Life outside the Basin was much more enticing than life within… The snow still fell and the wind still howled, but it was such a relief to escape the winter wonderland I now called home that they were but small aggravations in hindsight. I didn’t have to romp through ten feet of snow mounds or shiver to death while I slept, which made me question my choice to join forces with the north in the first place. At least I was surrounded with company; that was the sole reason I’d stuck around in the first and probably last place.

However, wandering through the wilds of Helovia held a certain charm now that it hadn’t before. I knew where I would return to and I knew that I would again be surrounded by –somewhat- caring faces. Wasn’t that the point of pledging allegiance to a herd? I guesses it was or at least hoped it was because I tended to be one lazy son of an expletive.

Though I hadn’t planned on venturing too far from the frozen pit called home, somehow I had managed to end up in the lovely haven that was the Heavenly Fields. The effects of Frostfall did not exempt the land from snow and ice, but the amount of “terrible white death”, as I called it, was considerably less. In fact, it was nice to amble along the mountain pass until I reached the plains just above the mist and the clouds. The view was incredible as well to say the least. It was like looking out over the whole of Helovia and wondering who else might be looking back at you…

Besides, even though I wasn’t regularly an early morning riser, there was a quiet about the place… as if one could spend their days there contemplating life and shit. Of course, I didn’t have much to contemplate considering I’d taken on the task of becoming a damned weaver. I mean, honestly, what did weavers do? I didn’t have a single creative bone in my body aside from the one only the ladies were interested in... But, even that bone was too cold to paint pictures or craft happiness.

And believe me, it crafted some happiness.

With a smile on my face –because I could amuse myself like no one else- I meandered into the fields like the wicked snake of a man I was. I didn’t have anyone to impress or delight and therefore felt no need to arch my neck or flag my tail or do anything other than slouch and appreciate the pure manly comfort of it. I’d intended to dig up some dried grass and munch on the tasteless remains of spring, but when I dipped my head to inspect a few browned stalks that I’d dug up in haste, I caught sight of a particularly rare beauty.

For a moment I paused, my head hanging low and my mouth open, before I could fully understand how the hell I’d missed the presence of the mare. I was staring pretty fixedly at her through duel-colored eyes and soon –because how could I ignore that kind of loveliness- I was approaching her with a slight grin. “Kind of cold to be making snow angels love…” I stated casually. “I’m Atlas by the way.”

Staring down at such curious creatures had become something of a routine since I’d arrived in Helovia, but never before had that creature been a mare or such a fine-looking mare as this. Her coat seemed to catch all the morning light and cast it aside in small shafts of color until it bled onto the snow in a puddle of yellow, purple, and pink. There was a small golden circle that peeked up at me from the right side of her neck as she moved about, and I watched it rise and fall as she spoke. When she finally announced herself as Eden, I smiled like a foolish little boy. “Eden the snow angel,” I remarked as she rolled over to expose her underside to me. She was clever and funny… that was something I could certainly get behind. “I guess if it’s the only time for snow angels,” I replied to her former comment, “-then I should join you?”

Without waiting for her answer, I knelt down slowly before dropping heavily into the snow bank alongside her. When I’d adjusted to the cold of the icy blanket of white, I turned to stare at her once more as she rolled about, intent on leaving her impression in the Fields until the next flurry. “Where does Eden the snow angel come from?” I asked nonchalantly as I watched. I wasn’t yet sold on the idea of rolling about in the mud and the muck… It just didn’t seem to be as fun as Eden made it appear. Besides, I’d underestimated how cold it might actually be. I wasn’t a fan of the driving heat in summer, but I sure as hell couldn’t tolerate the frigid winds of winter either.

Shifting, I pulled my legs beneath me so that my underbelly wasn’t pressed into the snow. I thought about just giving in and rolling onto my back with Eden, but I still possessed a small shred of self-respect and I wasn’t about to expose my star-studded coat to the mercy of winter’s touch. Instead I reached out toward the mare’s golden circle, hoping to run my muzzle along the soft slope of her neck. “I wouldn’t be so trusting of strangers if I were you,” I warned as we relaxed together. “Not everyone is me.”