Tumbling down

Reluctantly Van abandoned the flowers, both the original and the one who had so suddenly grown up before his eyes and slapped his nose with rain-wet leaves. The velvety soft muzzle tickled and twitched comically as he sauntered back to the mares, but the new appraising once-over he gave Otem - his sister - was impossible to read.

"I have a twin too" he revealed, unusually volunteering the information before anyone could ask. He didn't want to be worse than this tall, pretty stranger, and being connected by blood ties had nothing to do with it. "Alvah. I think you're the first other sibling we've met..."

He shrugged. Erthë seemed to think this was an important subject, but personally he was more interested in the bird that perched on Otem's back. Family was a subject he was familiar with already, but this creature was new and vastly more entertaining. When it fluttered off into a tree the bat-winged colt laughed softly and trotted after with his eyes fixed on the animal. If only he could fly too... then he would have been able to follow after it and see what the forest looked like from that elevated position.

"What is a 'companion'? Why would it run away if it's a friend? I thought friends were supposed to stick to you always..."

It was an interesting subject. The colt seemed surprised by his own curiosity, but for once his mother appeared pleased and even nodded encouragingly at him, her pale eyes turning back towards Otem as if to give the girl a chance to answer him first.

That made sense, of course. Someone who already had one of these 'companions' would obviously know more about them than someone who did not. And as far as Van knew, his mother had never had anyone trail after her aside from himself and Alvah.