They twist their backs to the great monument and it’s backdrop of blue and white peaks. No one seems to neither notice nor be concerned with their departure; her and bird are unseen as they move quietly away from the Basin refuge. In time she will have to mend the relationship with her herd – or lack of one, rather. Although when she starts to really dwell on the matter it seems both parties are at fault. Why does the Basin struggle to hold it’s own crown in place – everyone has abandoned or stepped down, not to mention almost always hastily being chosen upon. Her opinions fire, one after another and so on before she finally snaps out of it a few moments later. She moves across the icy land bridge, moonlight dancing across her silvery patched back. Her hair is long and thickened with the snowy months setting into her bones; she remains warm even with the night’s bitter coldness. It is a windless night tonight, a half moon looming and ever watchful of the pair’s movements. Ribbons of light sharpen Phrixus’ bright white feathers as he swoops and glides just ahead of the jogging mare. She keeps a steady pace into the deeper, blacker night of the mid-southern parts, purposely passing close to the Hidden Fall’s border – close enough to hear the rumble of the churning water, which she stops to listen to for a few minutes before moving on. Those growling waters will be frozen solid soon enough. She stays off of the common paths as she descends further south, using an even mix of deer and wolf trails instead. Finally she makes her way passed the Threshold and into the Forest.

“Ahhh.” She sucks in a deep, satisfied breath with a hum of relief meeting the cold night air. She lets a firm side-kick burst from her hind end, flicking and slashing her thin silky tail as she skips around in celebration. Phrixus dances in wide, wavy circles around her, weaving close and chawing with glee when she bucks. This goes on for only a minute or so before the pair begins moving farther into the wooded realm, looking around carefully as they do so. Snow crunches beneath her split, delicate toes and the trees above are disturbed by the occasional landing of the raven, spilling their snowy load with a sprinkling sound each time. It is a typical midnight wintry scene, breath frozen in cloudy puffs with each breath, the snow blue and silver and whatever other colors it feels like adopting under the moon’s light. It seems to chameleon under the chrome rays peaking through the fir branches. She stops to listen to her surroundings every few steps, her ears moving slowly to pluck any suspicious sound there could possibly be. Phrixus circles above, his keen blue eyes hardly ever miss much…especially at night.




“”

Grey eyes shimmered silver in the moonlight as the blue femme picked her way through the forest. If she has learned anything during her short time in Helovia, it was that there never seemed to be an issue in finding a moment of silence and solitude. She used this time to explore, learning the foreign landscape. The moon lit her path, despite it only being half it's full size. The pale light reflected in her white spots, and in the moonlit dapples she appeared to have actual stars in her coat.

The freshly fallen snow muffled the typical noises of the wilderness. The boughs of the trees creaked beneath the weight of the snow. Ki'irha wound gracefully around the bases of the trees, her lithe form unobstructed by the short snow around her hocks. She came to a small clearing, with the upper branches of the trees breaking enough to cast a solid ray of moonlight into the center. There was something so refreshing, so rejuvenating, about fresh snow. The young mare burst into the clearing, kicking out and rearing, daggers slicing the frozen air. A light laugh rang from her, filling the clearing with the sound of bells and warmth. She dropped and rolled, a tangle of long limbs, tail, and a body just coming into adulthood. She rolled in the snow, her flailing tossing up a flurry of white. Cloven hooves clawed at the sky.

When she had her fill, she rolled onto her stomach, legs folded neatly beneath her. She looked to the sky, tracing the constellations in the inky sky. She thought back to her mother, how she had taught Ki'irha the named of the constellations, and where to find them in the sky. Despite her mother being gone, those constellations remained familiar and true.

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Tagged// @[Tangere]
OOC// Hope you don't mind if I hop in here!

