Phaedra enjoyed the skies, especially those over these waters in particular. It was here, that she had met her only friend. Truly, Tolio was her only friend. The only one she felt safe with, comfortable with. Returning here, even when he wasn't around, soothed her frantic and often frightened mind - as did being in the skies. Phae sighed audibly as the warmer air currents pulled on her feathers, rippling amongst them. Her knees were neatly tucked up into her chest, only lowering when she had to bank one way or the other. Her off-white mane and tail glistened in the light, which had turned much warmer as FrostFall had started to wane. What a relief she thought, as she glided. She was quite trim - she spent most of her days flying, and even more of that time often running away, so she was quite athletic. As such, there wasn't much fat on her body to protect her from this brutal cold. She was all too glad that it was almost over. But with the departure of FrostFall cam BirdSong...and each day that passed crossed off one more day she had to fulfill the God of the Earth's quest. She needed to find and introduce two, who would fall in love. It sounded utterly impossible to her. She was no matchmaker, so social butterfly...Ugh.

Far below, her cool green gaze spied what she believed to be a regular horse. Levi was covered right up to his head in water, effectively hiding his wings from her vantage point. That was fine. She liked horses, they couldn't follow her into the skies, should she need a quick escape. And men? Well, most were easily lured in by the hint of sex, and Phae played that lure to her advantage. She was naturally pretty - a sooty palomino with not-unpretty bird-catcher spotting. Her mane and tail might be a little ratty, but so what? She looked like a wild thing, and to some stallions, a thing to be tamed. To others, she was just a thing to have. Whatever they thought of her, usually they were protective of what they thought was theres, and so they kept her safe.

That was until Tolio anyways. He was so different, but still the same at the same time. She felt a pang of remorse in thinking of him, and her quest. She would never be able to find a suitable mate for him...not many who swung that way, as it were. As these thoughts drifted through her mind, she subconsciously had begun to fly closer and closer to shore - to where Levi was swimming up the coastline. She felt no fear - again, no reason around horses (or so she thought of him). She began to circle, getting lower and lower as she spiralled. "Hello down there!" She called pleasantly, still not noticing Levi's wings beneath the surface of the water.

Helovia was proving to be different than the lands from where she had come. She wasn't immediately attacked, as she had been on the road. But then again, why would they attack her? After all, they had the upper hand. These were their lands. She might be apart of a group now...but she still didn't feel that she belonged. Not yet. Maybe once she had fulfilled the God's request of her.

Hello, up there. She smiled, her green eyes laughing as she descended faster and faster. As she neared the sandy shore, her wings beat against the air, buffeting her and slowing her almost immediately, allowing her to lightly land on the sandy shore. A light sheen had broken out across her chest, causing her sooty coat to glisten in the daylight. "How's the water?" She asked, delicately dipping a hoof into the surf, letting the waves wash up against her foreleg. The water was still quite cold, but it was refreshing, after a long flight. Her eyes met Levi's, and she smiled again, still only able to see his head, in the water.

Why don't you tell me for yourself? He had asked. Phae smirked playfully. She was flirtatious as well, in a manipulative way maybe; but who didn't like being flirted with? Everyone liked the attention, surely. She stuck her foreleg out again, testing the waters for real this time. Letting her leg sink down into the sand, she stepped forward again and again, until the water began to splash against her belly. Gasping at the cold, she raised her wings up high to minimize the contact that the water would have with her skin.

"So cold!" she gasped, but slowly her skin was becoming slightly numb, to the point where the chill didn't bother her anymore. With a sigh, she stepped forward again, now quite close to Levi. The water around him seemed darker somehow, probably due to the reflection of his dark coat in the water. He looked older than her, but not by too much. Really she couldn't tell much else, as he was almost completely enveloped in water.

Finally she brought her wings down, and let them float on the surface of the water. She she fully submerged herself up to her neck, her off-white mane and tail climbed wildly together and frayed out on the surface of the water. The emerald amulet that she wore around her neck however, pulled heavily downwards, and rested on her chest; only moving when she or the current caused the water to shift it. "You're right. It is refreshing. Now what is a handsome stallion like you, doing out here all alone?"

Aha. So he played the game too Phae thought as he moved closer to her, throwing flattery at her: It's not cold, when you're here....you have beautiful eyes.... She smiled graciously, her eyes twinkling playfully. It was precisely as she thought, who didn't like compliments?

