The painted mare knew she’d been distant lately - pulling herself away from what was familiar and sinking deeper into the familiar arms of the shadows that always seemed to embrace her.  Iver remained steadfast and for that, Iona was thankful.  The painted mare didn’t know what to expect from the soul bond.  It hadn’t been welcome - at least not at first.  Yet, slowly, Iver had cemented his place in Iona’s life - having already learned the warring moods of his bonded and learning when to press and when it was best to simply remain quiet. 
 
It helped now that he wasn’t completely helpless too. Sleek flight feathers had quickly replaced baby fuzz and while he still tended to grow tired quickly, flight was a skill he was well on his way to mastering.  At least now he could keep up with his bonded the majority of the time and didn’t have to rely on simply riding along for transportation.  
 
Iona was just glad that the skies were available to her once again.  
 
She and Iver flew along together - with the bird gliding along easily in Iona’s slipstream, conserving his own energy.  His sharp gaze was trained on the ground, like his bonded’s, scanning for things both familiar and unusual. 
 
She saw him then - the blue stallion from the marshes. The hint of something like a smile threatened to pull at her lips.  Perhaps without consciously realizing it, Iona found herself spiraling towards the earth.  The painted mare landed not far from where the blue stallion stood, engrossed in something.   
 
She left out a soft snort before moving closer to the stallion, but when it dawned on her what it was she was seeing - amusement flickered to life in the pit of her stomach. “Ha,” she said, mirth flickering in troubled eyes, “You too, huh?” she murmured, smug for someone who had been utterly terrified at the idea of bonding to a companion.  Then again, Sunjata didn’t have to know that particular tidbit of information.  Perched on the base of Iona’s neck, Iver rolled his beady eyes and let out a squawk of frustration.  The mare dutifully ignored the bird. 
 
Instead she took a half step forward and lowered her head, turning her emerald gaze upon the tiny creature.  She looked up at Sunjata curiously, wondering just what kind of creature this was, but Iona wasn’t one for the subtlety of glances, was she?
 
“What the hell is it?”  she asked, curiosity coloring the bluntness of the words.