Thea had not been told what this Cal, or her “fancy horse,” would look like. She was quite unprepared for the shock of unnaturally bright red hair, and the striped black-and-blue mount, that were cantering towards her. Fortunately, she noticed them when they were still some distance away, so she would be able to get the staring done before they were within greeting distance.
She hoped.
“Hello, Cal...and Buddy,” she answered, sounding uncharacteristically shy. The woman’s eyes were a lurid red, and her skin was as brown as terracotta. The combination was striking, even for Shaman, and Alethea was distracted by the desire to draw her picture – too distracted to introduce Leto, who unfortunately had a way of skipping introductions.
The wolf flinched at the combined shout-and-stamp, but didn’t retreat. Midnight, on the other hand, jerked suddenly away from the noise and crow-hopped about for a moment, finally settling on dancing his hooves in place. He’d already been on high alert as soon as he spotted the other Stallion, and was just dumb enough to misinterpret Buddy’s stamping as a challenge, despite their friendly greeting only moments before. Thea reigned him back, muttering at him. “What did I say about trouble, you colossal twit?” Midnight snorted, curling his neck magnificently, but stopped his capering several feet away. She sighed with relief.
“That’s my familiar, Leto,” Alethea explained at last, brushing some hair out of her face. Leto cocked her head, considering the strange woman and her even stranger horse with pale golden eyes. “Good morning,” the wolf offered after a moment, and hazarded a few steps in her faerie’s direction. Always the picture of dignity, Leto showed barely a hint of discomfort with the situation, though in her mind she was quite ruffled. It had been a long time since anyone had reacted with that sort of surprise to her presence.
“I’m sorry, it seems nobody properly prepared either of us for these introductions. I suspect my family’s guard even butchered your name when he told it to me, and that was all he said.” The young lady’s smile was radiant, lacking the practiced air she reserved for court interactions. “Is he your familiar? He’s incredible.” she asked, indicating Buddy with a nod.
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