Expedition #5: Winter Wonderland! (Over!)

[LBPhoenix]

((What area of the world are you from, CosmicDragon? I'm from the US, so...yeah, super cold right now. XP))

[CosmicDragon]

((I live on the sunny east coast of Australia. XD Where storms and an excess of heat are abundant.))

[LBPhoenix]

((...of course you are....*sighs hugely* I miss the heat...snow...is...evil....XP Nothing against Australia, by the way. I just really, really hate the cold. I'm envious. By the way, your Giraffe Samanayr is my favorite African animal. That is the coolest samanayr ever!!))

[LBPhoenix]

((Sorry...did I offend you? I didn't mean to. *sighs* I'll stop posting, now. XP))

[CosmicDragon]

((Heh, I prefer the cold to overwhelming heat... My body tends to shut down if I overheat, and it happens a lot. XD But I have been to the snow before, and must agree that snow is evil. o.o Really? Mine too! My room was filled with giraffe plushies before we moved. I brought the oldest one with me. His name is Raffi. And don't worry, no offence taken! :3))

[LBPhoenix]

((Phew! Good. I'm glad. I've always found Giraffes beautiful. Don't have any plushies, though. T_T Wish I did...XD

So, do you think the last three people will show up? I sure hope so. I really don't want to wait til tomorrow. I've got to study for finals and wake up super early for something fun and important. *drinks some hot chocolate*

Yeah...I'm sure you've realized that I'm pretty impatient. XD I'll be learning how to be patient for the rest of my life...go figure. ))

[Britain]

((I imagine you will have to wait until tomorrow anyway. It's 10pm here, and for us old people that's usually bedtime; I don't know that Steele has the energy to do her replies tonight. With any luck, though, we'll have time for another reply or even two before the event is over.))

[LBPhoenix]

((Sounds good. X3))

[Saiki]

((I went off with my parents and sister to see The Nutcracker right after the prompt was posted. Sorry about disappearing!))




Even after living through two snowy, wet winters with his birth Song, and another winter out on his own, Misery of the Desert Winds still hated snow. It never brought up good memories, for one; it reminded him too much of his mother. And anyway, he had Desert blood running through his veins. Not Northern. He wasn't fit for these icy temperatures.

He grumbled to himself under his breath as the Sharians prepared him and the rest of the Samanayrs for the expedition. He had initially scoffed the idea of an expedition. He couldn't see why anyone would want to go on one. But he had heard that they were popular, and that they could be lot of fun (something which he doubted as he shifted from foot to foot in the snow). Items were of course an added benefit to spending hours trudging through stupid snowdrifts.

But he was really only here because expeditions were what "normal" Samanayrs went on. He had decided, at a rather young age, that he was going to be as normal as any other Samanayr stallion. He was going to be charming and funny, have a Song with four mares, and have more offspring than he could care to count. When he had gained knowledge of these expeditions, he had decided that they were another "normal" Samanayr thing he would be doing. He had also decided that he was going to be better than everyone else at these normal stallion activities.

Though unsurprisingly, he'd not had much luck with most of the things on his list so far. But he could not help but hope that the expedition would turn out good. He'd show everyone else that he was no monster! He was the best!

He repeated this to himself as he waited in the snow, watching the other Samanayrs disperse to their chosen locations. He watched the mares out of the corner of his eyes, wondering if all of them were scared of him. A few certainly were. But he mostly paid attention to the stallions, glaring and baring his teeth at those with nastier expressions on their faces.

When there were only a few left beside him, Misery decided that it was time to get going. There was no way he would be going in the caves; too many Samanayrs had already decided to head there for his liking. He considered the field for a moment, but the more he stared at the snowy, featureless landscape, the less he liked the field.

Eventually he decided on the pine forest. There was less snow for him to struggle through there, and it might be slightly more comfortable underneath the huge trees. So with confident strides and a stern expression, Misery headed into the trees, making a face at the decorations and skirting around several of the bundles on the ground.

