain and the scent of ozone. The suddenness of its arrival was surreal but I had no chance to ponder as my great wings are jolted firmly with the breath of the newborn storm, as if sent to scoff at my doubt

Rain gently tapped against the heat of my skin, at first shyly before picking up tempo into a proper shower. My great wings shudder at there touch and I have no choice but to withdraw into the forest below for shelter lest my wings become too burdened to fly. I aim for a clearing, finding something familiar below, and land just outside of the rotunda before darting into the threshold of the archway. Rain droplets tickle my sides as they drip from me and I vigorously shake myself to rid the sensation from my body, noticing only then after I had spread water in every which direction that I was not alone. It was a faint sway of motion that attracted my attention and it took me a few moments to glean the others shape against the back drop, for her coat mirrored uncannily the weather that stormed overhead, acting as a form of camouflage. Even standing still one could note how it moved, a matter that bemused me. A most curious mortal appearance indeed.

"Clever rain, don't you think?"" I say after a moment, offering the cloud-mare a gentle smile if she cared to look. " No matter where it falls, it catches all it seeks – even me, time to time. Though, I'm not fond of being damp..."


"Talking"
@[Cirrus]

Wetness, wasn't a foreign concept to her. Surrounded by the weather as she was, not only experiencing its shifts and moods, but affecting them herself, the cloudmare was adept to knowing what the heavens were going to unleash on the world below. The storm that dances across the sky danced across her very hide; the sorrow she felt shed itself in tears from the pregnant clouds above rather than from the watery pools of cerulean that gave her vision. So it rained, it poured - yet her mood did not dampen, not as it normally would. No, the mare had cried much less recently - she had allowed her magic to take the burden of her tears from her, allowed herself to feel through the skies that marked her coat - if anything, she was more expressive this way, for her tears fell all across her body, not just down the hard lines of her face.

In truth, the rain that fell outside was more of a refresher, a delightful shower, that while blocked the Sun while it lasted, would allow the life it touched to blossom again as soon as it dissipated. Already the cloudmare could feel it lightening, lifting, as her own inner turmoils settled into some semblance of order and sense - already the clouds overhead were breaking apart and allowing her Lord's light to show the glistening, glittering droplets left behind on all matter of life.

Within the Rotunda the cloudmare didn't feel the wetness that was outside, and it was only when another entered that she even thought of those outside. Oops, her thoughts bumped against one another, as something like sheepishness caused her to swallow awkwardly, her gaze following the other quietly as droplets cascaded from feathers and limbs alike - droplets she had created without thought or care.

I need to be more careful, she reminded herself, not for the first time, especially recently. Though she had lived years enough to learn the lesson, it seemed to be a hard one to stick - maybe she did know it once, but the trauma that rocked her soul had left only fragments behind - perhaps the part of her that thought more of others than herself was lost with the departure of her soulmate, her Sitka.

"Who are you?" her voice cracks as it speaks, as if it has not been used in some time, though it is not lack of use that cracks it, but a quiet, silent guilt. Cirrus didn't know what else to say to this striped stranger, and so she asked for something else, some sort of conversation that would make sense to her warrior's mind; the identity of one who intrudes upon her space.

---

@[Hearth]
yay :D

with love, Cirrus

I was admiring the cloud mare's coat, watching its intricacy, both subtle and apparent as her coat transmuted the surroundings around her in perfect harmony. It was as if she were truly of the storm itself and while most might be questioning now if they were seeing a vision or other surreal thing, I knew a true being of flesh stood before me with certainty. A gifted being of flesh at that, too. I could smell her even beneath the heavy petrichor and I was also not so unused to the concept of magic as others might think to me to be either, so I was not frightened in the least. She seemed a bit sheepish for my current state as if it was in part her fault as the water peeled from my coat and feathers. I couldn't help but muster a warm chuckle in my throat at the possible sentiment.

" Don't fret, I'm not prone to piety colds after a mere dampening." I said warmly with a faint smile on my maw, extending a wing so that I may tend to it and started to strain the water from my precious feathers with my maw. " I'm too big for that." I added after a moment, pausing in my grooming to reveal a mirthful glint in my ember-fashioned eyes at the cloud mare, poking at my size and the fact that I was indeed bigger then her. I don't know why I felt so playful all of a sudden but the near presence of the cloud mare seemed to provoke me so, almost compelled me to jest. Perhaps its was simply the charged nature of the storm infecting me, animating even the most docile and lethargic of beings into action.

When asked who I was I complied willingly, giving her my attention as I shoke the wing I was working on to dispel a few stubborn drops of rainwater from its tips. " Hearth, my dear cloud mare." My ears flicker to the side as they caught the approaching footsteps of another traveler crossing the threshold of the Rotunda, this one also a mare and of the horned variety. I was still amused by this kind of being having never encountered them before outside of this land till now. The last one I had met was the Fox Mother, Sacre. This one was a pale dun rather then black, however, and she appeared rough and beaten. I felt a pang for her then, knowing what struggle could be all too well. It was the geas of a traveler.

" So the rains catches another." I mused aloud in welcoming tones. " Welcome to the refuge." I bow my head in polite greeting, hearing her question for my identity at the same moment. " Hearth is who I am." I repeat patiently, waiting in turn to hear the names of my company.



"Talking"
@[Cirrus]
@[Sikeax]

Her question was to be answered by two, it would seem - though Cirrus paid attention to the mare that looked like burning embers first, listening to the comely mare's words with a curious, yet guarded expression upon her façade. This other one was an Outcast, to be certain - Cirrus held no fear nor real opinion of them, having been one for long enough, she could understand the want of company.. She herself was just inept at providing good company, more oft' than not. But the kindly mare seemed friendly enough, and answered the cloudmare's query with ease - Hearth, Cirrus tried to hold the name in her memory, though she did wonder if she would ever see this mare again. So often did she come across random citizens all over Helovia, so often did she only ever meet them once, and never see them again. How many lives had she touched, caressed with her words or eyes, to never hold them in her sights again? Countless, to be sure, and it wasn't something she wanted to think about any further - particularly because there were certain someones she certainly wanted, no, needed, to see again.

A curious smirk creased the corner of Cirrus' dark maw at the moniker this Hearth placed upon her - cloud mare was accurate enough, for there were indeed clouds trawling across her hide, rolling and toiling just as they were doing in the sky above. Along the underside of her barrel was the blurred, random motion of raindrops, moving even as her frame stood perfectly still (aside from her breathing, of course).

Hearth was a handy mare to have, it would seem, as the champagne healer of the Throat arrived in a grumpy huff, Cirrus would have simply stared in sullen silence if not for the sociable mare's easy, smooth words. "I'm Cirrus, your patrol partner…" she addressed her herdmate first, her words attempting to be gentle but probably coming out slightly harsher - Cirrus was never one for tact or tone, too often did she use her body to communicate her intentions, her voice often forgotten or used to bellow our battle cries. "Pleasure to meet you, Hearth," she added, cerulean pools flashing back to the brindled mare with a smile behind them, her ears pressed forward, her posture overall friendly and open. It was an odd sort of meeting, but then, when had Helovia ever offered her anything but odd?

---

@[Hearth] @[Sikeax]
yay :D

with love, Cirrus