That way I don't cause trouble or I can't get into any trouble At this comment, she grinned mischievously. She rose one of her wings out of the water, and flicked water in his direction, her eyes glittering playfully. "Now what's wrong with a little fun?". As the pull of the ocean brought the two closer together, and farther out at sea, a small voice in the back of her mind warned her to be careful. This could be a trap. He's asking what you're out here all alone. She shook her head slightly, ridding herself of these thoughts, and letting bits of her wet mane climb together on her neck. She was fairly certain she was safe. She was still under the impression that he was a regular horse after-all. What she had failed to realize however, was that regular horse or not, her wings were now water-logged and if the need to flee did arise, she would not be able to get airborne from this position."Do you have a name, handsome?" She cooed at him, tilting her head curiously. As the current pulled her into a cooler pocket, she used her large wings as paddles and gently propelled herself forward and past him, farther into the endless blue.

As their bodies neared, Phae's mind began to comprehend that she had been wrong. The water around Levi wasn't dark, just as a reflection of his colouring. It was because his wings were under there. TRAP her mind screamed at her, as his wings rose out of the water. This was it. He was going to ... to what? Drown her maybe. Just as she was about to try and escape, he splashed her. As the water his her face, she completely stopped moving, and just blinked stupidly. That...was it? A splash? Your wings are quite impressive...I'm Levi, and your lovely self is?. Her mind reeled, trying to comprehend. This was a trap, it wasn't a set-up. It wasn't...anything.

Blinking and trying to regain her composure, she gulped down a breath. He was just as stuck in the water as she was - his massive wings would be just as water-logged, and with the weight of the water all around them, neither of them could attain flight from here. She was safe. "I..uhm..." She stammered. Swallowing a couple of times and forcing herself to regain her composure, she smiled again, cooly. "I am Phaedra. Where do you come from, Levi?" If there was a herd of pegasi, she'd like to know about it...that way she could avoid them more easily.

It's almost every herd out there His words rung in her ears. Fuck she thought dismally. She was going to need to find a way to surmise which were the ones she needed to stay away from...She had avoided nearly all of the pegasi that she had seen, since entering Helovia. But she wouldn't be able to do that forever - meeting Levi in this way was proof of that. She had let her guard down, and if she was going to be that careless, then she needed to be able to recognize danger much much sooner. "The Dragon's Throat, huh? Sounds...pleasant. I am part of a mercenary group called The Grey. We protect those who cannot protect themselves and provide certain...services, for those who can afford them. Neither Ktulu nor Ophelia had really told her how much she was allowed to tell others. But how could their services be rendered, if no one knew about them? How could they protect, if the weak didn't know they were available? It was rather comical that Phae was apart of a missionary group, given how strong her flight instinct was. She dealt with Intelligence, rather than fighting, although she was sure sooner or later Ktulu or someone else would demand that she know at least something of combat. But what was so wrong with defence tactics?

She smiled at Levi after having spoke; she didn't feel quite so threatened anymore. Besides, her lithe form would cut through the water more quickly than his muscled bulk would, should the need to flee arise. There was also the fact that they were both water logged, so Phae had the definite advantage. Unless of course Levi also had a fish-tail that had gone unnoticed. She very much doubted this, however, and having determined herself safe once again, relaxed.

I guess it's nice He had said. Phaedra was suddenly very appreciative at how small The Grey was. She wasn't lost in a herd - she wasn't just a name among many. But then again she supposed mercenary groups were meant to be small, that way they could move swiftly and quietly. However, those who did not pull their weight were more obvious in a small group. Even though the amulet that she had stolen, to prove her worth to The Grey hung heavily around her neck, she knew that she needed to do more. Once she fulfilled her quest and had a companion, she thought she would be able to do just that. Imagine what having another set of eyes and wings could let her accomplish? Hopefully enough...

I like the idea of your herd She smiled, realizing that she did too. She was proud to be among them, and was glad that Ophelia had taken a chance on her, and invited her in. "We have a warrior class, an intelligence class, and a healer class" She said, still somewhat unsure of whether or not she was meant to tell others about The Grey. But...certainly now that she had seen more of Levi, he looked quite strong and able..."You know, if you wanted to you could always come and see for yourself...We are in the Deep Forest " Her voice trailed off, leaving the offer open. Surely he knew where the Forest was - he could come and see them, if he wanted.

