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The winds ripped at his feathers, as if seeking to pluck them from his frantically beating wings. The skies screamed at him, ringing in his ears as his white body was buffeted this way and that by the solid rushes of wind. Wings straining, mane whipping back against his body, he fought against the pressure seeking to dash him down upon the ground.

It had been a foolish idea, to go flying when he had seen the storm massing on the horizon. But up there.. above the darkly rolling clouds, it had been so very peaceful.. Yet now, he was paying for ignoring the warnings...

With one last frantic effort, he folded his wings and shot like an arrow out of the sky, fighting to keep his balance even as he watched the ground rush up to meet him. Wings snapped out just before he hit, back beating wildly as hooves scrambled through the air, seeking some kind of safe landing. With a thud and a wince of pain he finally landed, wings instantly tucking tight to his sides to prevent the screaming ferocity of the storm from damaging them further.

Lowering his head, eyes squinted against the lashing rain he could now feel starting to pound against his body, he turned and headed directly to a stand of thick trees. They would provide some kind of shelter from the storm while he waited for it to pass on.

From the corner of his eye he spotted something.. something moving through the steadily thickening sheets of rain and wind. Squinting, he paused, head low and tail tucked close against the driving storm. A.. soquili? What was anyone doing out in this weather? Or had they, like him, been caught out from foolishness?

After a minute or two he realised it was a mare.. a very bedraggled looking one now, headed towards the corpse of trees just in front of him. Which was where he should be headed.... Turning his back on the wind driven rain that felt like tiny sharp pellets now, he walked swiftly across the short stretch of open ground to the treeline, slipping in among the trunks he instantly felt warmer, the wind broken up by the sentinel like oaks and ash. Threading carefully deeper into the shelter of the treeline he paused, glancing back over his shoulder, seeking out the mare.

Hopefully she was doing as he had guessed and would arrive at safety just after himself. He really didn't feel like going out there to fetch her if she failed to show up.

Dark eyes watched as the female finally reached the tree's shelter and shook herself off. He knew she would see him if she looked, but she didn't appear dangerous and thus he wasn't overly concerned. He was as bedraggled as her, perhaps more so, with his mane soaked and wind-tossed into a mass of tangles, his tail in little better state.

Ruffling his wings to settle them more comfortably against his damp sides he nodded slightly at her comment. "I did." Turning he followed her, carefully moving through the trees, mindful of his wings. he longed to stretch them and give them a chance to dry off a little, but he knew it was likely useless until the rains passed. Still.. he hated the feel of wet feathers against his sides.

"It is a bad storm, but the wind is strong and it should pass soon enough." He offered, tone polite to the point of being blunt, though his soft voice making up for the lack of flowery wording.

One brow lifted, vanishing under the mass of the stallion's forelock at her words. "It is not wise to try and weather a storm this strong, the winds chill easily and getting soaked in such a wind is not entirely healthy. But you will be safe enough in here.."

Padding past her he moved into a little space between trunks. Carefully, he unfurled his wings, holding them out, slightly open, just to either side, the long feathers were saturated, dripping water slowly. They obviously weighed much more than normal as the stallion let them lower till they just avoided touching the ground. Already small pools had formed under each limb.

Knowing they would be here a while now, he rested a hind leg, giving his tangled mane a half-hearted shake. Looking back up after a moment he supposed he should make conversation.. to be polite.

"So... do you live near by?"

He nodded his head at her words before looking back at her. "To the north. I was out flying when the storm broke. I didn't realise how bad it was till I came down and passed through the clouds. I probably should have stayed above and flown home, but once through I couldn't go back so I was forced to land."

He shivered. Since his wings were soaked, and they possessed a dense network of blood vessels and veins, when they got as wet as now, he chilled far more quickly than usual. Grunting in distaste he made his wings shake a moment, trying to dislodge more water faster.

Lifting his head from where he had been nosing the sodden feathers of his wing, he settled grey eyes on the mare. Nodding softly he acknowledged his forgetfulness then bowed deeply, wings flaring slightly with the movement.

"Forgive my rudeness. I am Ehren Shibuya. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yuming."

He nodded faintly, ears flicking as she looked round. "Sometimes.. I suppose." He returned, wondering how to answer exactly. Flying was as natural to him as walking, so he wasn't entirely sure what would class as 'often'. Daily? Weekly?

"I tend to fly daily, but only sometimes do I go for long trips like today... " He finally replied, dark eyes watching the mare calmly.

The white stallion shifted his wings a little, making them shiver to dislodge the slow drips of water. Lifting his dark gaze from where he had been examining his wing, to meet the mare's own once more, he nodded faintly.

"It does, though I can't really compare it with anything.. I don't know what would be the equivalent. I’m not that fast on land and I can't swim." He remembered Marut's comment about swimming. Flaring his wings to reveal just how sodden and heavy with water they were he nosed one briefly. "They get water logged fairly easily and wet feathers are useless. Plus they take a long time to dry out."

Stepping back he stretched both wings out, mindful of the trunks all around them. Pulling them in a little he glanced to each side, then snapped the muscled wings sharply, sending a water droplets pattering down onto the leaf litter underfoot. Letting the wings half-fold once more he huffed at one.

he would be here for a while now.. no matter how long the rain lasted. For he could not take off until his feathers had dried out.