Ramiel follows Joscelin gamely at first, stalking her through the forests of their home. Ever since that day by the river, they had grown closer. And as the only residents under the age of three in the Dale, they were each other’s only potential playmates. Today, he means to sneak up on her. But as she wanders further than ever (and with the thunderclouds a looming threat in the sky) it becomes clear that this is no ordinary trek. She plans on taking advantage of the absence of their mothers and leave the kingdom borders. He is immediately interested in this adventure, but more so, he is interested in her safety.
His urge to protect is already a well-sharpened tool.
So the black and gold boy keeps a distant pace behind the girl. When she emerges into the strained sunlight of the meadow, he keeps to the trees a bit longer. It smells different here. The intermingling of many foreign bodies overpowers the faint smell of lush grass and rich earth. He crinkles his nostrils but catches himself before letting out a snort. From the shadows of his hiding place just inside the treeline, Ramiel can see all of the reasons for his overwhelmed nose. More horses than he could ever imagine graze and talk peacefully all around them. The colt thinks that all of Beqanna has surely gathered here, as many as there are.
But after a brief survey, he has eyes only for one of them. Joscelin meanders towards a sentinel oak tree and seems to be admiring its rough bark. Bemused but still wary of threats, Ramiel takes a step towards the tree and the filly, ready to reveal himself. But a sudden, blinding light floods all of his senses and stops him in his tracks. It sears a halo into his eyes and his ears hum with the aftershock of sound. His heart races wildly until he can see once more.
Two others are drawn to the display and he hurries towards them. The bay and white filly stands atop the destruction of her own doing, and not for the first time, the Dalean boy is amazed. Amazed, and also a bit concerned (though not for her safety – it is clear that she can more than take care of herself with such a gift). It was his choice to step out of the trees, but he smiles sheepishly up at her as if she’d caught him following her. Another filly and a mare already cluster around the fallen oak, and he turns to them and smiles politely. “I’m Ramiel, pleasure to meet you two.”
The other filly is overly serious (a fact he can appreciate, to perhaps a lesser degree) but the woman is the complete opposite. She’s much larger than the three foals combined, however, and he doesn’t want to offend the behemoth. So when she introduces the…stick… Ramiel amends his previous greeting. “Err, the three of you that is.”
r a m i e l
what a day to begin again