With the grace of a swan Aera drifted carefully down to the meadow below, setting to the ground in a lofty canter with wings beating to keep her landing smooth. Her venture from the Gates had not been too long having taken to the skies rather than walking. Plus she wanted to avoid traversing the forest now that winter had finally arrived. She never liked the feeling in that place so she skirted around the forest, choosing to keep well away and to where the air was the least frigid along the route.. She breathed a sigh of relief as she slowed to a walk and made her way toward one of the many creeks that were woven like lace throughout the meadowland. She dipped her finely dished head to the water's surface and shivered as the frigid water caressed her pink velvet muzzle and drew in a large gulp, shivering slightly as the icy water slid down her parched throat. She had forgotten just how cold the meadow got this time of year in comparison to her beloved spring-like home in the Gates. She had not stopped to graze or drink on her way here either, too set on her course and in her head to think of her own hunger and thirst, so she gasped lightly after she swallowed the last mouthful of the cool mountain fed creek water. 

Her breathing had finally steadied into a slow rhythm as her blood settled from it's pounding in her veins. She never knew when to take breaks, even in her many years of life she still had yet to figure out her own limits. She didn't ever let that stop her, her drive for social interaction triumphed over all else. She was eager to converse, to find anyone to listen to. She loved adding stories to her arsenal, learning about others and each of their unique and vastly different lives. She never tired of it, and only wished to learn more. Be it knowledge or personal stories of life, she was like a blank tome ready to receive those bits of knowledge and life. It was as if it was the drive that kept her life eternal. She smiled to herself, her eyes softening as she recalled past stories she learned from those she met within the last century and twenty years. The life lessons she learned and pondering on what she had yet to. Her gaze drifted across the cold meadow and her feathers were puffed up at her sides to keep the air within them and her body beneath well insulated since her winter coat was little more than a light layer of hair beneath her sleek coat of cream and dappled gold. She did not call out, only surveyed. She knew eventually company wiould find their way to her.