The quiet of this land pleased her. The hush of the sea and the whispers of the wind calmed her, yet the gently billowing of the wind soon turned to roaring, as the invisible steeds raced ovr the frozen tundra that still retained its winter snows despite the current season. Artemis suspected the undying moon as the culprit, with no sun to melt the snow or to warmth the rocks on which it settled. She did not mind. Despite the cold that clawed at her fetlocks, she enjoyed the dancing of snow flakes as they were picked up by the wind, flowing and swirling around like sea foam and entangling her mane and tail. Yet the world would not allow her to remain in her own private moment.

Over the wind, she failed to hear hoof beats, but she did notice the form of a horse pulling up beside her. From the corner of her dark teal-grey eyes, she glanced his way. He was a stocky fellow, like herself, though not quite as tall. His face was handsome enough, if you cared for such a thing. As if was, Artemis did not, though she could hardly ignore the stallion once he engaged her in conversation. Howdy, ma'am, he spoke with a nicker. She had never heard such dialect, and glanced towards him with the shadow of confusion etched over her face. "Hello." She replied, unsure of herself and of what to say to the stranger. She never had been a people person. She got that from her mother, apparently. The pair had been a recluse since Artemis' birth, so the mare was no good with these foreign situations. No one understood this, so to others it only made her seem vaguely rude, or at the very least, an idiot.

She glanced back to the sea in silence, shifting uncomfortably from one leg to the other and feeling her tail slap against her hocks as the wind took a sudden turn. She felt like she had to say something - anything - to make this less awkward. She bit her lip for a moment, before blurting out; "Artemis." She shook her head quickly, sucking in a deep breath. "M-my name. Its Artemis." She explained, hating herself very much in that single, embarrassing moment.

speech

She noted how he backed off, giving her room in the confined, but warmer, space of the ice cave. A slight smile twitched at the corners of her lips, suppressed only by her own uncertainty. She distracted herself by keeping her steely eyes focused on the world outside; the sow seemed to be increasing slowly, but that was not what was making the environment so unbearably cold. The wind picked up speed, causing waves to billow up toward the coast and to crash against the cerulean rocks. The sea was too far away for the spray to affect them, but the dramatic scenery made for a beautiful - if slightly worrying - sight. The blizzard reminded her of her hostile home land. Maybe that was why she was drawn to these cold places. It reminded her of the only place that was home to her, in her heart.

As he spoke, she turned to face him over her shoulder. He was looking for someone, though he did not explain his relationship to the mysterious horse. What she did catch, however, was that the 'cowardly Foothills' had let him go. Her poker face was amazing; she didn't even bat an eye but simply nodded slowly at his explanation. Turning, she faced him, her stoic face emotionless as was the norm for the mare. She parted her lips to speak, but as she did a low rumbling interrupted her. Her thoughts scattered to the winds, she turned swiftly, nearly hitting her head on a particularly jagged piece of wall. Whinnying, she had half a mind to attempt to dash through the falling snow, yet before she could so much as move, she was trapped.

For a moment, a glimmer of hope remained in the small opening through which a pillar of light shimmered through meekly, but her hopes were dashed as the snowstorm quickly made short work of the gap. She stared at the barricade, dumbfounded. The stallion seemed calm enough and Artemis was able to remain seemingly level headed - on the outside. Inside, she was screaming. Snow was basically fluffy, hardened water which she was now trapped in, not to mention in a relatively small space with a strange stallion. It would take days to dig through, and even then they would need to wait out the storm as the stag pointed out just after his failed attempt at kicking the frost wall down. Even if they could dig out now, the storm was rough and it was probably best for them to stay in the relative warmth of the cave. No doubt the heat of their bodies would soon make the place toasty warm, but that thought did not override the fear she felt for the water.