The raven makes a purring sound as he swoops down from his circling above the trees and then again he’s gone back up. The mare knows what this means and tilts her soft brown eyes up into the milky light of the moon to watch which direction the bird disappears into. She follows him carefully, picking up the giggling and the tip-tapping of the girl’s dancing feet. She can see the clearing and stops short, her paleness helping her blend easily into the ridged shadows of the trees and snow mounds bordering the clearing. Phrixus is silent as he makes wide circles above the girl and by now he can recognize her; he has a keen sense of observation and way of remembering every face he sees amongst the Basin’s meetings. The current of thought, images and feeling flood Tangere’s mind – her bonded companion is telling her where the girl is from and what she looks like by day. The silvery painted unicorn smiles to herself and steps out into the light as the starry mare rolls into a laying position.

“That seems like a perfectly wonderful idea, my dear.” her voice gentle and silky against the frozen air. She drops delightedly into the fresh powder, tossing once or twice before mimicking the posture of the mare next to her. Now both are lying quaintly in the snowy grove, a pair of unicorn warrior women – more in common than they even know. The raven lands above them, hidden in the gnarled branches of a snowy fir tree that looms off to the side of the pair. “I am Tangere…and him..” She flicks her amber eyes upward, “He is Phrixus.” She returns her glassy eyes back to the mares own slate, cloudy stare, “You’re of the Basin too, yes?” A smile spreads easily across her marbled pink lips after her voice is done, her gaze grinning just the same beneath those long white lashes.

A voice broke the frosty silence. A gentle feminine voice, smooth as silk, betrayed her solitude. Her head snaked around in time to see a silver and white form emerge from the trees. But before the dark mare had time to clamber to her feet, the newcomer joined her in the snow. Embarrassed shock turned to a warm smile as she watched the strange mare, a kindred spirit, toss and roll in the snow. "There's something about fresh snow that reminds me of being a filly." She smiled, nostalgic for a moment. She wasn't allowed to be a simple filly for long, though. After her first Frostfall, her father began her training. Everything changed after that. But the young warrior would not bore the newcomer with her past. "It's amazing how, despite the time that passes, a moment like this can bring you right back."

The silver mare mirrored Ki'irha, settling into the now disturbed snow. "It's lovely to meet you, Tangere." Tangere glanced skyward, and Ki'rha did the same, looking for the raven. She could not see him amongst the tangled knots of the canopy. "It's lovely to meet him, too. Is he a companion? What is he? I've only met one before." The concept of companions had interested her since the moment she had learned of them.

The femme mentioned the Basin. Ki'irha did not recognize her, but then again she had met so many new unicorns recently that it was very well possible they had crossed paths. Perhaps it was at the herd meeting? "Yes, I am a newly joined member of the Basin, for now just a citizen, but I am looking to move up to a warrior rank. My name is Ki'irha. My apologies if we have met before, it has been a lot to take in. Are you from the Basin?" With the question, her head tipped slightly to the side.

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OOC//
Tagged// @[Tangere]

She watches the mare’s lovely, young face as she talks of her reminiscence. Tangere recognizes the distant look in the girl’s eyes, one of bitter and warm memories alike, swimming together in her mind and body. She looks back to the sky, humming in agreement as she sucks in another deep cleansing breath. Time is not real. It is bendable, twistable, dangerous and playful. It seems so linear, but all of the wisest know that is not so.

She nods to the ‘lovely to meet you’ formalities, a smile holding steadily across her mottled pink lips. She follows Ki’irha’s eyes to the pine branches and purrs an odd call from her delicate mouth. Phrixus comes quickly after the call, falling at a dive and then letting his wings swiftly spread to land softly across Tangere’s withers. “He is indeed my companion, and I his.” The white raven, much more enormous than a typical raven, flicks his wings and makes a few clicking noises, his icy blue eyes carefully picking over Ki’s features. “He is a raven from I don’t know where… he was given to me as an egg when I became trapped, we were being hunted by the wraiths, with the others a few years ago.” She says this so matter of factly – she assumes that Ki’irha knows exactly what she speaks of. “We’ve been together ever since.” She lets a satisfied sigh slip out, turning her head to nuzzle at Phrixus’s broad white wing, he in return pokes lovingly at her cheeks.