[Janalee]

Median of the Translucent Glacier inhaled deeply, thoroughly enjoying the crispness of the air; everything, from the way the dawn light sparkled on their frozen puffs of breath, to the very weight of the baskets themselves, seemed full of promise and expectation. Still, it wouldn't do to get completely lost in that feeling; there was plenty of hard work coming up, and she'd need to be paying close attention. With a contented hum, the mare turned to the task at hand, and glanced just a touch coolly at the rest of the Samanayrs, trying to gauge what they were like...and more importantly, where they'd go.
Though they had seemed a varied enough group to begin with, the first half to leave all managed to choose the same location, while Median waited, fully pondering this first, most crucial step. She couldn't help but smirk to herself at the sight, wondering why they were all so eager to rush into that cave entrance; maybe they all had something they wanted to prove, though to whom she couldn't guess. She had to admit that she was secretly pleased with it though; with so much land left open for the rest of them, she didn't expect to have any problems finding an area to herself. It did beg the question though; north or west?
Oddly uncertain, the mare walked slowly towards the northwest, trying to decide while still feeling a little productive. Her initial reaction was to head towards the snowfield; after all, she would blend in reasonably well there, and if she was really lucky maybe she could sneak up on something worth following. It would probably be difficult walking though, and even worse for trying to find any items underneath all that white...and besides, it wasn't like she hadn't seen a snowfield before. The forest, so bedecked in its Christmas finery, would be something new, though she feared the shadows beneath the trees, and even the decorations themselves, might just make her miss things she'd notice so well in the open. Torn, it was really the mare before her that made up her mind; when it became clear she was going towards the snowfield, Median turned directly west, hoping that she might just keep the place to herself.
Picking up her pace considerably, Median still took a little extra time to drag her glass tail through the snow once in awhile, glancing over her shoulder to admire the extra line etched among her tracks; she figured this was her last chance to really just enjoy herself before the work began, and there was something so satisfying about leaving a mark that was distinctly hers. It was on one of these glances though that she finally noticed she wasn't the only one entering the pine forest...and that her companion was a Misery stallion, no less. Her steps paused for a moment, the only indication she showed of her brief instinct to turn back; the other mare would have been a much safer choice, after all. Still, she had wasted enough time already, and certainly the woods were big enough to hold them both; in all likelihood, this would probably be the last she saw of him. With a nod to herself at this line of thought, she strode forth a bit more confidently than she actually felt, and finally entered the forest proper.
The occasional ringing of the bells, though somewhat muffled by the thick foliage, still managed to feel completely pervasive as she passed underneath them- it almost seemed this was some wintry temple, there was something so mystical about it. Median smiled and relaxed slightly at the sound, feeling that perhaps she had made the right choice after all...though, of course, what she managed to find here would determine that in the end. She ventured forth slowly, soon forgetting everything else in her intense perusal of the ground around the trees, as well as their lowest branches- any place that might have the power to trap a lost thing or two.

[Jennalyn]

((Apologies for not responding to this last night. <3 I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and had to crash early.))



Zephyr stared around herself with glassy eyes, uneasily drifting in the crisp winter air. How had she gotten involved in this event? The racing last year was bizarre enough, and that had been a complete fluke. But the Sharians were such an interesting people. Part of her was truly drawn to these events of theirs.

Really, it was the rest of the crowd that made her nervous. Other Samanayrs were about, many of them flightless, and one of them sporting a back mane that she had only heard of in legends. She made sure to float a good distance away from him, twisting her body to half-shield herself from any curious looks. From anyone. How awkward.

When the Sharians indicated that all of them should begin their expeditions, a moment's indecision struck her and she glanced between the three options. Then she wondered why she had even hesitated at all. Did she want to go into a cave, with restricted spaces and uncertain escape? No, not at all. A forest? It would be far less pleasant for her than it might for flightless Samanayrs, and skimming the tops of the trees would defeat the purpose of this expedition. Searching.

In contrast, the crisp winter skies above the snow field beckoned her name with a no-nonsense come-hither. She glanced around herself, realizing that the others had all left, and took off with a 'whuff' of relief. She soared into the sky like a serpentine ribbon, partly propelled by her feathery wings and partly by the Elemental magic that never left her. Constant flight would be nigh-on impossible without it.

