Finally! Masque had ‘permission’ to venture into the common lands on her own! Fresh into the dawn of her second year, the lady raced out of the forests of Taviora just as the sun itself rose to shine on the budding trees. Her paws scampered on the trails, padding and scraping against the few dry patches and sinking deep into the cold mud created by the winter’s melt. Her body was covered in a remarkable patterning of dirt and clay. Even her lips were dimpled with flecks of caked earth when she smiled at everything around her. Headless of the dangers, she scampered into the wild of the freelands, eager to discover all they had in store for her!

Never could Masque be accused of following a specific path. She simply ran. Whether it was a trail freshly marked by another, or a path yet undiscovered by adventurers, she merely followed the beat of her heart, though occasionally spun when the glancing sun caught her eye. Dashing from the salient young buds and trees, she seemed to explode into the open air of the fields. Her heart soared with joy at the feeling of freedom beneath her wings. There was nothing that could compare to the taste of spring on her lips and the sight of life in her eyes. Eyes that landed on a wandering form of the colorful male. She turned on her toes and aimed her trajectory directly at him, thrill on her face and in the voice she lifted to great him.

Hello! Greetings! Her youthful body morphed fluidly to a creature made of play and laughter. She slid to a vibrating stop just in front of the stranger, her eyes and ears attentive to him while her hindquarters and tail waved through the air above her body. Are you one of the gypsies my mother tells stories about? Are you a brave adventurer, rescuing spirits from terror? These seemed like reasonable questions to ask. She could figure out his name later.