[mature] I'm obsessed with you but you'll never work me out; Nashua

[Nashua]

Where had the day gone?

Nashua had been certain that there still had been plenty of it to find this morning. It had been cold and the winter air had been brisk but there had been enough of spring - a slight, uplifting current to it - that had made the Hersir hopeful for warmer days. Leilan had asked a few things of Nash - (a polite practicality, Nash thinks; what was there really to ask when he could just summon the answers?) - and at the first available moment, the striped pegasus had gone racing for the clouds.

The journey home is always longer than he wishes and by the time he lands near the Taigan coast, the day is already half-over.

How?

Shaking the salt and sea from his dark wings, the pegasus goes in search of his family. Winding through the trails that he has known from birth, Nashua made a mental list of things that he needed to get done before departing for the Isle again: another trip to Hyaline with Bolder, speak with Yanhua about an upcoming visit of Tephra, spend more time with his children and the thought of his brood always makes him think of @[Noel]. He peered through the dense forest, as if just thinking of his pale mate might make her materialize from thin air.

It helps that he is nearly there - near the small copse of Silvergreens that houses all five of his children and their mother. One copper ear swivels as it catches the sound of faint giggling and Nashua stops, expecting one of the triplets to break the other-worldly silence that emanated through the ancient forest. A shimmer of white distracts him and Nash turns his head to see Noel looking at the snow-covered canopy above them, like she was reciting a prayer. Did she know how lovely she looked? Surrounding by the midwinter snow and the stark green of the woods, she looked like the answer to his. "Excuse me Miss," the Hersir calls out to her with a lopsided grin already tugging at the edges of his pale lips, "You look lost."

The winged stallion dips his head and takes a few steps towards her (though one ear still flicks, listening for any of their children) before he comes to stop directly in front of her with a smile that reaches his green eyes, where a warmth burns that keeps out the winter cold. "Can I help you find something?"

NASHUA