She gazed back at him levelly, as his eyes met hers. It looked like she was about to come closer ... or maybe she was about to say something...? When suddenly Levi was dislodge by the rogue wave. Phae reared in the water, trying to keep her head out of the surf and avoid the waves that were caused by the stallion's body suddenly dislodging so much water. As he sputtered to the surface, she could help but laugh, prettily. Pegasi were normally such graceful creatures, both in the land and on sky. Apparently, not so much in the water though...Steal half reared, she pawed the water with her forelegs, trying to remain balanced. She stretched out her wings to help, but it was no use. Levi's fall had made the water no longer smooth, and she too felt herself falling. The sand beneath her hooves became dislodged and grainy - no longer anything that she could stand solidly upon. Her mouth made a large 'O' as she disappeared under the water. Everything was dark and muffled under the waves, but she found strangely, that it was soothing. With a great push from her wings, she propelled herself forward a few feet, and finally submerged just to Levi's right, sporting a large grin. Her mane was now tangled and even more knotted than usual, and was contained bits of seaweed. "And you said you wanted to stay out of trouble" She said with a wink, and with a leap, disappeared under the water again.

Phaedra watched as his eyes took in the watery scene they had discovered, and then were drawn to hers. The way the water glimmered in front of his silvery gaze, made them look like little stars. She watched as they dropped to her chest, to the green amulet that hung there. Under water, her mane billowed around her, no longer hiding it from sight. She wondered what to tell him about it. Truthfully, she didn't even know what it did, only that it was powerful. She believed that it was supposed to be used in battle...but she wasn't sure if it was an offensive, or a defensive item. All she knew was that it was valuable, and that The Grey wanted them. Maybe they would eventually trade it for something, she didn't know...Her job was to acquire things as resourcefully as she could. Steal her mind reminded her. Yes. Steal. She made a mental note to speak with Ophelia and come up with a better characterization of her rank.

Phaedra opened her mouth to speak, but only bubbles came out. Idiot - she had tried to speak under water. With a grin, she spread her wings out and pressed down, causing her to surge upwards towards open air. As she did this, many fish scampered away; probably annoyed that they were being disturbed so far out. As she surfaced, she gasped for breath. She hadn't realized how long she had been under. It took a few deep breaths for her breathing to finally return to normal. "I stole it" She admitted freely; Phae was not a liar. "From someone un-deserving" She added, just to clarify that she did not steal thoughtlessly.

Why? Did you have to do it for a quest or something? She shook her head slightly as he was speaking. "The Grey needed resources. In order to be able to protect those who need it, amulet's such as this one, are needed. Or they can be used to trade for other items." She wasn't sure what he was thinking, even though he did say he had stolen before as well. For Phaedra, it came down to survival. Ethics was not a luxury she was afforded - too much was at stake. "Steal is what it is. I will do what is necessary to protect what is mine, and those around me. I can only expect other's to do the same"

Still breathing rather heavily, Phaedra nodded as Levi mentioned the beauty that the water held. Or did 'it' mean something else? Something else that was amazing that happened under the water..? Laughing, Phaedra shook her head again, realizing that they had slipped so far out that she was now rapidly treading water. She was quite an athletic mare - you didn't get to be as quick of a flyer as she was, by being lazy, but even so, her muscles were not used to swimming like this, and were aching. She glided through the water moving closer to shore, using her wings as paddles. Her shoulders ached were her wing joints were, but this was a paint she was used to: it felt like flying head first into a strong gail. "Coming?" She called over her shoulder, as she swam.

As Phae exited the water, she took a moment to inspect the stallion - for under the waves he had been mostly skewed. He stood nearly the same height as her - for she was quite tall for a mare. Their wings too were quite similar in size, if not in colour. She marvelled at how his coat gave off a silvery-sort of sheen, which was amplified by the little bit of water brilliantly reflecting off of it. But he did appear older, and stronger than she. He also exuded masculinity, not like her friend Tolio. His name brought a smile to her lips, as she recalled meeting him very near to this exact spot. I like this beach She said happily, completing her thought. Nodding, she stretched out her wings and shook them - sending little crystals of water flying into the air. As the refracted the light, little rainbows seemed to shimmer for just a moment, between falling nearly silently onto the sand.

"So tell me Levi, have you fought many battles?" She tilted her head. Fighting was not something that Phaedra had ever been very good at. That was very likely the reason that she had such an excellent defence. She had only ever met 2 pegasi who were faster than her and....Her faced darkened as she thought of them, but only momentarily as she repressed those troublesome memories. Looking at him intently, she waited for a reply.