She was a shadow among shadows soaring through a sea of darkness. The world had turned on its head and stolen away the horizon, leaving only the faintly glowing lines of trees to mark the most traveled paths and give a hint as to where the ground might be. It was a frightening experience to fly in this dark sky. It had taken the inky mare days to get over the lack of visual references, and even as she finally dared to venture outside the relatively bright Throat it was with great caution that she swam through the long night.

The landscape was far too quiet. Where had all the animals gone, the birds and deer and the little lemmings that burrowed through tunnels beneath the crust of snow? Only the sound of water slowly freezing to ice echoed through the stillness, making her fight against an urge to hold her breath and beat her wings as stealthily as she could. Was someone watching her out there? Someone quiet following her every move with hidden eyes, ready to pounce whenever she seemed least ready for it?

Skuggi flinched as the sound of a voice reached her from below. It was faint at her altitude, barely audible at all, but something familiar about it made the inked crow shift and begin a spiral descent towards the ground, exceptionally careful about the height she was at. One time was enough to fall to the ground, and here there was no telling who might find her. Luck wouldn't be with her all the time, and it was highly unlikely that Cirrus would show up to heal her again should she crash once more.

"Hello yourself" she said out loud as small hooves touched down into the grayish snow, just a little bit brighter than the surrounding darkness - they were far away from the colorful trees it seemed, just enough that she could make out the presence of others close by. "Not to be rude, but I'd recommend a bit of caution when it comes to throwing your voice around these days... There's no telling who's out there in the dark." Shadow folded her wings against the sides and began to approach the general direction of the voice, slowly making her way over the frozen meadow. She didn't notice the presence of the other mare, too focused on the unicorn to consider the possibility.

The owner of the deep-spoken voice was growing steadily more familiar as she turned the sound of it over in her mind, and the memory of a recent encounter in a cave far up north brought the little mare a sense of safety as she walked towards the stallion. It was rare for her to find a familiar person in this place, and she had begin to notice how happy it was making her when it happened. Especially, now, when locating others had turned so much more difficult.
"Nice to meet you again... How have you been?"