The cool air of Pisces seeped in around the small arrangement of boulders that created a small nearly hidden cave. The little filly shivered in her sleep. The two pearl horns on face and nose glimmered as dew settled on them and lights from the orbs high above filtered through the cracks in the boulder arrangement. The little storm grey filly inhaled deeply as her soft brown eyes fluttered open. A rush of air came from the little fillies mouth as she shivered again.

Slowly the little girl climbed up onto her too long legs uncertainly. She had only been out a few weeks and was still really getting her legs under her. The little filly shook her whole body finishing with a flick of her tail. She was freeing herself from the dew that hadn settled on her over the time she had been asleep.

The little filly stuck her head out of her little home and looked about sheepishly. This wasn’t her home after all, it belonged to Fahl. She was just allowed to live here with him. Brown eyes cast about before the rest of the body followed the head out of the boulder arrangements. Slowly she walked at slow curious and careful pace, her every step thought out fully before being taken. The little filly was heading towards the long hole that she had seen the day before. The hole being the tunnel leading from Pisces to Orion. The little girl was finally leaving Pisces for the first time and striking out to check out the rest of this place on her own.

As she came to the tunnel she was hit with the full brunt of a blast of frigid air from the tunnel. The little girl peered into the tunnel for a moment. Breathing in the freezing air the little girl struck out, not knowing that this was not the only way out of Pisces. The little girl moved down the icy slope, her hooves slipping every now and then causing her to stumble every few steps as she moved, going in the tunnel rather hard and energy consuming. Soon the girl had to stop and catch her breath.

@James

James had been hanging out in front of the tunnel until now. He'd studied birds as they took off and landed, watching them flit back and forth, and now he was confident he could try. He inhaled and spread his wings, taking off at a gallop across the stone. Jumping as high as he could, he brought his wings down, eyes clenching shut. He soared into the air, wings holding strong, carrying him higher and higher.

His eyes opened and he gasped, laughing gleefully as he flapped, head craned forward and his tail feathers spread, his hind legs out behind him and his front legs tucked up. His hind legs acted as rudders, the feathers on his ankles helping him steer. He swooped down and into the cavern, fluttering his wings like he saw a larger bird do, landing softly. He'd done it!

Trotting forward, he shook his wind-blown mane back into a comfortable position, a grin on his face. He made his way a bit further, intending on trying again, before he heard hooves on rock and ice.

"... Hello?", he called out, head turned further into the tunnel, "Who's there?"

@Stormy

The young filly moved forward through the ice and rock tunnel. Her hooves slipped and slid with each unsteady step the little girl took. Soft hazel eyes looked out upon the frigid tunnel. Silver ears shifted forward as they listened. The only thing to be heard was the air moving through the tunnel and the faint sound of something rustling in the air. The little filly gave a soft whinney as she watched her breathe puff out in front of her in a littler white cloud. She had come to the coldest part of the tunnel, the lowest dip in the area. A soft shiver ran through the fillies unprepared body. Her fur was far from thick enough to keep out the cold. She had been born in a near subtropical climate of Pisces.

The little filly was panting with exertion by the time she had reached the upward slope of the tunnel. She wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to make it up this side. Her hooves had given her enough trouble on the downward slope. However she was determined to make it to a new place. She wanted to see where this led and what was on the other side.

Slowly the filly began to make her way up the other side, each step unsure and seeking a place that was rough enough for her smooth hooves to grip onto. The going here was even slower than it had been coming down from Pisces. She was exhausted but she knew she had to keep going. Soon her pointed ears shot forward as they caught the sound of a voice calling not far away. Slowly the filly came up over a ridge and was greeted with the sight of another much larger equine than herself. Standing there her body trembled shivering from the cold. Though her hazel eyes looked up at this new creature she shied away a bit back up to the edge of the ridge. ”H-hello?” She managed to squeak out though her voice was trembling from the cold not nervousness.

@James

A voice!

James drifted forward and readied his magic, struggling to see in the slight gloom. A wisp burst into being, glowing brightly like a flame. It illuminated the tunnel, and he hummed gently, pleased. He flew forward, the wisp floating with him, and made his way forward, hoping he wasn't hearing things.

A small filly appeared from out of the gloom, and he landed, rather... shocked.

"... Hello," he said softly, making his way forward slowly, careful of the ice, "Are you alright? You're... shivering."

He floated the wisp closer, even though it didn't give off heat. He didn't have anything that would grant that ability, other than his wings. Though he didn't want to intrude and possibly invade her personal space by snuggling the filly up in his fluffy feathers.

"You must be cold. Come, Orion is at the end of the tunnel, where I came from. It's warmer there, and I can give you blankets if you follow me," he said.

