Long chocolate tresses beat against my striped neck, ensnaring a few dark strands in the feathers that hang by my chest and act as my crown. The wind is relentless in its attempts to remove my headdress, and the gold strands that wrap around my ears tug gently with each gust of air. Most others would find this annoying, but I find it to be gloriously liberating. The constant pressure to remain vigilant of my every movement can be rather stressful, and so the lack of anxiety that I feel for the jewel upon my brow is more than welcome.

With a sense of purpose propelling me onwards, I manage to make much better time than I had originally intended. Mere weeks have passed since my encounter with the winged child, but it feels much longer. I have either spent too many moons away from my beloved Gods, or I have spent one too many days underneath the aching touch of the sun. I don't think that I've ever felt so disoriented in my life -- or is the heat just getting to me? Perhaps it is time that I stop wandering aimlessly, and just wait for fate to take me up in its strong embrace. That particular method has worked well for me in the past.

I take a brief pause to take in the barren land around me, my mismatched eyes squinted to prevent the sun from harming them with its intensity. My attempts have proven futile, however, and for it the orb's violent glare proves to be unforgiving. The tree-bare landscape does not offer to take me in its earthen arms and protect me from the sweltering heat, but I do not mind the in-hospitality of this harsh environment.

After all, it is sometimes the more difficult things in life that bring forth the most wonderful.



Walk walk walk.

"Talk talk talk".

{OOC: Talianna just wants to meet with the herd leads to let her position as a sort of nomad-healer be known. I hate starting threads >.< Can you tell?

@[Midas]; @[Skysong]; @[Sumati]; @[Kri]}

The sight of the winged child instantly uplifts my spirits, and I find that my slender chocolate legs have changed pace to match her own. The feathers around my neck clack together with each bounce of my shoulders, and my thick mane is whipped back from my sweaty nape in the breeze that our trot has created.

"Greetings, child. I am just wandering. Want-ed to meet all leaders of these lands; you have leader, yes? I am most interested in meet-ing him." My hetero-chromatic eyes latch onto her own unmatched eyes, and I am delighted to see that the members of this herd are as diverse as any other. The gene that has caused my eyes to appear this way is very rare in my own land, and so I am glad to see that there are others like me. Her face -- half painted white, half painted champagne -- seems to have been pieced together by two separate equines, and I find that I am wanting to get to know her better with each beat of my pumping heart.

The curiosity that she directs towards me seems to be fueling my own, and I can't help but say, "You are a jewel, lit-tle one." My tongue is swollen from a parched throat, causing my accent to come out even thicker.

"What int-rests you? What path of life do you want to take?" I throw my gaze around at the scenery, taking in the tall green plants scattered around the golden horizon, the scarce few rocks that dot the landscape, and all of the sand that has been brought together here. Suddenly I wonder if this girl would like to come with me -- I have been yearning for the company of one who shares my vision to offer our services to all, regardless of their race -- and I wonder if the filly has ever thought about leaving her beloved home. "Do you wish to remain here with the sand, child? Or do you dream of a greener landscape?" My eyes reach deep into her own, trying to show her the comfort and serenity that wandering the many lands can offer you.

My attempts to convey a message that speaks of freedom and liberty and passion are cut short when I turn to face a golden stallion. He appears to be a tender man, and one that I trust as soon as his words reach my ears. The Dragon's Throat. So this is where I am.

Dark lips part in greeting and I bow my head slightly, letting the stallion know that I respect his authority and that I am conscious of my intrusion. He does not appear weary of my presence in his lands, but I find it within me to let him know that I do not wish to step on his hooves; my words are courteous when I say, "And to you, Senor. I hope that I was not walking where I should not be, but thank you for meeting with us."

I gesture to the smaller pegasus with my dark nose, causing the feathers around my neck to clack together with the movement. "Do you all have wings here?" I do not realize that my question is as blunt as it is rude; my curiosity had gotten the best of me and my inability to convey my thoughts into words made me sound like a child. But, also like a child, I am ignorant to the emotion that my innocent question might have caused.

Walk walk walk.

"Talk talk talk".

"Mi-das." I let the unfamiliar words roll across my dry tongue. "It truly does please me to have met you. Both of you." My green-blue eyes hold onto the feathered girl's face, and I reach my nose out towards her in a gentle touch. There is something so pure about her that I cannot keep myself from running my dark lips over her soft mane, and suddenly I wonder what her mother would think of me. It was not my place to offer such a tender gesture to this girl -- I am most certainly not her dam -- but I could feel that somehow, this young winged maiden would appreciate my touch. Perhaps it was this mother-figure that had caused the filly to join me at my side.

After dwelling over the information that these two pegasi had provided for me, I decide that it is time to answer some of their own questions. "My name is Talianna, and you are true in your observation; I am a stranger to this desert." The smaller creature had not offered her own name up for the taking, but it will come to me in time. After all, the beauty of Tallsun must wait for its turn in the repetitive cycle of the Earth, and its glory is unmatched by any of its sisters. When the flicka is ready -- just as when Tallsun is ready -- she will allow her song to bring beauty to my flickering ears.

But, for now, I must try to appease her distant mother, and avoid a direct proposal to allow her to accompany me. "Yes, child. I go to many different places. I walk the plains of barren fields; climb the cliffs of rocky chains; waded in rivers that go through mountains; and met with countless travelers, all seeking their own enlightenment in some way.

"My goal on my travels is to offer my service to all. I trained beside my mother in healing when I was child -- but left when she did bad." I turn my golden face away from the pair of winged beasts as shame threatens to spill over inside of me.

My mother would not have approved of my meeting with two pegasi; she probably would have chased the little flicka away. I am not proud of what my mother did in the time that I was with her, nor am I proud of what she is probably doing without me there to stop her. All I can do is right the wrongs that my mother commits, and I think that what I am doing now is a magnificent first step. I must meet with the leaders of all the lands and inform them of my service as outcast healer of Helovia. And then I must fulfill my duty as Vessel to the Gods, and allow for their voices to be heard.

"You are quite open to strangers, Mi-das; at least about your herd." I slowly draw out trot to a halt, and my head raises to look the golden warrior in the eye. My voice is thick and tinged with awe when I say, "Tell me, what God is that walks with you in these dunes?"

Walk walk walk.

"Talk talk talk".

{OOC: Lacking Talianna muse, sorry DX}