If she were being honest with herself, she picked one hell of a time to wander into Novus. First of all, it was downright cold. Sloane was not quite so accustomed to the chill of the winter mornings and she often wondered if she might have been better off having some sort of fire making ability. At least then she could start herself a fire and keep herself warm by it. And this precisely brings her to point number two.

Secondly, she just so happened to wander into a damn wildfire – one that was engulfing this area in flames, growing bigger by the moment. She did not like the way the air was replaced with smoke. It made her lungs burn and it really made her want to do nothing productive. Not only that, but the smell of smoke was nauseating. It made her feel as though she could upchuck her breakfast. Definitely not the best time to wander into this new place.

And yet, she stumbled on a meeting, a meeting of herd members. Was she really considered a member? She wandered here, asked for directions, and was pointed this way. Did that really make her a productive member of society? No. In fact, she really disliked herd life. They called meetings and actually expected her to do something to benefit the group. She wasn’t here to benefit the group, she was here to benefit herself.

And yet, as she meandered through the gathering of unfamiliar faces, she couldn’t help but allow her ears to perk forward at the mention that any who needed it, there was help here. Free food. Free shelter. Free protection. It didn’t sound like half a bad idea. Perhaps she could lay low here for a little while. Perhaps there was something worthwhile in this place that she had simply not discovered yet.

But there was still something that kept her on edge. Nothing was ever simply given away for free. Everything required a cost. What was the cost that this stallion was asking for? To take something for free was a sign of weakness. She could not appear weak. Perhaps it was best if she did not partake in the free food, free shelter, and free protection. No. She needed to earn her keep.

And so, the mare steps forward as the crowd is beginning to disperse. She does not want to seem too eager, so she meanders at a slow pace. But eventually, she makes it to the front of the group. “…and what will this cost me? Surely food and shelter is not something you are giving away so freely.” It did not occur to her, or if it did, she didn’t care, that she was a new face here. She was the stranger. She was essentially an intruder upon their land. This stallion had no need to answer her and yet she asked anyway. She did not even start with her name, a friendly introduction, or a grand entrance. She slipped in past the shadows, undetected. It was only now that she made them aware that she had arrived.

Her life had been anything but easy. It seemed as though even from birth, Sloane spent all of her time fighting. She fought for the teat amongst her triplet siblings. She fought for acceptance from her mother (which she never received). She fought for independence upon weaning. And now, she fought to provide for her own basic needs. Sloane spent so much of her time trying to survive that she rarely put any time into making friends or rather, trying not to make enemies. Her personality can come off as brash and uncaring, but those are qualities that Sloane never had to care about. She had to be tough and persistent if she was going to make it through life.

So now, as she stands here listening to a speech, she cannot help but cock her head at the mention of food and shelter and assistance. Never once has she been given anything for free, so its hard for her to believe that this male is offering her that. So she has to question his motives. Surely there is some other reason that he’s offering these things. Surely he has some other agenda.

And so, she asks him what the cost is. Perhaps it is so many years of service, her body, or her knowledge about the world outside of Novus. She’s not sure she has something he’s looking for, but at least she can say she asked the question. And instead of him answering, she hears another approach. She recognizes him from the fire. He had been valiantly trying to put out the flames but she had not introduced herself. At the time, she didn’t see a need to.

For once in her life, Sloane is quiet as she listens to him speak, her curiosity peaking about what sort of cost these two might come up with. But what comes from his mouth is nothing short of shocking. She supposed her jaw had dropped just slightly. In fact, she probably was staring at them rather rudely as she tried so hard to wrap her mind around what they were saying. Free? These things were free? Surely not. But he continued, sticking to his original story. “Nothing is ever free…” Not once had she ever seen anything given for free. Everything came at a cost, whether that be in favors, in money, or in secrets…but never free. “I don’t have any skills you would want.” In fact, she doesn’t have any skills period. She’s good at being a fly on the wall, but that’s about it. Getting her to actually lift a hoof for a cause is hard to come by. It’s got to benefit her in some way.

Her eyes scan the two and the bird. They seem rather dumbfounded, perhaps not. Perhaps they were perplexed as to why a complete stranger was asking them strange questions. If they knew where she had come from and where she was going, they might not think her questions were strange at all.

And just before she was about to turn and take her leave, the golden boy speaks up. Eyes glance up at him and unlike his that are warm and welcoming, hers show distrust and hesitancy. Sloane had never been very good at trusting. “My name is Sloane…” She didn’t like to be called “miss” or “ma’am” or even any version of “hey you”. Sloane was the name she had chosen for herself, her mother not caring enough to give her one. “…but I don’t need charity.” She could never accept something for free. It didn’t feel right. Perhaps she had just been mistreated so much in her life, that when kindness did finally befall her, she didn’t recognize it.

@Somnus