The day was bright and warm, the skies clear and blue overhead. Spread before her was water, white capped waves as far as the eye could see. It was not the first time that Vinati had seen the ocean, but ever since that first fateful day, she had found herself drawn to it. It was beautiful and ever-changing, though she doubted that most would be able to see the subtle differences with each passing day. She, though, was an aspiring artist, and her perception of the world was particularly keen. She could see the way the hues shifted from a deep sapphire to a light teal to a dark grey, all depending on the water's mood. In many ways, the young filly thought of the sea as a living creature, and in many regards, she was right to do so.

Her mother had warned her not to stray too far into the water, warning her of the undertow that threatened to pull even the largest of warriors out to sea. Indeed, when the two-month-old princess stepped into the waves, she could feel the water sucking and pulling at her hooves. Even as young as she was, Vinati was fairly well acquainted with death and its consequences - she could see ghosts, after all - and so she listened to Sohalia's warnings, staying well clear of the strong tides. It was of her limited naive youthful opinion that some of the most beautiful things were also the most dangerous. Why, just look at her ave!

The girl had come to stand upon the rocky shores of the beach again, wandering here and there and admiring the varying shades of blue before her. She wanted to stay long enough to see the sun set - that was her favorite time of day, when the ocean danced a fiery orange and the skies reflected its effervescence. For now, though, she was content to follow the shore, skipping this way and that, periodically stopping to see what kinds of shapes she could draw in the sand if she dragged her hoof just right.

And so it was that she found the lass that she would one day come to know as her half-sister.

The filly, even younger and smaller than Vinati, was seemingly entranced by something out to sea. As the little sand princess made her way closer, she glanced over the waves to spy some kind of odd creatures surfacing, their fins sticking into the air. A small gasp escaped her just as the younger girl nickered; Vinati's attention turned back to her newfound companion, a wide grin on her face. "Hello!" She kept one ear tilted towards the ocean, peeking every now and then towards the smooth, fish-like creatures in the water. "Whatcha doin'?"

Talk.

The little sand princess was pleased to find that her newfound companion was the friendly sort; it would have put quite the damper on her day if the other filly had been rude and bratty. "Hi!" the other filly trilled cheerfully, a smile on her tiny face. Vinati wondered idly if she had ever been that small. Of course, she must have been, at some point - but, as foals are wont to do, the girl had grown in leaps and bounds since the first days after her birth.

Her fellow child pointed a delicate wing towards the water, drawing the ghost-seer's eyes back toward the creatures out at sea. Vinati cocked her head slightly to the side, regarding them with keen interest. Suddenly, a soft crooning emanated from the general direction of the nameless marine animals, startling another gasp from the girl. "No," she admitted. "I've never seen them. I wonder if they'll stay?" she added wistfully, already imagining how she might bend and warp crystal into their shapes. If only the creatures would linger off the coast of the Throat to model for her!

"Oh!" she exclaimed sheepishly after Verro introduced herself. If Sohalia was here, the mare would no doubt lecture her on her bad manners. "I'm Vinati." She grinned. "Nice t'meet you!" Like Verro, the filly could not help but notice that they shared several distinct similarities. Additionally, she was interested to note that her new friend had spirit flames adorning her wings and hooves. It reminded her of her ave, a steed with whom she was enamored, and the association made her like her new friend all the more.

She was, as yet, too young to imagine that perhaps her father had children with someone other than Sohalia, much less the dramatic implications that that could have. In truth, perhaps it was better this way - she was meeting her kin in a completely carefree setting. Later, when she learned the details of her father's... exploits... she would already see Verro as a friend. What difference would it make then?

"Did you come to see the water?" she inquired then, excitement coloring her vocals. Would Verro share her love of all things pretty and appreciate the unique way that she viewed the world?

Talk.

As the pair watched the sea creatures at play, Vinati began to think of just how she would capture their essence in a sculpture. Of course, as young as she was, she didn't yet understand the exact meaning of "essence," nor did she think of her art in such esoteric terms. Still, there was a part of her very soul that longed to create, to find the beauty in the world and translate it into a form that everyone else could understand. Her crystals were just that - a window into the way that she viewed the world. It was something that she was only just beginning to understand. It was why she had crafted her ave a flaming rose. It was why she had jumped at the chance to design something pretty for her mother.

And it was why, as the two foals stood upon the shore, she began to plan another piece.

Verro agreed that she hoped the creatures would stay, and as the girl's tiny voice faded, Vinati began to concentrate. Seemingly from thin air, a small chunk of crystal appeared on the sands, its color a clear, pretty blue. The little sand princess built from there, growing from the initial block a long, strong tail, built for propelling a creature through the water. Glancing up in time to see one of the mighty beasts leap into the air, she continued to sculpt a powerful, sleek body, complete with grooves along its underside. The belly was tinged a slightly more green color, while the fins and, as an afterthought, the tips of the tail, were a bit more clear. When she was finished, an exact replica of the whale that had leapt from the water sat before her on the sand, colored in dazzling, oceanic blues. A small clasp was present along the apex of the spine, so that if a chain or a rope was strung through it, the piece would hang just so around the neck. It was about the length of Vinati's hoof - small, but not so small that the detail would be lost.

Then, she repeated the process, noting Verro's pretty violet eyes and using them as a color palette. For all she knew, the other filly saw the world through purple-colored glasses. In any case, she wanted the whales to be similar, but not exactly the same. After all, what was the fun in that?

When she was finished, she nodded, as though to herself, and then turned her blue eyes to Verro. "Here!" she said proudly. "You can have one too! Then, even if they go away, we'll still have them here!" A cheerful, childish grin appeared on her face as she invited the other filly to take one of her prized trinkets. How they would wear the necklaces without chain or rope, she didn't know - but she supposed they could figure that part out later.

When Verro carefully extracted a beautiful seashell from beneath her wing, Vinati gasped with pleasure. "Oooohhhh," she squealed, the contours of the shell pleasing to her artistic eye, "that's so pretty!" When the girl inquired if they might find more somewhere, Vinati scrunched up her nose in thought. She had wandered all over the beaches, and she knew that there were always shells to be found - the question was where were the best shells? "Oh, I know! There are a lot of pretty shells this way. Come on!" And with that, she picked up whichever of the whales Verro hadn't wanted (or both, if she had wanted neither) in her teeth and began to lead the way to a particularly sandy stretch of beach where she had had luck shell-hunting before.

Talk.