[open] i never watch the stars, there's so much down here

[Aetheria]

aetheria

Aetheria was swirling with emotions today. Warring feelings had wound themselves tightly around her heart, their bittersweet bites lifting and dampening her spirits all at once. A painting come to life sprawls before her; the beauty of the meadow was only dampened by a dismal memory. Finally her ears perk as she forces some optimism to the surface, it felt so wrong to be anything but completely content in this place. The loners and herds scattered across the abundant grasses weave into a tranquil tapestry of many coats and colors. Tension and anger were all too common in these chaotic days, but those dark clouds seemed to have no meaning here. Still there was one thing wrong. The colors. Beqanna's bright paints that had once been brushed over many coats were now so few and far between. It seemed another quiet warning from The Fairy, one that the Reckoning had screamed. Suddenly Aetheria feels uneasy, as if a predator were hiding in the shadows. A silly thought really, but she moves from the isolated hill nonetheless. The palomino trots down the Earth's gentle slope, becoming just another plain speck within the gathered masses. 

{Sorry, this is my first time writing as her!}

[Djinni]

The flash of a golden coat catches her eye, but it takes only a moment longer for Djinni to realize that it is not him. She sees him everywhere in every palomino coat and flaxen mane, but the yellow mare that stands in the meadow is not who she is looking for.

She watches her for a moment longer though, wondering what is going through the other female's mind as she looks down at the swirling maelstrom of horseflesh. The Meadow is one of the few familiar places that remains in an otherwise new Beqanna; it only makes sense that so many of them linger here,

Djinni briefly considers turning away and heading back to the sea, but there are still several hours until sunset (she does not want to miss it sinking behind the waves) and she decides instead to follow the palomino mare, She might not be Walter, but Djinni is fond of palomino coats. She changes her own as she comes closer, the soft dove grey of her smokey grullo hide lightening into a buttery yellow. Her black mane and tail remain - as do her dark primitive markings and splash of tobiano white - and she greets the other male with a gentle smile on her buckskin face.

"Hello there," she says with a friendly nod of her petite head, appreciating that she does not need to look up at the other mare as she does so many other equines. Beqanna seems prone to height in its children; Djinni had not been gifted with such genetics. "I'm Djinni."

[Aetheria]

aetheria

It'd been at least a week since Aetheria had spoken to someone (the sharp words of a passing stallion were negligible at best). Her energy had faded to dismal amounts by the time she reached the gathered horses; so when a buckskin mare greets her with a friendly smile Aetheria’s countenance and disposition lifts to the treetops.

It's strange how the 4 word conversation cheers her already, seeing as the rest of it could go in an entirely different direction, but she is nothing if not an optimist.

“What a pretty name,” Aetheria reflects Djinni’s smile with ease. It's odd to see another palomino that mirrors her physique in all but markings. Odd, yet strangely comforting. At least she doesn’t have to stand several feet away just to see her expression.

"I’m Aeth-Ria.” the words stumble over themselves like a newly born foal “Ria.” she repeats with more care.

The epithet had sounded so natural when it came from her latest friend, "Ria" is still foreign on her tongue.

A lapse in memory leaves her staring problem unnoticed as the plain mare regards her new acquaintance. Though Djinni's friendly aura never falters, hers expression was the unmistakable one of an occupied mind. At least that’s what Ria has discerned from her wandering eyes.

Perhaps that isn’t the right term. Darting? Scanning? Djinni's gaze flits to and fro with certainty, these searching glances clearly have a purpose.

“Are you looking for someone?” Ria asks with a curious tilt of her head (it was a habit she’d had since she was just a filly, one that she couldn’t seem to break).

The words are odd and out of place even to her unpracticed ears, and she regrets her forwardness immediately. The last thing she wanted was to offend or unnerve the friendly mare .

[Djinni]

Djinni appreciates compliments, and ones on her name are much more common from newly met mares. Stallions tend to flatter her looks, and while Djinni has no overt preference for either sex, it is nice to see nothing but friendliness in the expression of the other mare. The shielded expressions of her sisters have become tiresome of late, and that - combined with her search - is what had brought her to the meadow.

"Aetheria," she repeats with a smile, "I like yours as well."

And she does. It flows off the tongue without any harsh sounds; it reminds her of what a fairy might choose to name itself. When Aetheria - Ria - asks if she is looking for someone, Djinni turns her attention back to the palomino mare. There is something almost akin to guilt on her dark face, but it is easily wiped away by the self-deprecating smile that follows.

"I'd just wondered if a friend was here," she answers. "He's palomino, like you."

This time, her attention seems determined to not wander, and she meets Ria's brown eyes with her own sea-green gaze. She is curious, so she asks with a quirk of her brow: "What about you, Ria? Are you here to meet anyone in particular?"