@Stormy

The little filly squinted her hazel eyes as she attempted to see farther in the gloom. She heard something up ahead she wasn’t sure what, but she wasn’t going to run. If she ran that might make them chase her. It would be best to assess the situation first before making any choice. So instead of stopping the little girl continued to make her way up the steep icy slope. As she rounded the top finally her body shivering and her sides heaving from exertion, she found herself face to face with another like herself. Though he was black and had feathers and wings, so he wasn’t like her either. The little filly stopped as she rounded the slope top looking at the other her.

Then he spoke, answering what she had said moments before. As he advanced on her she leaned back slightly dipping her head shyly as she watched the new her come closer. He asked if she was okay. ”I-I’m cold..” She stumbled over her words, her mouth not seeming to be able to quite form the sounds she wanted it to as the cold had seeped deep into her body even affecting her speech. She stood her ground though her body trembled harshly from the cold.

Then he was talking again. He was promising warmth and ease from the cold. For a moment the little filly stood debating her options. And she didn’t like what it would look like if she stayed in this place too much longer. ”T-thank Y-y-you.” She wasn’t liking how it was feeling her jaws stiffening up and her lips not moving to form the words as she wanted them to without great effort. So she decided the fewer words at this point the better. But she gave the newcomer a gentle nod as she took a step forward, the light of his wisp glimmering off the two peal horns on her face.

@James

James nodded gently and raised a wing, very slowly draping it over Stormy's body. The underside was warm, like a heated blanket. James himself ran hot, too, and his fur coat kept away the chill, for the time being.

"What's your name, little one?", he asked, "My name's James."

The wisp lead the way through the tunnel, guided by his magic. He helped the filly up the slippery slopes, towards Orion. It wouldn't be long before they reached the cave. It was concerning how cold the other was, but she was still shivering, which was a good sign. She still had energy. Once they got home, he'd put some food into her.

"Do you like fruit?", he asked, hooves firm and steady on the rock, familiar with what spots were slippery and which ones weren't.

@Stormy

The filly stiffened a bit as the newcomer came close. However she relaxed quickly enough when she felt the warmth of his wing envelope her and began to drive off the cold. The filly looked up at him through curious naive eyes. Her ears quickly shot forward in surprise at how warm the newcomers wing really was against her short coat. Slowly the little filly side stepped to walk closer to the newcomer’s side. She found that his body gave off quite a bit of heat that soon enough began to drive the cold from her small body.

The newcomer spoke asking what her name was, then gave her his own. ”I’m Stormy.” The little filly responded in a much more confident tone now that her mouth seemed to be working better now that she was sharing the newcomers warmth. She was very thankful that he had come along or she might never have made it out of here alive at least.

The little filly watched the wisp in front of them as they moved the rest of the way through the tunnel the wisp in the lead. ”Is that yours?” She asked meaning the wisp. She wondered if he was the only one able to do that. ”Are you magic?” She asked gazing up at James through curious hazel eyes. Soon enough her shivering began to subside though she trembled every now and again as she walked.

As they walked James asked if she liked fruit. SHe wasn’t sure, she didn’t exactly know what that was. ”What’s fruit?” The only thing she had ever eaten was the algae and sparse grasses of Pisces. This had been her first trek outside of Pisces and it had apparently not been a very smart Idea to come this way. Perhaps she should have looked farther in the cave with Fahl and found a different route out of Pisces. But that was too late now, and she had met a nice thing like her. The little filly smiled up at James.

@James

James lead her forward and out of the tunnel, taking a few moments to stand outside it and ruffle his feathers further to allow him to heat up even further. He glanced at Stormy and then at the wisp, and huffed.

"It's mine," he said, "I can use magic, but I don't think I'm inherently 'magic' myself."

He tucked her further into his side and hummed softly, "Well... fruit is a soft kind of food. Typically it's very very sweet and delicious, though there are sour or bitter kinds, like lemons and limes. Though when we get somewhere safe, I'll give you the nice kind."

He swished his tail back and forth idly, making his way further into Orion.

@Stormy
Exit James (to new thread?)

The little filly followed alongside the one named James quietly. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a million questions for him, because my god was she curious about what she was. But her mouth still wasn’t up to par for her liking to speak. So instead she opted to admire her new acquaintance's wings. They were alike but also not. He had feathers on his head and neck, he had feathers on his rump and strangest of all, he had wings! Of course she had been startled when she had seen her own reflection for the first time. The two horns on her nose were light so she hardly noticed them. But still she hadn’t known what to expect from her own reflection. She was pretty, but James was far prettier than her.

She nodded a bit as she listened to him talk. It didn’t take them much longer to reach the other end of the tunnel and exit into the Orion cavern. A little smile tugged at her lips as she was tucked ever closer to James’ side. She may not have known him very well, but he seemed really nice. Then he explained what fruit was and a grin spread across her face. ”They sound so yummy!” The little filly cheered giving a little prance as she walked.

The little filly followed alongside him eagerly. Even more so now that she was in the far warmer cavern known as Orion.

@James

EXIT STORMY TO NEW THREAD