High above the hills, the banks, and the snowy concerns of the landscape, Zephyr reveled in the freedom of a clear winter sky. Those clouds didn't concern her, not for at least half a day. Nor did the chill, as she was used to dealing with cold and windy altitudes. The only thing that made her uncomfortable was the ambiguity of their hunt. Below her, she saw one of the other Samanayrs diving headlong into the snow and burrowing for something. Had the mare already found herself a prize? Hmm.

Taking advantage of her ability to cover large distances without the hindrance of snow against her hooves, she sped along over the field, going a good distance away before she slowed to a sedate slide through the air. Eyes scanned the snowy expanse, looking for anything of an unusual color or texture. If she saw anything of that nature, she would drift down for a closer look.

[Britain]

((We are going to do some bank stuff, and Steele is taking her sister to the doctor at noon CST. She will reply when she gets back!))

[LBPhoenix]

((Oooo, I can't wait for the reply post. *tries to wait patiently* :3))

[Orasteele]

LvSoulFriend –
Upon first glance of the cave it seems that there is not much to be found. Unafraid of the dim maw, Whip examines the rock wall. Unfortunately wall is just that, bare rock with a shine that seems to permeate the whole. As Whip begins to paw the ground a piece of something lighter than the rest of the stones goes flying. Upon closer inspection it seems that Whip loosed a piece of trapped Silverbark beneath the rubble. Continuing the search produces no more such treasures.
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Origami_ Dragon-
Once inside the front room of the cave, Triumph discovered it was quite immense. The tiny passage way she’d entered through after passing the mouth was nothing more than a mere hallway that opened into a large antechamber. It was darker here, but as her eyes adjusted she realized something organic on the walls was giving off a faint glow here and there to illuminate the space she resided in.

Upon further inspection, the Lamanayr discovers that the source of the glowing is a mottled patch flowers. Many of the buds are out of her reach and in the darkness it is too dangerous to venture flying… but a single Sunsnap Flower grows eye level just to her right.

After depositing the new found treasure into her basket, Triumph’s nose catches the scent of something sharp and tart- like a berry of some sort. Mixed with the cool crispness of the cave, the berry stands out and is easily discovered in one of the many crags of the wall. Several paces from the flower, the Lamanayr discovers a sprig of Rosa Berries wrapped in a bit of pale colored ribbon around the stems.
--------------------------------

LBPhoenix –
From where Glow rests she can feel the breath of the cave run across her. Sounds of something moving against the ground can be heard. Fear that her crash may have landed her in a predator’s layer she rises to her feet and attempts to gain her bearings. Her heart racing it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the ice cave and find the source of her fears. As the room comes into focus the Lamanayr mare sees two feathers dancing in the crosswinds against the cave floor.

Flashes of brilliant color followed by a shadow scatter across the floor as the two feathers are pushed by the wind. Not to let the feathers go to waste Glow rushes to catch the feathers before they disappear into the dim halls of the cave. Safely tucking away a rainbow lamanayr feather & brown lamanayr feather Glow can continue her treasure hunt.
--------------------------------

Cosmic Dragon –
The sense that the cave was breathing didn’t fade- a rhythmic inhale and exhale of warm ‘breath’ wafting across the Samanayr’s spines and neck ruff. It was so quiet in the small space he’d climbed up into, but the passage gradually opened up into a larger ‘nest like’ room. It was warmer here and the ground was covered with soft dried pine nettles and leaves, as if someone had gathered them and scattered the ‘bedding’ around.

From the way he’d come, thin shafts of light sliced into the darkness and flickers of color caught Poison’s eye. Whatever it was sparkling off the light was dangling from the ceiling. As he crept further, something soft caressed across his snout like the hesitant touch of a friend. Whatever it was, the object was tied with a string and the only thing close enough to grasp.