Luckily, he kept her distracted with his calm words and his sweetheart, which received him a sharp glare. He started by asking her about herself. Glancing around quietly, she knew she would have to keep talking for fear she would panic. The mare led down hesitantly, following his actions. "Well, to start, I am one of those 'cowardly Foothills'." She stated, with a faint grin as she attempted to keep her mind off her impending doom. She didn't need any raging madness resulting from her stupid phobias, and she assumed he didn't want that either. Still, she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes, or the tremble in her voice. "I am new to this land. It is ....Strange, to me. I know very few. Its...Lonely." She began, shrugging. What more could she say beside regaling him with stories of her childhood? "Sorry, I am not exactly...Interesting." She excused, apologetic. Not exactly charismatic, either, she inwardly mocked herself.

speech

He glanced her way, his face masked with the doubtless echo of an apology. She felt herself smirk slightly, turning away and letting long tendrils of hair hide her maw as she did so. She had no wish to get on the stallions wrong side, not while they were stuck so close together at least. She did understand his frustration, at least, and it wasn't as if she really knew her herd mates well enough to defend them. Still, he did elaborate - usually Artemis was not one for long, drawn out stories, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do so she listened well.

He related to her. It was funny. Usually a story of 'well I am lonely too' would annoy her, as if the other person only cared for their own story and used her sadness to regail her with their life, yet he did not make her feel like that He understood. Not in the same way, if anything his story made her own seem pointless as if she was some mere child sulking over a broken toy. It made her feel like her sadness was unnecessary, but at the same time she was not alone in her loneliness.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She could, however, understand how hatred of his father and the sight of his mother, dead on the ground. She nodded slowly, turning away to stare blankly into the ice wall. Her reflection stared back, a faded haze in the cerulean blue, her blood mark vivid against the water. She sighed softly; a soft mist escaping her lips. She wasn't sure what so say; she was not used to speaking about her self. "I know that feeling." She said simply, not looking toward him. The images of her mother sinking; dragged under by the waves; hit her hard. The knowledge that it was her fathers fault - and her own fault for being unable to help - haunted her. Yet the mare could not speak of it. She never had, and a simple wall of snow wasn't going to force it out of her.

Some people were open books. Artemis was not one of those people.

She sat in silence for some time, uncomfortable. She did not realize the season, nor notice the slow changes in her body's scent. It mattered little to her, and thus she had never paid heed to the unseen changes Birdsong brought onto all mares. She glanced up toward him after some time. "So you had to leave your home....Do you live in a herd now, or..?" She asked, biting her lip. She had to continue the talking. It was too quiet. She usually loved the silence, but in this instance, it was only making them both, presumably, awkward and uncomfortable.

speech

follow me home

Her eyes moved over the reflection and toward the painted stallion. Cautiously, she allowed her curious gaze to scan his large bodice; his dark grey pelt and painted markings on body withers and rump. Artemis seldom met the eyes of strangers, for to the mare eye contact was a sign of trust and meaning, yet she did let her eyes slip up for a moment, only now in their close vicinity noticing his icy orbs. He seemed blind, yet she knew from the way he moved that it was improbable. Just as fast as she had glanced toward his face, her teal-grey orbs fell, focusing on her own hooves.

His words rang familiar to her ears and she nodded in understanding. He had entered this land on the brink of an invasion just as she had, yet it was the grey he presumably fought if his adopted herd was taken over. She turned away, partly ashamed, despite not having anything to do with that invasion. She was one of the Grey who, back then, disrupted this poor stags life and forced him into a life of solitude. The shadows of the past divided them. She sighed softly. "In my first week of becoming one of the Grey, I shed blood for them. I do not know if joining them in battle was right, but they are my family now. They are not bad people. They simply fight to survive, as we all do." She spoke, voice soft and words carefully chosen so as not to offend.

The silence settled over them for some time and the mare felt her eyes closing. A slight shiver washed over her, yet her pride and her personal bubble refused to allow her to 'snuggle' up for warmth. Yet, just as her eyes blinked shut, his voice murmured over the eerie silence; I think the blizzard is over. Her head raised, eyes opening quickly. Sure enough, she could no longer heard the moaning of ice or the muffled wail of wind outside.

