Such a beautiful place it is, to be with friends - Rani

[penguin]

One of the first signs of winter had occurred overnight; a layer of snow. It was not thick by any means, but the layer was deep enough for hoof prints to be made, as the young colt was discovering. It was his first winter, and he was mesmerised by the white powdery precipitation and the tracks he left as he walked forwards, a movement he had mastered very quickly. As he gained more confidence he began to bounce around a lot more, leaping and laughing as he flicked up small clusters of soft flakes, aiming for the chilled lake that had managed to avoid being iced over thus far. In the nick of time he turned sharply, avoiding touching the water as he looked back whilst releasing a loud whinny to get his mother to hurry up. She wasn't far away and replied with a return nicker as she trotted over to him, stopping before him. "You have to much energy, Fallon!" she nudged his poll affectionately, lightly tugging on the forelock that was growing. He squirmed beneath her touch, prancing on the spot. His bright gaze was focused on the ground beneath his hooves, watching as trampled grass appeared before plummeting to the water's edge again to drink the frigid liquid. Ffion chuckled slightly as she watched her colt lovingly, moving her bay body to the lake so she could drink also.

Fallon was distracted by a figure in the distance, a stallion if he was not mistaken. Looking back at his mother he reared up to nudge her shoulder affectionately, before darting off to see who the stranger was. The mare looked up with the colt's actions, her brown eyes following him. She knew it was important for him to gain social skills, but that didn't stop her worrying. He was the future king of Bastein Bayou, and she didn't want to see him get in any trouble. He was such a sweet, fun-loving child she didn't want to see that taken away from him. From a safe distance she began to follow the river, trailing behind the kid as he ran off towards the stallion. Fallon, meanwhile, had already reached the stag. "Hullo!" he blurted out excitedly, his short tail flicking as he skidded to an ungainly halt on the slippery surface next to the adult. "I'm Fallon, who are you?" his voice was clearly happy, his words quite well developed. The gent regarded the foal with disdain, before turning away. Fallon followed uncertainly until it became clear that the stallion was not going to play. His ears fell back against his skull dejectedly, turning around to head back to Ffion, who was annoyed with the rude brute for not so much as saying a word. The young colt reached his mother's side and snuggled up against her frame, clearly upset with what had happened. Ffion gently brushed her muzzle against his neck soothingly, becoming more protective of her beloved son.

OOC: The title is a quote from Harry Potter. Don't judge xD

[Seele]

Rayner

There was nothing more amusing then a pony in winter, especially when they were as fluffy as Rani. He was currently trying to admire himself in the calm waters of the lake but his amazing mane was making it exceptionally hard. He shook his head in an attempt to move his unruly forelock from view, with little success. Rani chuckled and moved away from the chilly lake into the more protected trees around the lake. It had been rather quiet around the free lands recently and though Rani tended to enjoy company, it was nice to be alone for a bit.

The thought of taking a mid-day nap was crossing his mind when he heard the high-pitched whinny of a foal followed by the deeper nicker of his mother. His ears pricked forward, he was tempted to go find them, but for the moment he was content to hang back and let them be. Rani started to doze off when he heard what sounded like the pair moving off. He shook himself as a giant yawn racked through his body then trotted out his little cover toward them. He was almost shocked to see the little foal bolting towards a stallion, though the thought that he could be the kids dad did cross his mind.

The way the stallion acted towards the poor foal made Rani's heart wrench, the poor thing looked so broken up over it. They hadn't noticed the small stallion yet and he gently cleared his throat,"Hello, I'm Rayner, I hope I am not intruding or anything." Rani Bowed to them and smiled, which was comical with how low his forelock sat over his eyes.

[penguin]

Ffion kept her hold on Fallon as he nestled into her bay side, her glare following the stallion in the distance still until she heard movement on the other side of her. Lifting her head up she turned to face the hairy stallion that had approached whilst she was comforting her son, his eyes barely visible beneath his thick strands of forelock. It would have been an amusing sight if she wasn't feeling so protective of her colt after the recent meeting. Her ears flickered back slightly until the stallion lowered himself into a bow. He seemed friendly enough and the mare's stance relaxed slightly. "You aren't intruding Rayner. My name is Ffion, and this is Fallon," she smiled slightly, her tone as warm as could be expected under the circumstances. Fallon peeped at the stallion from beneath the safety of his dam's stomach, curious but wary. His chestnut head had to be lowered for him to fit under Ffion, he was growing quickly, and he seemed to finish his mother's sentence as he cut her off as she quietened to breathe. "Nice to meet you!" he exclaimed cheerfully, his mind distracted from what happened only minutes before.

Retreating, he darted around his mother to appear by Ffion's front, his ears standing to attention. There was no doubt that he was inquisitive. He had not yet learnt to mask his emotions, and it was only with the utmost restraint that he refrained from asking why this stallion was so... well, fluffy. Taking a few steps forward he watched the stallion as though waiting for him to make the first move. The bay mare kept a close eye on the foal. He was always so intent on playing that he sometimes forgot to toe the line. Returning her gaze to Rayner, she observed him carefully. She didn't doubt that he was here with good intentions but she desperately wanted to make sure that the bundle of joy by her remained cheerful now that he'd just been upset. It only seemed fair that one so young was exposed to limited amounts of pain each day.

[Seele]

It didn't take long for the young mother to relax slightly, how truly harming could a tiny fluffy stallion be? Especially one who thoroughly hated conflict? but how could she know that about him? Rani chuckled at the rambunctious colts introduction, "Very nice to meet you." he smiled once more and shook his head to free it from the long blinding stands of peach colored hair.

He watched the colt for a moment and saw a question forming on his lips, only for it to slip away the next second. Rani took a snad colored hoof and pointed to Fallon,"You look like you had a question? Well go ahead and ask, I am an open book!" He flicked his thick tail against his haunches and smiled, waiting for what the colt would say.

OOC: Short post sorry :\

^{Lineart by: Auraleyki}

[penguin]

Ffion kept a close eye on the stallion for the sake of precaution rather than belief that he would harm the small child, a smile tugging at her lips at his friendly tone. He seemed not to mind her tension, something she was grateful for. She was aware how sometimes it could be awkward and threatening if one member of a group is on edge and volatile. The lass was not typically like this however, and her maternal instincts soon allowed her to take a small step back to her the chestnut flame more room to dart around between the two adults. Rayner seemed like a genuinely friendly guy and letting the last of the tension leave her body she let go off her worry.

The colt was oblivious to this silent communication between mare and stallion. He only knew the male was talking to him with warm lyrics. Watching in amazement at the movement that the stallion made, the bright-eyed foal lifted up one of his own front hooves and stared at it, before his eyes darted back to how the gent was extending his own appendage. Uncertain his balance would allow for such an action, he replaced his hoof on the ground before standing up straighter again and grinning sheepishly for a moment as the stallion acknowledged his curiosity. "Why do you have big hair? Will I have that too?" his voice was inquisitive, unsure whether long, thick locks came from his sex or not. His father, Devereaux had a lot of mane too, whereas Ffion's was of average length. It was natural for the foal to question whether stallions typically had fuller strands. Of course, that didn't stop Ffion chuckling quietly, amused by the question and unable to restrain the laugh that accompanied the smile tugging at her lips.