Upon further inspection, the object turns out to be a vibrant Rainbow Lamanayr Feather. The rest of the room is empty, aside from what looks like a sleeping space that hasn’t been used for a very long time.
---------------------------------

Britain –
Out of the open air and into the cold wet snow! The fresh snowfall hides the trails of what may or may not have passed through the drifts prior. Digging down into the depths, Luster finds little in the way of fresh growth. Almost all the plant life has gone dormant. Just as it seems her bright spirits have all but faded something brilliant red pops up as another section of snow has cleared. Indeed, it seems that Luster has found some live Tandil Berries buried beneath the snow!

Encouraged by the find Luster continues to dig in the snow, but nothing else arises but long expired berries and dead foliage.
-----------------------------------

Saiki –
The thick scent of pine and cinnamon assaulted the stallion’s senses as he entered the pine forest. The lights all over the trees flickered and glittered, casting multicolored gleams across the ground of shiny parcels and packages. It looked only half finished, woven baskets scattered about overflowing with more strings of lights, garland, ribbons, and bows.

The ground was hard due to the chilled weather, but it wasn’t touched by the snow like everything else. A few shrubs and heartier plants fought on for life, growing in an almost dormant state- sleepy like the rest of the wildlife tucked away in warmer patches and tree trunk hollows.

Off to one side, a rocky outcropping was boasting a hearty collection of moss- pale green with the tiniest of buds growing from the cracks between each set of stones. Among these, a clump of something bright crimson sat. It stood out like the decorations dressing the trees and the scent was the sweetest the stallion had ever had the chance to smell. A luscious clump of Tandil Berries had fallen from someone’s basket or a creatures winter harvest and waited patiently to be reclaimed.
------------------------------

Janalee –
As Median moves through the wonderland of colors she finds it difficult to scan out what is decoration and what could possibly be the treasures she seeks. The forest’s festive feel is welcoming, and yet a distraction all at the same time. As the bells chime overhead with the lightest of breezes the smell of fresh flowers floats through catching the mare’s attention.
Following the floral scent to its source leads Median to a beautifully decorated tree where two Sweet Scent flowers have been included in a display. Their vibrant purple color as much a giveaway as their beautiful scent.

As Median tucks the small blooms into her satchel a shine in the frost covered roots catches her attention. Digging away a bit of snow reveals a gleamstone entangled in the foliage.
-----------------------------

Jennalyn –
An endless white went on forever beneath the elemental, the color only broken here and there by a large rock or the trunk of a stubborn tree with its branches reaching upward in a lazy stretch. Occasionally, something would move beneath her but it proved to be a wild hare racing across the snow drift and into one of the many hidden hollows beneath.

Further drifting brought Zephyr into a lower region of the field, as if a lake had dried up long before the snow had fallen and left only an empty bowl. Here, color caught her eye. Something sparkled among the white- not diamonds, but gold. Tenaciously, twin sprigs of a Sunsnap Flower had rooted in a tiny patch of green.

How had they survived against the odds in the middle of the blanket of icy snow?

----------------------
Will the Samanayr Explorers continue to search on in their directed paths or will they move on to other areas?

[LvSoulFriend]

Whip tucked the sliver of silver bark away, his tail pushing it further into the basket. Hopefully, it wouldn't fall out now. He contemplated taking the piece of rock that had hidden the back as well, as something for his mares to enjoy, and decided to pick up a piece later on. He lifted his head and turned toward the entrance of the cave then, preparing to explore its depth. A sudden burst of steam caught him by surprise, and he ducked, sliding a bit on the smooth rook.

Sliding, a bit unfortunately for him, into the cave, and down a smooth slope. Right into part of the hotspring that lay hidden at the depths of the cave. "Oh botheyr," he muttered. He was wet now, and he'd have to stay inside the cave til he dried off. He waded over to the edge of the pool, and hoisted himself out. Snorting a bit to clear water from his nose, he glanced back down at the water, scanning to see if he missed anything in its depths. Might as well look while he was here.


