The forest here isn't so different from Echo Trails. Towering old trees and slender young ones, most of them bare of leaves and heavily laden with snow. Little clearings here and there, where I can see more of the sky than just glimpses of grey peeking through interlaced branches. I've come across a few frozen-over streams, the ice too thick to paw through and reach the bit of water still managing to flow beneath the surface. This latest one is the same, too long frozen to break through. That's something I like about home; we've got a nice river running through our herd land that still flows, and I'd much rather drink than munch on snow.

Still. I'm damn thirsty, so I scoop up a mouthful of the crunchy white and follow the stream. Maybe it'll flow into a nice little pond or a lake, or even a big river that's still liquid all the way up. And maybe I'll find someone to talk to along the way. I'd hate to go home and have to tell my dads I'd gone all the way to the Forest and all I'd done was wander around.

Wandering might be fine for my aunt, Daeryssa. My cousin Tycho seems to enjoy it too. Me, though? I don't really like being on my own, and experiences are more fun when you have someone to share them with. That's the whole point of being out and about even in this weather, after all! I could be curled up against dragon skin, keeping nice and cozy and listening to Grandma's stories. But we came all this way to Beqanna, and I'm damn well going to make some friends. Get to know people. Maybe even...I mean, someday maybe even find someone to love. If I'm lucky.

And brave. I've seen what love can do to people when it goes wrong. Still Dad is so much happier now that he has Papa back. Aunt Ryss is much happier too, now that she broke free of her self-imposed imprisonment and fell for Uncle Zuzu. So. Maybe it's worth the risk. I guess it doesn't matter at this point. I'm young yet, only about four in this body according to Grandma. There's plenty of time to worry about things like love later.

With a sigh, I walk on, searching for some sign of life. Snow begins falling gently, dainty flakes catching on my white hair and lashes, lingering on the platinum-pale roaning that frosts my almost black coat and making most of my body look even lighter than usual. Still I wander, finally coming to the end of the stream, where it empties into a lake. The water is no less frozen here, but something more determined or gifted than I am has carved out some of the ice and left a place to drink. It's already started to freeze again, crystals forming on the surface and turning water to slush. I'd take slush over snow any day, so I lower my head to drink deep, my thick forelock obscuring my vision a little, falling over one gold eye.

The water is lovely, cold and clear and just what I needed. Thank goodness for whatever mysterious creature left such a conveniently placed hole in the ice and made it easy to get to. Footsteps and a soft exhalation clue me into the approach of a stranger. Her voice is gentle, with a hint of an accent even two words in, and my lips curve into a smile. She sounds sweet. And maybe kind of adorable. It's admittedly hard to tell going just by voice though, so my best bet for finding out is to turn around and look.

I raise my head from the water, backing away from the hole in the ice and maneuvering myself back around to take a look. Though I could, in retrospect, just have taken a peek over my shoulder, this seems more polite. More welcoming, yeah? “Hello there yourself,” I reply, stepping a little closer and looking her over. I was right; she's cute, a very pretty face, lovely arching neck, clean lines and gentle curves not quite hidden by her thick winter coat. And I like the sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.

“My name's Dara,” I tell her, answering her little smile with a huge, unrestrained grin of my own. The look in her eyes makes me think she might be fun to get into a little trouble with. New partner in crime? Yes please. I close the distance between us to something a little more amenable to a nice conversation with a stranger. “I'm from Echo Trails, live there with my dads and my grandma, and my aunt and uncle and cousin.”

And I hear there are some baby sisters on the way too, which is really damn exciting. I've always wanted to be a big sister, and now that my dads are finally back together it seems like a whole lot of my dreams are coming true. One big happy family. It was nice, with Dad and Grandma when I was little. But I always wondered what it would be like, always hoped I'd find out.

There were even a couple of times I thought maybe a guy Dad was seeing would be good enough, would stick for real, and I'd have a chance at a big family again. But I could see in Dad's eyes it was never...he loved, but never as hard, never as completely, never as much as he'd loved Papa. So it never lasted. But now? Now I've got my Papa back, and we've got three new sisters due to make an entrance soon. I can't fucking wait.

“What about you? What's your name? Where're you from?”