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The majority of the world seemed white and brown and dull from above as Kushanu glided silently over the half-thawed earth. Though he supposed it was probably somewhat dryer up here now that last night's clouds had moved on. He'd left 'Trei higher up the peaks, deciding to head down to their foalhood home and see if he could find any more of his immediate family. He enjoyed wandering in and out of the home territories with his brother, but well, Kush just wasn't one to stay away for too long.

A flash of dark reddish hues beneath a tree shifted his direction of flight, a familiar looking pelt soon making itself out as he got a better look. Immediately the autumn colored stallion veered toward the ground, landing a bit heavily but at least mostly with grace. At least he didn't trip and faceplant as soon as he touched down anymore, in any case! He wasn't particularly concerned with showing of the improvements in his flying skills from younger days, however, as he continued to trot toward his sister. "Nalani! I'm back!" It felt odd to say that and mean it after a long trip this time, instead of just for an afternoon.

The smile remained through the nickname being spoken, though he did wince just a little at it. "C'mon Sis... can't you call me Kush like everybody else?" Not that everybody else actually did call him that, anyway, but he liked to think he was grown up enough to have outgrown his kiddie names. (He had yet to figure out that was never going to happen.)

Kush gave Nalani an affectionate bump with his nose as she tugged on his mane, looking her over even as she looked at him afterward. He was actually rather proud to have such a pretty sister. His whole family was rather handsome, in fact! And good people as well. He loved each and every one of them with all of his heart, and they all probably laughed at the way he never seemed to register that he was a good and handsome fellow as well. He was "Kush" in his own mind, and that was just it.

"Good! Well, better. I don't fall on my face anymore, anyway." He coughed slightly in embarrassment. It was really just his take-offs and landings that needed work still, but he'd spent too much time as a clumsy youth to be able to be proud of his aerial skills when he still had areas he felt so lacking in.

"So how have you been? Had any adventures without Trei and I yet?" Really it had been the two brothers who did most of the getting in trouble adventuring when they were little, but Kush had tried to at least bring back treasures for Nalani when they went off without her. He wished he had something this time around but he hadn't been able to find anything he thought was really befitting of his favorite sister!

Kush would have continued to protest the use of Nalani's choice of addressing him but he was slightly distracted by the end of her second sentence. Cheeks of autumn gold turned a brilliant shade of orange as he blushed profusely. "F-father? Th-that's a long ways off, Nalani!" He managed to resist the urge to bury his head in a nearby bush in his embarrassment as he'd done at times as a foal. "I haven't even met any girls yet, much less... had any thoughts about that..."

He wiggles his "handsome nose" at her then, still blushing a bit but saying with all sincerity, "Besides, Sis... You and Trai are a lot better looking than me, and better with people. You two are probably going to make me an uncle at least once each before I return the favor." He actually rather liked the idea of being an uncle, though... he felt too young still to want it to happen any time too soon.

"Well don't worry, Sis! Trai and I are being all sorts of unseemly so you won't ever have to, then." Not that they'd really done a lot besides explore and eat a few strange things thus far. "We've actually been traveling together a lot. Not the entire time, exactly, but... I guess we're just used to being partners in crime?" He grinned a bit, knowing full well Nalani of all people realized they were far more likely to get in over their heads trying to rescue a damsel in distress or something, rather than doing anything that could be construed as a "crime". "I'll try to make sure and come back to visit, or at least send word, once a month. And drag Trai along if I'm able."

Kush shuffled his feet. "Well... no one that isn't family, or close enough to it. Except that young mare that helped me... that one time... uh." He didn't like to talk about the storm incident. There had been a great deal of lecturing after he'd gotten back and taken care of... though he still protested that he'd had no intention, or even inclination that he could, fly off and get caught in the storm at the time. "I, er, haven't been able to find her again yet. I kind of wanted to see how she's doing now..."

He offered her a shy grin at the continued compliments. "If you say so, Sis. I don't really feel like anything special, I guess." He gave her a reassuring nuzzle when she blushed herself. "Maybe you should start just trying to make friends? If there's something there after you get to know someone you can figure it out then, maybe. Or me and Trai can beat them up for you, you know, whichever you need done at the time." He winked and stuck his tongue out at her impishly.

"We're planning! Gathering intel. We're going to dig up a grand adventure somewhere and bring treasures back for everyone." Kush had always followed Trai on the adventure front, though doing something big like that was actually his wish too. Trai dragged Kush into the fray, and Kush kept them from running headlong into a pit full of spikes or something. It usually worked out, at least.

"But Trai is around, actually! He just went up because he thought he'd have more luck catching everyone up by the meeting area. I came down here to check for you and mom first." He glanced around after that. "Mom's out, though?"

Kush pawed nervously at the ground with a hoof, mostly because of how awkward the memories of his inadvertent adventure were. "Well you remember how when Trai and I were learning to fly I was having such a hard time? And I couldn't seem to make anything Mom was telling me work and I had to go be a stubborn a** and figure out what was wrong on my own... and wound up flying finally... right into that storm?" He grimaced and winced slightly at the recollection of his landing. "She found me and helped look after me until they found me to bring me home. She's about our age and... well, I feel like a prat about it now, but I can't remember if I ever got her name or not, and I haven't had much luck trying to ask about her where-abouts now..."

He put on a mock serious face. "It's not silliness, Nalani. We're brothers, we have to beat up... I mean, make sure any guy interested in you checks out." No, he really was being silly, no way around it!

Shaking it off after a moment he looked thoughtful, and then sheepish. "I don't know if I'd be very good at flirting. If I could even figure out how to do it, or someone to do it at." He shook his head. "I think we're both much better at just being honest!"

Kush flashed a big grin at her then. "Of course I'd bring you something pretty! If I can find anything good enough for you, at least. It would have to be something extra special, which is why we need to find a really big adventure. They have the best treasure." The way he said it was a little silly, but this time he was actually being pretty serious. "But don't worry, I'll be keeping in touch and try to keep us out of too much trouble."

"She probably is! Hopefully I'll catch them before we leave again." Their parents' relationship was a point of pride for Kush, and he smiled at the thought. He'd like to love someone like that some day, but as of yet he was still a bit clueless about interacting with girls.