Patrolling was no longer the joy it had once been, where he could move at whatever pace pleased him (and oh how Siberian had loved to run, the exhilaration of running flat-out was like nothing else), but it was still a duty that he needed to perform as a Chamber Captain.  Usually, it is a quiet task; coming across nothing much aside from the various woodland creatures that populated the piney kingdom.  Today, however, the Budyonny already knows that his usual routine will be different.  As he ambles along in grizzly bear form, his ears catch the sound of distant voices.  Well, that was unusual.  It wasn't often that the Chamber had visitors, and when it did they usually came in the form of one solitary equine.  They are not voices that he recognizes, and after a moment's consideration he shifts back into his natural horse form, black furred except for the irregular star that decorated his forehead.  He has two reasons for this:  one, assuming that they were friendly visitors, there was no point in frightening them with his ursine shape; and two, it was better that strangers *not* know what he was capable of straight off, in case they had ulterior motives for visiting the Chamber.

Now restricted even further, gait-wise, he moves along carefully in the direction of the voices, each hoof sliding cautiously across the ground as it it were a field of ice, shifting to avoid every invisible obstacle that threatened to trip him up.   Siberian listens, ears swiveling like twin radar towers, until he can hear the two speakers breathing nearby, the tiny sounds they make as they fidget while waiting to be greeted, whatever further words they speak as he nears their position.  A deep inhale confirms to the ebony stallion that he knows neither one of these guests, but he tips his head in polite greeting to them anyway, sightless eyes staring straight ahead regardless of where they are actually standing.  Their voices had sounded on the lighter side (I am guessing?) and so he can only assume that both are mares.  He is not used to playing "door greeter", but just because it wasn't something he'd done before, didn't mean that he should ignore visitors when he did come across them on his rounds.  "Hello, I'm Siberian.  What brings you to the Chamber? " He hopes that Nymph would come soon.  His friend would know better how to handle an interaction with strangers, what with being the head of the Diplomatic caste and all, instead of being in the military caste as Siberian was.  

Siberian

The sexy grizzly boy of Beqanna

He tilts his ebony head, puzzled at their query regarding his name, and is about to repeat it.   Before he can do so, however, Kimber's scent--vaguely remembered but now freshly-matched with the sound of her voice--hits his nostrils and the stallion stays silent, letting his commander speak.  She gives the two visitors a minor scolding for their lack of attention regarding his greeting, then asks the question that had been on Siberian's lips as well.  Who indeed was their father, why did he not come himself for whatever duty he'd assigned to his daughters?  He is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, however.  By coming here, they were proving themselves to be dutiful children to their sire, and perhaps they'd simply just missed hearing his name.  He doesn't voice those thoughts aloud, though, not wanting to contradict the Chamber General's opinion, especially in front of strangers.  "Welcome to the Chamber, Prey and Pray.  ", is all he says in response, hoping to seem friendly.

The Budyonny hears Kimber speaking again, addressing him now instead of the foreign mares, and he blinks with surprise, old habits dying hard and all that.  Her casual remark about the sun causes him to let out a soft sigh, as it brings to his mind that night he had strayed into the Silver Cove and spent his evening watching the sunset over the waters while a little pegasus used his paw for a pillow.  She wasn't so little anymore, was Misra.  He can still see her in his mind's eye, the first time she had come to the Chamber as an adult, with a small colt tagging along at her side.  The sight of the child had made him feel vaguely jealous, though he still wasn't sure why.  And the sun.  He would never see it rise again nor set, and that was yet another thing he missed from Before.  He moves closer in the direction of her voice, sliding hoof tips carefully across the ground, and stops when he thinks (hopes!) he is a few feet away, letting her see him better.  "I'm as well as can be expected, thank you Kimber.  And yourself? " 

Siberian

The sexy grizzly boy of Beqanna