CASSIUS❃


He doesn’t know what draws him back to the Threshold. Why he should even consider reliving those first few moments of entering a new land, chased by the thought of rogue assassins at his heels. Would he meet them there, trailing behind his vanishing scent? Was it still possible to find, underneath rotting leaves defrosted by the warmth of spring?

The pale stallion enters with a cautious mindset. Ears press forward and flinch from the harmless dripping that runs off the pines, or the rustle of branches that stir from a cool wind. The ground is slop underneath his hooves, but at least the arrival of green, and a plethora of blooming color eases his soul. Not enough to calm the nerves that fray from distant murmurs, or the muted shuffles and thumps of hooves.

Scents waver in the cool air, disappearing quickly with each gentle gust. Cassius soon enters a wooded area, the stallion presses further to the other end. Where he settles and finds the two stallions facing one another off beside a pond. Companions litter the earth, two foxes that approach a canine of some sort. Nearly woolfish, but the creature lacks certain features of the predator – its hind legs appeared off in a way he couldn’t quite yet discern, and the creature was far smaller than the hounds of his childhood.

Casting his gaze to the strangers, he recognizes neither of them. But by the tone and the words that he manages to grasp, the darker of the two appears to be on neutral terms. Similarly the unicorns are a pair swathed in macabre red and tones of black.

Preferring not to stand in the shadows, lending to all suspicion, the gray steps beyond the forest’s threshold. Forcing a small smile that imprints his lips, swaying his tail side to side in hopes of dispensing the tightness in his muscles, or the rigid composure of his body.

“Ah… Greetings,” his voice reaches out to them, imparting a soft tone. The dark stallion, the tense one who shimmers brightly with a sense of obscure wisdom, a lost cause, reels Cassius’ steady gaze. “Name’s Cassius. Welcome to Helovia…”

He dips his head to him, before glancing to the other – Sacre was it? Which reaffirms his smile, knowing that he was not completely alone in this case. And dips his head accordingly before settling in silence. He found no reason to repeat what had just been offered. And the way things were, perhaps too much information all at the same time might overwhelm the stallion.

After all, as Cassius settled his gaze upon the man, he was but all recoil and caution. Or so he could assume from the pressed ears against his head. Setting off the spark was far from the stallion’s mind.