With the turn of the season, Mesec was determined to not let his responsibilities lapse and actually take part in a patrol. His assigned partners this time were familiar faces - the young Aakesh, who had introduced himself at the herd meeting, and Gaucho. He looked forward to catching up with the Sultan and updating him on his progress - finally having chosen which ranks to join. And he looked forward to seeing the colt again as well, hopefully he had patched things up with his father.

Mesec, with Lucius holding tight, regretfully left the relative warmth of the Throat and flew northward. Indeed, Gaucho was not hard to miss - a bright orange spot in a white landscape. Tilting his wings, Mesec glided into a landing - feeling the crunch of the snow beneath his hooves with the impact and the steps that followed as he moved to catch up. “Hello Gaucho.” He greeted the older stallion with a friendly smile and a nod - folding his wings tightly against his sides to keep in as much of the warmth of his core where it was needed. L

ucius, despite the chill, was curious about the companions that were perched atop Gaucho’s head and was clamouring up Mesec’s mane to get a better look. The young zephyr was still a mass of black, purple, silver, and teal down feathers - though his beak and talons were already formidable. The rest of his body just hadn’t caught up yet. Once atop Mesec’s head he peered over at the other companions with obvious curiosity. He did not yet call out to them, choosing instead to watch.

After flinching slightly when Lucius the base of his twisted horn, Mesec’s attention turned from Gaucho to the scenery - the bitterly cold scenery. His winter coat was not growing in as well as it had before, not after spending Tallsun and Orangemoon in the Throat, and he was feeling the difference. “Certainly a long way from the Throat, aren’t we?” Although he had visited the Basin recently as part of an ambassador, every time he visited the north it still felt strange. He had gone so long between visits and now it was seeming to be a fairly regular thing. Perhaps they would run into Ophelia while they were up here - he did not know that she had moved herd lands.

At Gaucho’s question, Mesec smiled and his silver eyes flickered up to look at what he could see of the down-covered companion. “Yes. This is Lucius. He… we found each other recently.” Although he had intended to explain that Lucius had been a gift, the explanation of who from made him shy away from touching the subject any further. They had cleared up the air regarding Mesec’s guilt about what had happened last year when his mother possessed Gaucho, but he did not think it polite to cast around casual mention of the dark goddess. More than that, though, he was embarrassed and ashamed to admit that he had accepted what may very well turn out to be a bribe from his mother. He had been scolded by her messenger for just those thoughts as well - leaving him no less confused about his feelings towards that unearthly parent than before.

Luckily, Lucius got his attention when the zephyr started flapping his four wings to imitate what Vorsa was doing. He called back to her, his voice in a surprisingly low octave despite his age. There was nothing shrill about that call, one day - it would command attention. He had not yet seen another zephyr and, though he would not admit it, admired the elder companion in her fiery glory. Maybe he might have managed to get a little bit of lift if he would just let go of the death grip that he had on the twisted black horn of his bonded - but those pale feet were not loosening their grip.

Mesec just wanted to shake his head to see if he could loosen that iron grip but worried about sending the young zephyr flying off into the snow. “It’s so strange, having to care for something so small… though I don’t think he’ll be depending on me for much very soon. Those talons will be able to rip hearts out soon enough.” Worry creeped into his voice as he spoke about Lucius - he did not know how big the zephyr was going to get. He knew there were some companions that behaved wildly, causing problems. He might have asked Ampere for suggestions on how to teach Lucius but he had been steadfastly avoiding his friend ever since the egg had hatched. 

Mesec's attention turning back to Gaucho, he remembered that there was something he had been meaning to bring up with the Sultan. “Oh, I’ve been speaking with Cera, and I’d like to join the ranks to help the herd as a crafter - if that’s still alright.” He wanted to be as useful as possible in the Throat, and hoped that they could use some crafters.  “We… the other demi-gods and I recently found out that we had some innate healing powers that I can contribute should the need ever arise as well.” Peace never seemed to be overly constant in Helovia, though if anyone could maintain peace in their lands he had faith that it was Gaucho. He remembered how Aithniel had been there at the herd meeting, asking him who everyone was.