Having finished looking, he turned and set off in what he hoped was the right direction. If it wasn't, he'd not mention it to his mares when he got back home and told them about his adventures. Still musing a bit about his mares, he didn't quite pay attention to where he was going, and landed flat on his nose. Glaring behind him, he searched for what he had tripped over. Was it a rock, or something else, something important?


Recovering his feet, he kept on, careful to pay attention to where he was going, so he wouldn't land face down again. Twice in one day, already! Thoughts of his mares were really distracting to him, he needed to pay attention more, or he'd run into more things, like stalactites. He'd done that when he was a foal, and it had hurt.

[Origami_Dragon]

The echoing sound of a shriek resounded through the cave, almost startling Triumph into dropping the glowing sunsnap flower she had just tugged out of its little crevice in the wall. Looking around she realized that it was only the light of this little flower and the bunch growing out of reach overhead that had enabled her to see her way so well. As she turned away from the wall she saw nothing but blackness beyond. A shiver ran through her and suddenly the cave didn't seem like quite such a nice place to be. She tucked her precious prize away carefully, making sure to arrange it in such a way that at least a little light still escaped the basket.

Triumph had no idea what had made the screaming sound; the echoes had distorted it to the point where it was all but unrecognizable. But it made her decide that she wanted out of here. As she spun carefully in place, dancing slightly as she struck a slippery part of the floor, Triumph caught the scent of something sharp and familiar. Carefully she made her way over to the source of the scent and blinked at the sight of a ribbon wrapped sprig of berries. "Oh dear," she whispered softly. Had she stumbled upon someone's hidden stache of treasure? But no other scent lingered here besides the tart scent of ripe berries. After a moment's hesitation she picked them up and tucked them gently into the basket opposite the flower.

Lifting her head and looking around one last time for some sign of whoever had wrapped the bundle up Triumph began to pick her way back to the cave mouth. "I hope no one meant to come back foyr...I mean for these," she whispered, not quite feeling brave enough now to raise her voice in the suddenly spookier cave. "But the Shayr, no Sharian will be happy to see them. Oh, I hope I'm not a thief..."

Her unease remained with her as she finally reached the cave mouth once more. She looked back, unable to shake the sensation that perhaps she should have left those berries behind, then hopped back out over the rocky 'teeth' once more. Only now did she notice the heavily churned snow outside the cave, though only briefly as the sudden return to the icy temperatures struck her like a blow to the face. Now her shivers were as much from cold as fear. Before going in there she had been used to the chill; now it seemed entirely too cold.

Triumph stood there for a moment, shivering to herself as she pondered the contents of her little baskets. Two items was okay...but surely she could do better. And while it was cold out...the air was still and the day was yet young. Stiffly flexing her wings out she made up her mind. She was going to go see that snow field after all. Beating her wings a few times she tested the air, then leapt upwards. Flying in the cold was hard work, so she labored for height first, then sent herself off in a gentle glide towards the field.

She could see signs of others already out searching the field, but that was alright. It was a big place after all. She landed at the very edge of the field, touching down delicately on top of a large hill. Or rather, what she thought was a large hill. In fact, it proved to be a gigantic snow drift into which she promptly sank up to the hips, her baskets hiking up uncomfortably on her back as they remained on top of the snow. And beneath her feet she felt nothing but more snow. With a huff Triumph reluctantly concluded that her searching was probably done for the day. It was going to take quite some time to wiggle her way free of the soft snow. At least the Sharian were keeping the predators far from this place...

[LBPhoenix]

Sighing in immense relief that all she found at the end of her slippery slide was two beautiful feathers and no monster in sight, she still felt nervous as she carefully made sure her treasures were well secured before figuring out where to go from there. Taking a long look at the beautiful rainbow samanayr feather before making sure it was safe, she looked around the extremely, dimly lit cave and almost jumped out of her skin when she heard voices! It took her moment to realize that the source of the noise was extremely far away...probably from the cave opening, but that wasn't the end of the noises...

Perking her pink ears forward as she tried desperately to keep a firm stance on the slippery, icy cave floor, the tiniest drip...drip....drip...could be heard in the opposite direction of where she'd slid down. Fluttering her wings in agitation, she realized with a sense of panic that, unless she wanted to kill herself by smacking into cave walls and stalagtites by trying to fly out, she had to keep moving forward into the midnight abyss...great.

