Family Duties [Open Herd Meeting]

As freezing temperatures, snow and ice had possessed the vast and varied contours of the Rift, Eira had bid a hasty retreat to take shelter in her home, Halyven. She was a creature who tolerance for such ferocious weather was slim, lacking protection between bones and skin, thus feeling the harrowing cold at a cruel depth. Curiously though, she seemed unbothered, relatively speaking, and when the biting wind whispered word of the gathering of her clan, the young horse paused her cheerful wandering to locate Roscorro, Rixen and a number of others, within the area’s keep. To her surprise, as she strolled in to meet the tails of those who’d arrived ahead, the venue was warmer and drier than the frigidness outside; Eira quite adored the white and blue, wintry playground (the power vested through her veins was proof), though she, and her trembling core, were immediately glad for the moment’s respite. Some probably should have been familiar—the angle she viewed them from was fairly awkward—but she couldn’t readily place names to each muscular set of hindquarters, so chose carefully to place herself to the far left of their combined mass. Roscorro’s warm smile caught her notice and the young orphan’s visible nervousness was eased considerably. Dark eyes travelled to the tall, though a good deal shorter than his counterpart, horned stallion with the plate of gleaming gold upon his face. Eira was yet to meet Rixen properly—she had seen him only briefly at various gatherings. Something like awe-struck intimidation, perhaps greater humbleness, murmured through her expression and as he began to speak, her eyes quickly diverted shyly to the hocks small, scattered gravel which covered the grey floor, lightly, between them. The sound of his voice pried at the hard surface of uncertainty which had smothered her frail resolve—she thought it seemed warm, friendly and quite without any malice. Rixen spoke for a good while, explaining thoughts and opinions apparently shared also by Rosco—details and mechanics of herd life, she could only presume, that thus far meant very little. Nevertheless, she nodded, mimicking many of the others beside her, and smiled along, also like they. As the voice of the resounding tone of their leader began to dwindle, a soft rumble moved through the crowd. One or two moved to speak, though it was the familiar voice of Kiada who pulled her bewildered interest from the murk of confusion. The mare was a bold creature, brave and strong—she had warded the fearsome looking Magnus Metus away after all!—and quite truly, a personality that Eira quite admired. With ears pitched forward, stirred to life by a sudden surge of anticipating excitement, and tiny nostrils flared to capacity, the waif’s tattered wings fastened nearer; without consideration (apart from a heavy longing to be as breathtaking as the other), her unbridled thoughts blurted aloud, “Me too!”

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Note - Eira doesn't have a horn yet. Also, everyone can hear her thoughts at this point.