Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ayako snorted and pushed on through the snow. The weather on the isle was cold and snowy but what did one expect from an island in the sky so far from the rest of the land mass? The wind was biting the snow made it hard to see. She was very annoyed with life at the moment. Shivering she pawed at the ground before snorting and trudging through the knee high snow. She hoped she was on her way to her grandfather’s home. At least that’s what she called it. Eri lived with some noble woman north of the city while her own parents lived on a farm a far distance away. The black strands of mane that were in her eyes didn’t help her temper. The distance to the farm should have been reached a long time ago, unless she was lost.

Taking a gulp of breath she coughed in the cold and shook her head. She couldn’t be lost. Her mother got lost, her siblings might get lost, but no she never got lost herself. There was no way at all ever that she could be lost. After another hours walk in a most fruitless endeavor she admitted to herself that she might be a smidgen turned around. Another hour passed letting the storm clear. Shaking her mane free of ice crystals was an impossible task but with most of them gone she looked around and recognized nothing but the blinding whiteness of snow. Looking back she could hardly see her own tracks. Frustrated she turned around a few times before giving up and shouting out into the clear air. It might not have been smart to head out in the storm but she wanted to ask her grandfather a few things and her parents were no help at all.

Done with her little tantrum Ayako was taking a few deep breaths when a call made her look up. She had to squint hard because there was the whiteness of the snow and the glitter of something far far to bright. She figured it would be fine after all she was here up north away from the southern hot lands of the Six so it wasn’t likely she would meet a Sixer even if the isle was at war. “Hello back!” She didn’t go to them but rather waited for the other azerin to come to her. “Hey you wouldn’t happen to live around her would you?” She really didn’t want to use the dreaded L word but if they knew the area then she might have to admit to being in the wrong place.

The azerin was a very pretty male who was glittered in ornaments. Mentally she was naming him pretty boy. She shifted her weight and tried to focus on the darker parts of his coat so she didn’t have to wind up blinded by his jewelry or the snow. There were times she wished her mane wasn’t braided. This was one of them.

Well today was defiantly not her day. If she had been lucky then he would have been from around her. the news he grew up down south made her raise a brow but that lowered when he said he wasn’t a sixer. Did he really expect her to believe him like that after admitting to being a southern azerin? Still she wasn’t the kind to just let on her suspicions. She glared at him a moment. “I didn’t drift off the path at all. It got covered in snow and is hiding.” There was a stubborn note of pride in her voice that said she wasn’t about to just give in and be ‘lost.’

“Still I am sure I’ll be just fine. I don’t need any help unless you know how to get to the human city.” Well she could suggest he fly and maybe find a way, but well she didn’t trust him and was just fine walking around on her own until she found her own way in the snow.

She nearly groaned when he asked the question. “Because I was bound and determined to make it my grandsire’s home, and the stupid storm came up faster and was worse than I thought.” Turning around she glare around to the surrounding area she wanted to scream again she kept it all in so as not to be rude. That was something she had been taught. “I don’t know which way the city is. If I did I would have a way to go and be set.” She shook her head. “So I’ll be fine. I guess.” Like she really had a choice. She picked a direction and took off slugging through the snow. She might not be as strong or as built as her brothers but that was not about to slow her down at all. Snow was in her braid and she knew it was more frazzled than normal after that storm. Turning her back and walking away from someone who could be a Sixer was really not the smartest thing to do but she was frustrated and sitting still was not helping at all. If pretty boy wanted to follow her than he could and she would keep talking with him, if not then leaving him standing in the snow was fine by her!

Get away from something? Rolling her eyes she just marched on ignoring the male. What could he know anyway? Her mother and father loved and she lived on a nice farm while it was boring to tears the trips out made it bearable. There was nothing to escape from. His other words made her pause and shiver, but he tried to convince herself that it was only from the cold and not form something as mundane as fear. She was strong enough to take care of herself. After he took off she figured she was rid of him and that was a good thing. She still shivered and mulled over his words though. Shaking her head she was sure she would be fine. When he came down she tried so hard to deny the relief she felt that she wasn’t alone. His words disappointed her though. Looking back at him she sighed. She wanted to ask him he was certain; yet somehow she was sure. Plugging through the snow she couldn’t take the silence after a while. “You said you were from down south. Why would you want to deal with the snow?” That was a thought she just didn’t quite understand, at all.

“I have no reason to travel. My home is with my father and his herd with a few trips to see my grandfather and his herd. The only other one I would see would be as far as the big lake to see my biological grandmother.” She made a noise that she didn’t really care to think about too much. “so your mother… she was from up north? Or just a seasonal bird like yourself?” She found herself getting a bit curious listening to him. He came all this way to see something his mother talked about? Her hooves found a small shallow ditch she didn’t’ know was there and ended up shoulder deep in snow for a moment. Stopping she tested another few steps to see if the slope went back up it took about three steps but it started back up. Breathing a sigh of relief she hopped forward to plough through the snow faster and get up to the other side of the ditch sooner.

Smart a** she noted he didn’t have the problem with the ditch that she had. So he had just watched a mare and learned from her mistake. Not troublesome but annoying. “There’s enough in the north that I have little interest in the south. Look at the human city as an example. It’s full of life and changing all the time. Then there are the outlying farms and such. I can’t imagine moving even for the sake of love. It can’t be that interesting.” She shook her head. “my grandsire found a mare he thought was his mate for life and they drifted apart in time he found another and has been with her since, though really how does one know it’s for life when life has not been fully lived?” She snorted. “My mother found her mate and simply chose to stop looking.”

She gave the male a sidelong glance. “I am glad your mother is still alive. I never really heard positive things about the southern lands before since they are so arid and all. I think losing a mother would be horrible no matter the conditions or the hardships you are used to.” She supposed that wasn’t really helpful but at least it was something right?

“Oh. Human cities do have a lot of interesting things. Even the clothes the human’s decorate themselves with you could spend all day starring.” She remembered the humans she knew from the farm and those she had seen on trips to the city. Some of them looked like clowns others like lords. She marched along in the snow and stopped to look around. One of the drawbacks to being in the greater plains was the distinct lack of anything but hills when there was snow on the grown. Looking for a rise she altered her coarse a bit to head up. While her new companion hadn’t seen much in the sky she wanted to see herself. Moreover if she found a forest there would be spots where the snow wasn’t as deep. Pine would be nice and warmer to huddle under.

“The temperature varies it’s true but this storm was fairly nasty and there are better spots near the lake I’ve heard. And the humans keep the city fairly clear and the outlying farms aren’t too bad.” She was just complaining about the snow but really what else could be different. It did rain everywhere.. just perhaps a bit more up north but that was easy to deal with.