The mare spread her wings wide in the brisk morning air. The sun had only just pulled free of the horizon and set the icy dew to twinkling in the early light. She shook her many wings out, spreading them wide to catch all of the sun they could - it was cold this morning. She gave her whole body a bit of a shake to drive the sleep from her bones and the dew from her hair and feathers. It was well over time to rise for the day!
She'd allowed herself a rare morning to sleep in and couldn't say she regretted the change. She found it difficult to rise before the sun in the winter, particularly as it got colder and darker. She was a creature of the sun and warmth and light. Winter always brought her down. Still, as winters went this one was shaping up to be fairly mild and so she had no complaints.
She made her way to the gently flowing stream she'd camped near and bent her neck to drink deeply of the cool, refreshing water.
Lady Aria Starstone
