( WINTER FERMATA ) | pingu/open

[Deleted]

and when i shut my eyes the facets of color in my lids align Few times in his life has Reidulv felt true panic. There was the summer his father's fourth wife, Inga's mother, had nearly broken down in hysterics because she had thought her youngest had somehow broken his leg. At his fragile age, alarm spread throughout the family at break-neck speed. That had turned out to only be one of the little hellion's horrible ideas of a prank. Their father held out for two hours before Conrad was forgiven. Perhaps the worst incident was during the early morning hours of his first birthday. He had accidentally lost his mother in the midst of a snowstorm. Winter came premature that year, though by some stroke of irony, its strength rivaled even the worst. The desperate search for his dam, already a creature of frailty, sent the young Reidulv into a frenzy. When he found her an hour or so later, chilled but otherwise unharmed, he was a cold, gibbering mess. He never forgot the feeling — the hammering in his chest, the snow biting into his skin and seeping cold to his bones, staring blindly into the gray world around him — and swore it to be the worst he has ever felt. Now, his heart is in his throat and his stomach churns with a wave of déjà vu. "Inga?" Reidulv calls, scanning the shadowed snow with sharp eyes. "Inga, are you here?" Somewhere along the way, his little sister strayed from their path. Truthfully, it isn't surprising. Inga, he has found after years of observation, functions solely on her adventuress spirit. Like him, she has a need to see and know. He has sense enough not to go chasing after every interest that catches his eye, but being hardly more than a baby and green as a springtime shoot, Inga does not. He fears what she might stumble into under the guidance of curiosity. Little more than a specter in the iron-gray shadows of Halete, Reidulv threads a way around the trees. It's hard to see in the wood. The morning is young, and the sunlight that peeks through the canopy is far too weak to help him now. In the earlier hours, a gentle snow must have come about, as the air is still crisp and fresh as the whiteness settles. He lost her scent several yards back. His only comfort at this point is that he has yet to catch wind of another presence. Giving off a low huff, Ingvara's brother slows his pace. He struggles for a calming breath. Perhaps he's being overprotective. Inga is a smart girl. Inga has gone off on her own many times before. At home, Inga was fearless and quick and Inga is every bit as worldly as he or his brothers or their father. ...but Inga is a girl and Inga is alone. Father have mercy. He moves as swiftly as the snow allows. Well-versed in the art of snow-wading, Reidulv weaves through the deadened forest as a native in his element, ears lain forward in piqued alertness. If she has as much sense as he tends to credit her, Ingvara will have taken refuge along the outermost edges of the forest, where cover is strong enough to shelter her from the weather and any unwelcome eyes until he can make it to her. Reidulv frets as he moves ever outward. REIDULV words: 573 tag(s): reidulv for harmonie, but open! notes: TIRED WOW SO TIRED. so yeah, inga is not here right now. she's off doing inga things. she's probably been accepted into a clan of raccoons. she might turn up a few posts in, if that's cool n__n

[penguin]

Steps echoed enigmatically around the forest. The gentle crunch of snow indicated the weight of the creature moving, the softness of the icy rain easily moulded into the shape of whatever was put there. The path this mare took was easily followable but she did not even consider this. What need was there? No one would be here. It was the early hours of morning so the majority of equines would be sleeping still. Predators were much more suited to later hours as well. Pausing her graceful motion, the mare lowered her muzzle to nibble at the tiny amount of grass that had poked through the blanket, grimacing at the chill of the snow that managed to also enter her mouth. Her nose wrinkled slightly and she shook her head to try and encourage more blood flow. Brain freeze was something she'd experienced one too many times.

Snorting softly she started to walk forwards again, each leg elongating to cover as much ground as possible as she extended her gait effortlessly. Her mane and tail flowed gently through the air as wind stirred, caressing each silky, darkly coloured lock and wafting a scent towards her. Rapidly skidding to a halt she turned her head around, ears pricking and eyes quickly growing curious. The scent came from behind her and it was fresh. Someone was there! Inquisitive and keen to find out who the stranger was, she turned around to double back on herself and headed in the direction of the scent. There were two at first but this soon faded into just one masculine odour that captivated her nose. Harmonie, being an innocent lass, loved to meet horses and befriend them regardless of their gender. She loved to play and was still very much like a foal in this sense. She didn't always understand that sometimes others wanted to keep to themselves. This is partially due to the vast amount of energy that she always seems to have in abundance.

Within a short amount of time the figure of a stallion appeared. He seemed tense, something the buckskin femme disapproved off. It was important to her that other equu were happy. She didn't like to see others upset and so she always tried to do whatever she could to cheer them up. Today was no different. Getting closer, she released a soft nicker. Her brown eyes were on the stallion but her frame was on the other side of the path he followed. She did not attempt to quieten her footfalls. She had no qualms about meeting him. The only thing left to be discovered was what he would think of her.