KalahariMeerkatfan

It seemed to take ages and at times Monstera had to stop or change directions, but finally, they reached the grove only to find all the visible trees had trees empty of fruit and branches. Monstera looked at Iora with a raised brow, a what-did-you-expect look on her face. Iora chose to ignore it and instead walked forward. "It may not seem like much," Iora said. "But I think we should look around anyway. There is always a chance that you might find a brave piece of fruit still clinging to the branch or maybe some fruit on the ground that is still edible." She recalled the time when they met Ragnar and how they had all been feasting on apples that had somehow survived the worst of the frost. There was always a chance you could run into a rotten piece of fruit or it could give you a nasty stomach ache later. But in her mind, it was worth it. Monstera didn't seem convinced and even Daine looked as if she were now having second thoughts. In the end, they chose to stick around and the

"You do know that it is currently the middle of winter. No?" Monstera lifted a brow as Iora set off from the pear grove with Daine following close behind. The others had chosen to sit this adventure out, wanting to remain in a place where there was shelter from the wind, easy access to water, and food in the form of pears that had been carefully saved during the spring, summer, and fall. While the last time she'd left them alone may not had gone as planned, Iora did trust Thor and knew that the golden-and-white stallion would do his best to keep everything under control and he did have a dragon on his side to help scan from above if needed. Telling herself one last time that everything would be fine while they were gone, Iora tried to instead focus on the quest at hand. Though perhaps Fool's Errand would be a more fitting term to call it. Monstera did have a very good point after all. It was indeed the middle of winter and there was snow all around. This was not the season for

Iora bit her lip as she watched the other mare begin to walk away, glancing back in the direction of the pear grove. She then looked back around to see that the mare had almost disappeared from view and the sight of that pale tail tuft floating against the darken forest made Iora recall yet another moment from her childhood. She had once again been a young foal then and had been unable to fall asleep one night. Her mother, sister, and the rest of the herd had quickly dropped off to dreamline one by one. But not the little red roan. Iora had looked up at the sky then that was full of stars, kind of like tonight, and then she saw it. It was a little streak of light, gone so fast that Iora hadn’t been entirely sure if she saw it in the first place. But then another one came, and then more. The foal had been scared at first, huddling closer to her mother’s flank. But the streaks never came at her and Iora had watched until no more came. Then she fell asleep and later told her mother the

Well, she might have turned down her offer to help, but at least the stranger didn't dismiss Iora outright and she had been fairly friendly. Iora decided to stick around for at least a little while longer because maybe she would learn some things about this curious stranger and later share it with her friends. They would probably never believe her claims of meeting a strange kind of unicorn, not without some kind of proof, but at least Iora knew that she was real and that this encounter currently happening was not within the confines of the dream world. Iora watched the blue mare in silence for a little while, then took several steps forward until she stood over the patch of moss. Iora glanced at the mare for a bit, noting what the stranger was taking and what she was leaving. Once she had a vague idea, Iora began to collect some moss of her own. She had always seen moss as a kind of food and never really thought about taking care when plucking it up from its place on the earth. But

Iora made her way through the forest at a slow walk. There was really no need to hurry and if one was smart, then they didn't rush headlong into what could prove to be a dangerous situation. Iora kept her ears pricked and moving, ready to catch any sound that did not seem right. Her eyes were mainly focused on the glittery trail before her, yet Iora made sure to be aware of her surroundings. Not just to keep safe, but also so that she would not get lost. The first time she lost track of her friends had been a mistake, but to lose them twice? That would be just plain embarrassing. Despite the cautious nature of her tread, Iora was actually enjoying herself. She was venturing into the unknown here and it felt rather nice. Even if nothing exciting actually happened, at least Iora had something to tell her friends when she did go home. That didn't stop Iora from still trying to eat a sparkle that had gotten too close, but once again she either had missed or maybe it was something