As fast as he could in such a limited space, she pushed herself to her feet and rammed her shoulder into the ice. Nothing. Ears back and tail twitching in anticipation and frustration, she watched the stallion turn his rear to the wall and begin battering the snowy prison walls. Taking his lead, she turned and mimicked his actions, bucking in unison with the stranger - no, with Tharos, for he was no stranger anymore - until at last the walls came crumbling down. She groaned, her knees shaking where her wounds had scabbed over from her fight with Laila. Apollo had healed her best her could, but with his limited magic, she still felt a sharp ache in the joints. She ignored it, turning as she watched the gruello carve his way through the dirt, limping upon his rear leg. Concerned, she followed slowly as he called out to her. As she broke through the snow, which soaked the sides of her pelt and clawed coldness into her skin, she realized she could smell the sharp tang of sea salt and feel the stroking of the wind once again.

A smile broke her normally stoic lips and she whinnied uncharacteristically in joy, bucking out her legs like a filly. Just as quickly had she acted before she realized how stupid she must have looked, and froze, clearing her throat with a nervous chuckle. "You know, it was warmer in there." She stated coyly, with a smirk tickling the corners of her lips. "I guess this is where we part ways as unlikely friends?" She asked quietly. She wasn't sure what was the norm in such situations, nor she did she think the stallion wanted to spent anymore time wasted with her. Still, before she turned to leave, she glanced toward his leg. "Are you hurt? The Grey ha an excellent healer. You should give them a chance...Tharos." She told him, voice low as she avoided his gaze as usual, yet it was one of the first times the mare had called anyone by name. She managed a smile, doubting his eagerness to follow. He was free. Lonely, probably, but free. Why should be want to come with her? There was no reason for him. Still, she hesitated, not leaving as she said she would.

"Speech goes here"

follow me home

She wasn't exactly sure what kept her rooted to the spot. She told herself it was the cold clawing at her skin, urging her back into the warm tunnel where their joined breaths heated the air around them. Yet that was a stupid thought; surrounded by ice and squeezed closely to a stag she barely knew - it was not exactly her ideal situation. So why, then, was she not running now she had been released from what was, essentially, one of Artemis' worst ideas for how to spend a day? Her eyes avoided his face, glancing up to his muzzle only as he spoke. They instead, glanced over his chest.

A large scar disrupted the fur growth - it was subtle, yet for someone like Artemis it was obvious what it was. It was an old wound, long healed, and the mare wondered to herself id he had sustained it on the day he spoke of - if one of her now brothers or sister in arms had pierced his chest. It seemed like they had aimed for the heart - a feeling Artemis knew well. It made he think of dear Laila; Artemis could have killed her, and she knew it, and yet she had refused to strike the foolish - but brave - fillies heart. Laila had forced her to question herself, yet Artemis had no where else to go. The Grey had accepted her when she was at her lowest, and there she would remain.

Its just a cramp, he responded simply, It'll g away soon. Her brow raised and she shrugged her shoulders. A sigh escaped her silver muzzle. She had been a fool to even for a moment expect him to follow her to the Foothills, though she knew Apollo, kind as he was, would doubtful hesitate to heal the stallion. Apollo, as it was, was her only real friend in the herd. "Very well." She replied with a slight dip of the skull. "But the invitation is always there." She told the stallion, truthfully, though she did wonder quietly to herself if the rest of the Grey would agree with her 'open invitation' toward the gruella. His distrust of her herd also made her wonder; was she hated among the Edge now? She was a villian who had attacked without provocation. Did that make her a bad person?

She turned in silence and took a slow step, but his words pulled her back. She froze, back to him, lowering her head. Artemis, could I see you again? The mare hesitated, before slowly turning over her shoulder. "Maybe," She said, finding that she was smiling. She told herself she was happy to have met someone who didn't mind her quiet demeanor. "Maybe I will meet you in our cave in a few weeks time?" She told the stag. There was no way of judging time without the sun. Turning away, she began to walk before breaking into a canter. Her flower may have wilted, yet another may just have bloomed.


-fin-