The warmth of spring had embraced this new land he'd found himself a part of. He'd been traversing across the terrain since winter but had yet to make the acquaintance of anyone. He was feeling lonely and tired, wishing for a place to rest his hooves. He wanted to make a friend, to have someone to talk to in this vast, open world. He longed for companionship, something he missed dearly since becoming a singular nomad. He had, at one point, had others with him. And before then, he's had a home - but it was a home ravaged by war. Destroyed by darkness and malicious intent. There was nothing left of his homeland, and there was nothing left of his family. He was the lone survivor. A tainted water source had been the cause of his family's death, but by the time they had been able to track down the source of the sickness they had suffered from... it was too late. They were already dying. He had thought he was going to die himself but instead of the gentle embrace of death, he was struck by the cruel hand of loneliness. He got better, got physically stronger every day, but mentally he had grown weary. He was tired of the endless wandering. He wanted a place to call home, a place where he could feel safe and secure.

So, what now? What did he do now that he had nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to talk to? Well, honestly, Creamsicle wasn't sure. Did he go wandering into claimed territories and pray he wasn't attacked or banished - or worse - on sight? Or did he wander this terrain endlessly, praying and hoping and wishing for a miracle? Still young but old enough to have known a great deal of pain and suffering in his lifetime, Creamsicle didn't think he had the courage to just strut himself into someone's home and ask to call it his own. So... he supposed that left him with the only other option. Wandering. Wondering. Perhaps today would be the day, or maybe tomorrow, or the day after. He just had to stay hopeful that the day would come when he would find some sort of purpose, a calling - hell, even just a friend at this point. The spotted stallion sighed wistfully, clambering up the mountain path he had found himself on.

Some may wonder how he was too nervous to enter a claimed terrain and yet he displayed no cowardice when it came to climbing up a rather unstable path upon a mountain with loose rocks and air so thin it was nearly painful to draw oxygen into his lungs at some points. And to that, Creamsicle didn't have an answer. He was just letting his hooves carry him through the realm, keeping his head low enough to stay off the radar apparently since no one ever approached him or talked to him. The bits and pieces of information he'd gathered about Novus had come from overhearing conversations of equines passing by, or that he passed by, during his explorations. He knew the bare minimum about his new home, but it would have to be enough, at least for now.

@ open | "Speech." | open to anyone! <3

It was cooler up here on the mountain paths and for that, Creamsicle was grateful. He wasn't a fan of the heat, of sweating out in the sun, and with spring in full swing, it was common now to be sweating. He took a slow but deep breath, inhaling the thin air of the mountain. It was fresh air, sweet air. He liked it up here, even if he was alone. He let out the breath in a heavy sigh, carefully giving himself a shake - not so drastic of a shake that he would shake himself off the path he was clambering up, but enough to free himself of some particles of dust that had settled on his spotted pelt. He was not happy... but he wasn't entirely unhappy, either. He was glad to still be alive, but he would be happier if he had someone to be alive with. A friend. Someone to lean on when he felt like the entire world was crashing down around him, threatening to suffocate him in its madness.

And low and behold, from the mountain path over from the one he was walking on, there came a figure approaching. Creamsicle heard the clattering of rocks before he saw the other equine but when he did see the stranger approaching, he gave a bright and welcoming smile along with the gentle tip of his head - a silent way of welcoming the other stallion over toward him for conversation, if he so desired. It seemed the same thing was on the stranger's mind, as he was smiling and tipping his own head almost at the exact same time. "Good ‘morrow my friend." Creamsicle nickered kindly, echoing the greeting. "Hello, pleased to meet you." Polite as always, despite the deep-rooted sadness within him, Creamsicle wouldn't dare dream of ever being rude to someone, especially a stranger that was showing him kindness."Have you come to pray?" Was that what this mountain was used for? Grinning sheepishly and dipping his head lower to show respect for this stranger's potential holy lands, Creamsicle explained, "No, I was just wandering. I did not know this was holy terrain. My apologies."

@Rhone | "Speech." | thanks for joining!<3