Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gliding was a difficult and trying task. She had spent most of the morning in the nearby young groves leaping out of low branches and practicing. Her limbs were tired and her wings ached. That was signs of needing a break. And so, the filly folded up her little feathered wings and trotted out of the tree line into the meadow. The grass here was a pleasant length, longer than short but not long enough to hide much more than a snake or some shy mice. And it was lush, green and new. She loved how it felt under her paws, the blades were soft on her blistery skin. They were not used to the abuse she put them through in her desperate want to learn how to fly, so she often didn't notice until they popped and left blood behind. That's also when she knew she had to stop, otherwise momma would get very upset.

It wasn't long until she made it to the natural low area of the meadow where she knew a calm pond slept. The grass was a little longer here, tall enough to brush at her wings in some places, but there was also a neatly stomped out area where she had made herself a nice resting place. This nest of sorts, allowed her to lie down and dip her paws into the cool water and stir the water gently with her feather-tufted tail. There was also a single weeping willow, young for a tree and still growing that at the hottest time of day cast a shadow over her nest as it did now. Without a second thought or glance around she settled in naturally and allowed her eyes to slide shut with a satisfied sigh.

Swaying her feet and tail back and forth in the water in sync, the foal smiled at the movement of the cool water. It was soothing after the initial sting, and as she continued to mill her feet slowly they began to form a rhythm, a trance. This pattern began to form sound in her head. Something soft and soothing like the water itself, guiding a quiet hum from her mind and out of her mouth. The humming slowly grew a little louder and began to sew notes together into a tune.

Light, calm and happy it sounded all at once, coming from such a small feminine voice that it almost sounded like a bird had taken up vocal chords. Her wings stretched out behind her and rustled the grass a little, but at that point, it would probably be the humming that would give her away to any passersby. She did not notice any intrustions, however, as all her attention was stuck on keeping the rhythm going with her feet and tail, and the tune going with her voice.

Her tune had managed to find itself a pattern. She repeated it by itself a few times before finalizing it in her mind. Quickly following it found itself a partner, it's second verse. Just as she began to repeat the second verse for the first time Avia heard a greeting. Eyes snapping open her little head jerked up and toward the sound of the call. Even as she reacted she processed the greeting as a calm and cheerful female voice. So when her eyes landed on a perfectly suiting mare, Avia relaxed her tensed muscles and sighed softly.

She put on a smile and gently pulled her feet up out of the water so that she could tuck them underneath her to turn her attention to the newcomer. "You startled me!" a soft giggle showed that she didn't mind so much, and wasn't being accusatory, merely stating it as she led up to her own introduction. Bringing her violet eyes up to look at the pretty mare's face Avia added politely in a chirp, "My name is Avia! What's yours?" A c**k of her head had her thinking of adding a compliment but she caught herself and decided to wait until she was sure this mare wasn't just walking by before she asked her other questions. Wasn't nice to waste others' days with too many questions. She could be patient when she really really tried, so instead she swept her tail back and forth in the water as she eagerly awaited to know the mare's name.

The excitement grew inside of Avia and threatened to have her burst! Maybe in a colorful cloud of flowers... or some other fantastic form of confetti! Oh, that could certainly be exciting! But no, no. She was not going to let her manners escape quite that easily! She wrangled her emotions into place quickly --in her mind, she kicked them and stomped them into place, of course!-- and jumped on the opportunity for a conversation.

"What a pretty name! I love it!" She chirped in reply as she sprang up from her nest. She wanted to run up to the mare and spin circles on the spot and spill out a hundred different things... but that wouldn't do. Her mother was attempting to teach her daughters that patience could be valuable, and it could also extend others' tolerance of young vibrant foals! So when she remembered this lesson she paused mid-bound and took a deep breath to calm down. And only after she exhaled did she answer.

"Oh, I'm not too far! I was just practicing my flying, you see!" A small flap of the wings to indicate she was telling the truth. Wouldn't want pretty Zarita to think she was a liar! "Momma's probably taking a nap from me and my sister," Her tail flicked over to shield part of her face as she giggled mischievously, "We tire her out sometimes, we do." It was then that it dawned on her: this mare had beautiful long hair, and what was more... it was braided! Drawing to a halt a little far into the mare's personal bubble Avia looked up and reached out with one outstretched paw but stopped short a small stretch out of grasp. "Can I...?" She had eyes only for the beautiful black braid that cascaded over Zarita's pale shoulder. If only she could touch it...