Ruffling her mane and tail in alarm at the thought, she realized what a fool she'd been taking this route instead of somewhere a little safer...like the frozen meadow or the forest of glowing orbs and lustering decorations. But NO...she would have to slip and slide literally further into the Ice Cave, since there was no other way out!! She snorted with anger at herself, the breath of it momentarily visible in the dimly lit cavern. She'd have to go on, despite her thumping heart, frozen butt, and probably disheveled appearance.

Sighing as she looked up, and around the cavern, slipping onto her knees and behind several times, she found three openings, one rather a small, tight, and a rather uncomfortable squeeze, one that was very large, well spaced, and with a little more rock than ice on the floor, and one that was medium in size with a very low ceiling that spoke of a very sore neck and back. Unfortunately, the only one that hinted at a possible escape was the one that was tight, narrow, and would be extremely difficult to manuever in. An icy breath of wind teased her golden brown mane in the darkness as she faced the least wanted way to go, her wings shrinking instinctively to protect them from the inevitable, bruising experience that was about to happen.

Shaking her head, and looking back at where she'd come from longingly, she tried to find her strength of will as she shivered at the penetrating cold that sank into her very bones from the darkness. Taking a deep breath...then letting it out as she realized she would need to become as small as she possibly could, she hesitantly, with cold sweat breaking out on her brow, placed a slippery hoof into the small crevice, wriggling like a four legged worm. She carefully twisted her head to the side so that it could fit through as she desperately worked one hoof into the cramped space, then the other as she felt the cave walls press a bit painfully into her folded wings. Wincing, she tried her best to keep her wings from becoming damaged, but there was no helping it. The space would make her leave a few feathers and leave awful bruises behind as she forced her way forward into the tiny crevice.

By the time she had gotten to the other side of the narrow passageway, she had lost a good deal of her feathers, she could feel a small, warm trickle on one side where the ice had scratched her a few times on her side, and she was almost sure that she would be squeezed to death before she would get to the other side. Finding herself in a much better lit cave, she was extremely disappointed and a little panicked! The cold air came from an small, icy opening at the top of the ceiling too high for her to reach with what little space there was! With how cold she felt, she thought she would freeze to death in the cave, but...odd...there was steam coming from he far corner of the cave...

Wincing, she carefully made her way over to the steam, her hooves half-frozen and a bit damaged from the prickly ice of the floor...

[LBPhoenix]

((Nice posts! Poor Whip...*chuckles* Wet from head to foot...what an uncomfortable dilemma. Sorry for scaring Triumph, Origami Dragon. XD Glow was a bit...well, surprised! xD))

[LvSoulFriend]

((Haha, he's used to being wet XD Fissure likes to dump him in the creek near their Song. At least this one's a warm pool, their creek is cold water XD There's a small hotspring inside the cave where they live, but living right on the edge of the jungle as they do, the cold's a bit more welcome, in my mind, lol. ))

[LBPhoenix]

((I agree. But you know, I have never met such a kind Sa' Krien before. Whip is such a sweety and I really like him a lot. He's such a good boy...strange how his outlook is so negative towards his own kind, but it sounds like he had a tough past. I like him a lot. X3))

[Saiki]

Misery nearly passed over the flash of scarlet as he walked, initially figuring that it was simply a dropped decoration. But the sweet scent that seemed to fill the air nearby made him think twice, so he veered over to where he had seen the flash of red and peered down at the ground, pleasantly surprised when the red objects turned out to be more than fallen scraps of tinsel. It was a clump of small, bright red berries

Misery picked gently picked the Tandil berries up, carefully depositing them in one of his baskets. He ddn't want to toss them and have them splatter all over the place, after all.

How did they get heyre, anyway? wondered Misery, glancing around as he slightly shifted the baskets to be more comfortable. There were no bushes with Tandil berries on them nearby (at least not that he could see). Perhaps some animal had just dropped them here. Or could they have belonged to someone else on the expedition?

