Brother was missing, still - like the others were - and Vastra was living in a constant state of unease. Her family was huge, or so she had been told, and yet little by little they were being chipped away and that left her on her own. She “should” have stayed in the Throat, where she knew it was safe and where she could patiently wait for her family to eventually come back for her, but that had not sat well with her. What if her family needed saving? What if she was the one that could save them? Hiding out in the Throat was the last thing she should do. So she had convinced an adult to help her across - thrilled as always by the short flight with those fiery wings - and then set out on her own.

She travelled westward, following the coast and skirting around the strange marsh and the dead lands so until she ended on the expanse of beach that lined the western edge of Helovia.

The sea was familiar - the sea surrounded her home - and despite the rising panic in the red girl over her family she felt comforted by its presence. Shuffling her down wings, she walked slowly on the edge of the beach - just where the waves moved up the sand so that they would touch her hooves if they were in the right spot for the tide. Overhead, the sun was scorching but still softer than it had been in the Throat and the harsh winds carried promise of a storm later in the afternoon.

Not that Vastra understood those signs, however. The filly had not yet learned them - not yet realized that when the horizon was as dark as it was with the looming clouds she should definitely not leave the safety of the Throat.

Vastra had a mission, a purpose, and her mind was entirely focused on scanning every single patch of sand for signs that her family had been here. She felt as though half of her was missing every time Castor wasn’t around, and she didn’t know how to act or exist without his louder presence there to ground her. Vastra needed to find him again, there was no doubt about that.

It wasn’t long before Vastra realized she was no longer alone on the beach. But instead of the dark, winged form of her brother, it was two golden figures. Neither of them had wings which startled her - she wasn’t yet used to seeing so many flightless creatures. And not just flightless creatures, but the filly was a flightless magician as well. Those flames that danced upon her spine, illuminating the strange bird that perched there, commanded all of young Vastra’s attention as she came to a stop - waiting for the two to approach her.

While the filly drew her attention, dark brown eyes flickered over the colt as well - noting the small creature that tagged along beside him. How were they able to befriend animals in such a manner? Did they raise them? Dozens of questions flashed around her mind and she didn’t even realize just how strongly she was staring at the two of them, absolutely rapt in her curiosity.

There was a hazy memory of a bird, an eagle, that hung around her mother in much the same fashion but Vastra couldn’t remember completely.

“I’m Vastra.” She said, distractedly, watching the hyena as it hunted across the sand and discovered a carcass and she idly wondered what it was. But, regrettably, her attention was pulled back to those of her own kind - or similar to herself at least. “I’m looking for my brother.” It was a statement she had a feeling they would understand - this pair before her looked awfully alike. Much more alike than she was to Castor.

But whether or not she looked like her twin hardly erased their bond, hardly erased the pull on her heart when they were apart. “Have you seen him?” It didn’t occur to her to offer up what her brother looked like, or any other helpful information. The world, as far as she knew, was relatively small - there couldn’t really be that many foals roaming around.