Her temporarily distracted focus returns to the mare. “Oh no, we have not met – I have been gone for months. But I did see you, or rather Phrixus saw you, at the herd meeting the other day.” She tosses down into the snow once more, a half heart roll, Phrixus hops down on the ground just in time to not be crushed. He does the same as his companion, rolling about and rustling the fresh snow. The silvered unicorn chuckles, “He loves it as well.” She sits up but remains laying on folded limbs, covered in bits of clinging snow that sparkles in the ribbons of chrome moonlight.

A soft noise slips from the silver mare's lips. It was a sound like velvet, a gentle purr. Like a secret language, it called the large white avian from the canopy. Like a stray leaf, he spiraled down on silent wings. She told Ki'irha of the beginning of their companionship. She spoke of being trapped, of wraiths. The midnight mare tipped her head to the side, confused. "Sounds like quite a story. Care to share it with me?"

Watching the pair interact made Ki'irha admittedly jealous. To have a companion, a bond like no other, how lucky the pair must be. Tangere rolled back into the snow, and the raven followed suit. The bird seemed to provide "eyes in the sky." I'll have to remember that, she noted. This duo seemed friendly, but less favorable beasts, she was sure, had similar advantages.

"So it sounds like you know some history of the Basin. I was hoping you could tell me about it. Is it a good place to call home? I plan on serving in their military, I just want to be sure their intentions rest in the best interest of the herd." Her voice seemed to hang heavy in the air. This moment was so perfect, she feared she may ruin it.

It had taken Ki'irha too long to realize she was a simple pawn in her father's plans. She did not want to resume that position here. She didn't even know, truthfully, the herd's beliefs, or what they stood for. She hoped it was a plan she could believe in.

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OOC// Shitty post is shitty. I figure a little history lesson may stoke the muse lol
Tagged// @[Tangere]

Ki’rha listens intently, her smoky eyes wide. Like a filly hearing a children’s story, she hangs off of every word. A world swallowed by darkness is described by the mare laying across from her. She felt a ripple course down her hide, and she was thankful she was not around during a time of such fear, full of monsters and demons. But the raven sounded like a moment of light during such a difficult time.

If Ki’irha loved anything, it was stories. You could tell a lot about someone by the stories they shared, the way they wove their words together, how they reacted to sharing a moment in time. The blue mare paid attention to every detail, as each detail was shared and remembered for a reason. It was weaving those details together in the end that was the hard part, but Ki’irha had enough spare time, and enjoyed the task enough, that she didn’t mind.

Ki’irha rose to her feet, huffing as she felt the creaking in her joints caused by the cold. She shook herself clean of the snow, but small clumps of snow still remained in the curls of her mane. The silver splashed mare then moved on to discuss the Aurora Basin. The terms used, vicious, hard, and terrifying, were typically unsettling, but for Ki’irha it sounded like safety. A herd with structure was a herd that was predictable in its own respects, but dangerous and strong to its enemies. Despite her warmth and kind affect, she was an brutal warrior, and wanted those terms to follow her, to show what would be coming if she was challenged. She nodded at the proper moments during Tangere’s lesson, taking it in. Despite the obvious supremacy the Basin herd had, she was almost comforted in the fact that the horn that crowned her head gave her a place of safety and refuge. ”So, those unlike us, without a horn upon their brow, they aren’t welcome?” The question was innocent, coming from a mind not yet certain on her beliefs.

When the midnight mare heard talk of the military, on their strengths, she was pleased. She laughed outwardly, though, upon mention of taking the position of general. ”I’m a little rusty, I must admit,” she replied, a fleeting smile on her lips. ”I should probably brush up on my skills and prove myself before I try to take a position of power.” A general. Though she couldn’t imaging walking up and demanding the position, perhaps it would be a possibility. If approached, she would consider it. Her eyes got distant, and she saw herself in the future, a proud Queen of War, standing proud on a battlefield. The smile from before tugged again at the corners of her lips. ”Maybe one day, I can dream.”

She came back to the present, and looked back to the mare sharing the grove with her. Her raven resumed his place hidden in the canopy. The night was growing old, despite the still twinkling stars. Time could never recaptured, but Ki’irha didn’t mind wasting the time with a kindred spirit.


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OOC// I have to say, I absolutely love how you call her Ki. I’ll have to keep that tucked away for later.
Tagged// @[Tangere]
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