He shrugged, scowling when the baskets became lopsided again. Findeyrs, keepeyrs, he thought to himself, remembering how another foal had said that same thing after stealing a pretty rock Misery had found. Misery had given the other foal a few scars in retaliation.

Shaking himself out of his foalhood memories, he decided that he probably wouldn't find anything worthwhile in the same area as these berries and began to move on. He paused for a moment, unsure of which direction he should head in, before choosing to keep heading deeper into the forest. After all, there was no reason to go back to the Sharians quite yet. Anyways, there were probably more things sheltering deeper in the forest. No point in heading towards the more open areas.

As Misery walked, he occasionally nosed aside a pile of dead pine needles and other plant matter, or little lumps of snow that had gotten throught the thick branches. Every once in awhile, he would also rear up on his hind legs and brace his fore legs against the trunk of a tree to peer up into the branches, eyes scanning for anything that was hidden up in the trees. He might not necessarily be able to climb up the tree to get to it, since most of the trees' lower branches were still rather high. But if it wasn't fragile, he could always knock it down somehow. Maybe a little gust of wind would do the trick...

[Janalee]

      Median smiled at her luck, before eagerly brushing aside the plants to reach this newest item; these three things certainly made up for all of the false alarms the rest of the decorations had provided so far, if their intrinsic beauty didn't already. Placing the stone beside the sweet scent flowers, she had to snicker a bit to herself; how many strands of silver ribbon, half hidden among the pine needles, had she been sure would be a gleamstone or piece of silver bark until she actually came up to them? She almost should have grabbed one of those ribbons for her mother...best to leave the room in her satchel as open as she could for now though, while anything at all might come up.
      Shifting the basket to a more comfortable position under the new weight, the mare glanced up at the tree that had helped her out so much, simply to admire it; it may have been due to the gifts it had contained, but it seemed like the loveliest tree out here to Median. The two areas where the flowers had been looked suspiciously empty to her though, and she bit her lip, wondering what she should do about it. A patch of particularly light moss on the ground nearby caught her eye, and after a quick inspection she chose two of the most pleasing clumps of it for impromptu replacement decorations. She hummed the chorus of some carol she couldn't recall the name of as she carefully placed the new 'ornaments' in their respective locations; no doubt most of the other explorers would have thought her foolish for using some of her precious time this way, but it just didn't feel right to her to leave the tree marred and unfinished like that. Finally satisfied, the mare stood back once again to see what effect her efforts had produced; though perhaps not as excitingly exotic as the purple of the sweet scent flowers, the pale green and white of the moss did make for a fairly pleasant contrast with the color of the pine. Contented with her adjustments, she nodded to the tree happily before taking her leave of the area to continue on the search again.
      Pausing briefly to look at the layout of the forest rather than its details, Median noticed a lack of any clearing she might be able to see much of the sky from; it would have been nice if she could have seen where exactly the sun was now, to better gauge what time it was. Still, she thought she must have enough time to go a little further into the pine forest anyway...and with all its splendor, she certainly felt no personal need to leave it just yet. Choosing a point where the Christmas lights shown with a startling blue as her new direction, the mare walked along slowly, still trying to force herself to focus on potential items rather than admire the decorations...how successful she would end up being with that though remained to be seen. Still, even with all of their distraction, she had to appreciate the practicality of having all the strings of lights here anyway; without their cheery illumination, she couldn't help but wonder how well she would be able to see here at all. It was almost strange that they didn't call the trees ever-shadows, instead of evergreens...no doubt it was that property that made this forest feel like such a promising place to explore though; with so many hidden areas, certainly it was no stretch of the imagination to envision all the potential treasures waiting for her to seek them out.

[Jennalyn]

More than once, Zephyr began an aborted drop to the snowy field, only to realize that her interest had been caught by a truly uninteresting hare. Likewise, the sparse lacy trees in this region held no appeal for her. If she'd been of a mind to search trees, she would have gone to the forest.

