[AW] with the moonlight as my guide [relic contest]

[Seraphina]

Sinuous curve led into sinuous curve, dragging her into obscurity as the final rays of light flickered, then disappeared, beneath the horizon. The fog rolled swift and sudden as a summer storm, cloaking the already-monochromatic mare in a blanket of thick grey. Seraphina kept her watchful gaze focused on the ground in front of her hooves, flank shivering as it brushed the cold, wet stone that formed the face of the mountain. If she was lucky, a missed step would send her rolling down to one of the paths that riddled the foothills below and get away with little more than a few bruised ribs; if she was not, she would plummet to her death among the bony crags that poked out like great spines between the peaks. Even in the musty darkness and the ghostly mist, the thought did nothing to deter Seraphina from her passage. She pressed on in silence.

Seraphina caught the scent of the stallion just before she saw him – there was a certain sweetness to the denizens of the Dawn Court, lush with flowers and fresh grass, but his was muddled with humidity and night. Before she could fully process the dark silhouette in the fog just ahead of her, a flash of blinding cerulean flooded her gaze. It died down almost immediately, leaving her blinking in the sudden darkness. Her eyes adjusted rapidly, as a faint glow remained, engulfing the slender figure in a ball of soft, eerie blue light. He was a patchwork of gentle browns and whites, with no oddity to his coloration save his eyes; they reminded Seraphina of her own. Only two things about the stallion struck her as particularly interesting - the pair of ram horns that curled back from his skull and the collar around his neck, which appeared to be the source of his present illumination. He greeted her with a pitiful, drooping stare that struck Seraphina as childish and informed her, in wilting tones, that he was lost. Presumably, he was hoping that she would guide him through the mountains. His stammered plea had no obvious effect on the mare, who fixed him with a look that could most easily be described as stony. 

A mare more inclined towards sympathy might have felt pity for the delicate young stallion, but Seraphina felt little more than a hint of suspicion that began to dissipate as she finished sizing him up. Regardless of what his motivations might be, she was confident that she could eliminate him with relative ease if he proved to be a problem, unless he had some power or magic that was beyond her scope of knowledge. She did wonder what a denizen of the dawn was doing in the Armas - he couldn't be a diplomat, as neither court had a government at the moment, so she imagined that his business had to be something personal or the same as her own. She wasn’t especially interested in helping him, but a second set of eyes – particularly one that she could keep her own on – would benefit her in her search. With that in mind, she offered him a monotone, “I see. I am a traveler, though I cannot guarantee we are seeking the same destination. Follow if you wish.” Seraphina paused for a fraction of a second, considering him, then began to walk again without so much as another glance in his direction.  “You are of the Dawn Court, correct? What brings you to Denocte?” He could easily counter her question by asking why a member of the Day Court was in Denocte, if he recognized her scent or accent, but Seraphina had no interest in hiding her own motives, so she didn’t bother to consider the opening. In fact, she did little more than stare him down with the same apathy she used to greet all others, awaiting his response with obligation, rather than interest.