I am ignored. Blatantly so as the roan stallion turns instead to focus his attention on a couple foals that had traipsed their way into the clearing. It stings, right down to the core, adults are supposed to be those that help and comfort and provide information. A part of me agrees that the best course of action would be to find someone else, perhaps another adult among the growing throng of children. Alas, the less logical part of my brain refused to cow beneath the gross disrespect he had for me, whether he knew me or not should not have mattered! With a flippant arch of my spine I twist around to follow his movements, ears sliding back into the black mass of my mane as I come to stand before him, right where he could not ignore me this time. "It is rude to ignore people, no matter how small they might be!" Something akin to fear rushed through my nerves, tittering along the base of my brain as I give him a final jerk of my head.

I like to think it was a sense of control that sent me on my way, not the irrational fear of being reprimanded by a total stranger. Mother would hate to know someone else took it upon themselves to chastise her baby, and maybe that niggling thought is what helped alleviate some of the pressure weighing down on my conscious. Just a bit...

Long, gangly legs carried me throughout the crowed, which had grown two sizes in the last half hour since my arrival. Most of those present were in fact, foals, similar to or younger than myself, which was enough to instill a sense of glee in my bones. It was not often that I got to be older than somebody, let alone such a large group! Even the awkward swing of my hind-legs could not hinder this feeling of success as I glanced left and right, slowly drawing closer to the focal point of this meeting. It was not until I was practically upon it that I discovered the spruce, its pines were thicker and longer than the other trees'. Each spine pressed downward in that sweeping fashion they tended toward, creating a wide skirt that threatened the hair of my breast. ""Oh- !" No sooner had I taken a deep breath of forest, did it start to... it started to speak! Thick, deformed lips dragged through heavy sap, chewing on words that to me, made no sense. The honey-gold syrup seemed to ooze from every wrinkle and barky crevice of its face, making for quite a frightening sight. Nobody seemed afraid of it though, even as it molded its way around words and feelings to get some form of finality across.

'The creatures in my thicket do not have enough food to get through Frostfall..' (then why do you stay here?) I quip to myself, listening with rapt attention as the tree-beast explains his desires and fears. It might have been a flash of color, or perhaps a gleam of sunlight, but in a single, distracted glance I noticed the egg. I have seen eggs before, either crushed or waiting to be hatched, but never have I seen one quite like that. What kind of creature did something that big house? I had little time to ponder before I realized time had moved on in my shocked reverie. Suddenly there was a vague semi-circle of stump-like platforms, natures platters, open and hopelessly empty. What did they want? (Do they belong to that monster?) I think with incredulity. The afternoon was turning out to be so much more than I could have possibly hoped for!

All of those gathered had quickly dispersed, vanishing between trees, leaving a raucous trail in their wake. I remained put, watching with wide, pale eyes as a colt abruptly re-appeared. A winged lad, skin lit by the light in such a way that I was forced to squint. He dropped a leaf of some sort onto one of the stumps and several nuts went tumbling about, revealing a haphazard assortment of dried berries and tree-nuts. Then another foal appeared and he too carried some brand of wild foliage with him, serving it upon the stumps like you would expect to serve your Lord. (Are they crazy!?) I have to ask myself, trying to keep a level head as brows quirk into confused knots. More and more are coming back, the once empty platters have become full with rich berries and hidden nuts. A part of me is compelled to simply follow the crowd, so I do. I turn on my heel and with a last, longing look toward the tree, jog into the forest.

I search everything I can think, grabbing hold of a fallen limb to drag behind as an after-thought. I find berries that are blue and small, they are sweet with a bite that makes me smile. I find some that are red and seedy and soft, mauve juices color my already dark lips darker as I add these to my branch as well. Others are slipping past on their third or fourth trip while I have only just begun my first. My chest pangs in disappointment and I grip the sappy branch ever tighter. That is when I see her, that blue flesh is totally dry this time, reverted back to that bland blue she was when I first saw her. Somehow just then, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. "Syrena!" I gasp aloud, chugging forward to join her beneath a high-water aspen. She is picking pine-nuts up from the ground, I could use these too! "Do you remember me? From the water?"

"Talk."


ooc - speaking directly to @Cowboy and @Syrena <3333 all the love for Syrena!
seeking a Dragon! With toxic breath. No previous rolls or refusals.