She glided along, eyes scanning the endless white expanse for some form of color that wasn't white... brown... white... gold? She dropped swiftly from her high altitude and hovered above the color, recognizing it as a twin sprig of Sunsnap flowers. Still drifting above them, she extended her neck below and carefully snapped the plants at the base with her teeth, maneuvering her long next to nudge open the pack and place them inside. She also took care to re-seal it. Swift altitude changes could lose her the delicate prize otherwise.

They were a particularly unusual find due to the frosty climate and she took a moment of stillness to muse over what it could mean. Enchanted flowers? Or... enchanted area? She glanced around this empty lake-bed, if that was truly what this stretch once was. Perhaps she should perform a closer search here, on the off-chance that it would merit more unexpected, unseasonal growths.

She rose to a height of about fifteen feet above the ground and swept along above the surface of the lower snowy plain, her head swinging back and forth as she scanned the countryside. A gleam of something against the ground caused her to pause and investigate, but it was only a frozen puddle. Perhaps left behind when a larger body of water dried up, destined to freeze as the seasons changed? Hnn.

[Britain]

Digging under the surface of the snow was actually a lot of fun. Her hooves were great for forcing the white ice to bend to her will; crunching forward in a steady stream, Luster was startled to actually discover a splash of red. Was there truly something alive down in the white depths?! But sure enough, the red proved to be vividly alive tandil berries!

It was a very exciting discovery, and brought her back to the entire reason she was there to begin with. Stuff, right, she was supposed to find stuff. Tucking the berries away into her basket, she scuttled backward out of her hole to look around the expanse of white snow once more. There was so much ground to cover that it was rather intimidating. She was just one tiny little sam, and there were acres of white that nothing had touched...but wait. She'd had some luck, diving beneath the snow. What if she just kept on going until she was tired? She might be able to find more berries, since they seemed to be so hardy.

With a laugh of delight, Luster leaped into the air and cannon-balled a few feet away, into a different patch. She would dig down a bit, and if she didn't find anything she crawled back out again- searching for the elusive shine of red. After a few tries she began to make a pattern of her holes, leaving a giant snowflake in the white that could easily be seen from above. She might as well be decorative in her destruction.

[CosmicDragon]

The cold had begun to work it's way into Poison's system, leaving his mind and body sluggish and unresponsive, so much so that it took him several minutes to work out that the tunnel he was walking in was indeed widening. The prospect of getting out of what was rapidly becoming a claustrophobically small space spurred him on, until he was practically bolting when he reached the large, strangely warm room. With a whinny of relief he planted his feet for a skidding stop... But hadn't anticipated the slippery combination of dried leaves and half-formed ice. With wide eyes and frantically back-peddling legs he slid and hit the opposite side of the 'nest', sliding up the walls and tumbling backwards until he came to a rest on his back, legs up in the air and very dazed.

A slanting ray of sunlight hit something above him, causing it to sparkle in a bevy of colours so different to the icy blues and whites of the season that it immediately caught his attention. With a grunt of effort, kicked himself to his feet and slid almost a foot away from the item he had seen. Creeping closer, he discovered the strange lights came from a beautiful lamanayr feather which he quickly stuffed into his bag before moving on. He had seen a side passage back along the tunnel, and with renewed determination headed off towards it. It didn't take long, but what he vaguely remembered as being a roughly samanayr-sized opening turned out to be more of a crack in the ice.

From what the stallion could see, the tunnel beyond was more than wide enough to accommodate him, but the opening itself had half frozen over. With a sudden surge of inspiration he raised himself up on his hind legs and whacked at the icy barrier. Once, twice, until on the third with a resoundingly loud CRRRACK it split beneath his weight and he tumbled forward into a downward sloping tunnel... In which he kept tumbling. The slope was much more severe than he'd anticipated, and he slipped and slid forward for what seemed like an eternity until the tunnel levelled out into another wide room with several openings leading from it.

Looking around in a sudden, although still mild, panic he wavers. How is he supposed to choose and entrance when he had no idea which way would lead out? With quick, jerky movements he started to check the entrances for signs of light, or life, or really anything.