And as both mares left Diana’s house, their first task of the day was getting proper warm clothes for Snowfall that didn’t give her the likeness of a tent; as much as the hunter could lend her coats, there was just so much the pegasus could do while dragging them all over the ground.
Therefore, a quick trip to the seamstresses of the village was in order.
True to their expectations, it wasn’t completely difficult to find something fitting for Snowfall’s small silhouette; they just had to pick a teenager’s clothes and quickly modify it to accomodate her needs. Once that task was fulfilled, Diana paid for the job and they were finally ready to go.
- “Feeling warm?” - Diana asked casually while handing over Snowy’s share of the hunting equipment as they headed towards the village’s main path.
- “Certainly so. These garments are of refined quality.” - Speaking in her earnest, Luna found herself truly impressed by how well assembled the winter tailored clothes were if compared to those made farther south.
A well humored chuckle could be heard in response. - “Glad to hear that! So, it’s a bit of a walk... Anything you want to know?”
- “Oh, there are many things.” - Only having discovered the village recently, the princess was giddy to know about its roots and story. - “For starters, how did this village come to be? I’m not too old of course, however I never really heard of it.” - She knew she had to pick her words very carefully. Snowfall diverted her gaze towards the village below to hide any signs of her lying to the older mare ahead.
- “Heh, you look like a blossom of youth after all; how old are you, twenty?”
- “I’m nineteen.”
- “Well, we did like most settlers would. Found a land of our own, unoccupied by anypony else and explored its potential to its fullest.” - She said proudly as they marched on, looking at the sunlight beaming from above. - “Many ponies bat an eye at the place and think that it’s a frozen wasteland, but it has a lot to offer. Glad we got here first in all honesty. It has been 150 years, give or take.”
- “Oh my… I wish I’d visited sooner.” - A smidgen of disappointment coated her surprised tone. How had she not spotted such a wondrous place sooner?
Again, there was all the royal and family drama that had to be put up with, so no wonder she didn’t...
Diana raised a brow and snorted at the statement. - “I don’t know about that sweetie. A young pegasus like you is already lucky enough to come here without freezing… I don’t think you’d fare well enough if you were any smaller.”
Most feathers adorning her shoulders prickled at that statement, reminding Luna that she had to pay attention towards any comments that could fall in the immortal niche.
- “Ah, ha, I had not thought of that. But you are right. My current feathers are barely enough to insulate me for long around here.” - Luckily, the new clothes tailored for her fitted perfectly, providing a sense of comfort and looking fairly stunning at the same time. She strutted along, her long, black, hooded wool cloak dragging in the snow, creating patterns behind her. The red fox’s coat covering her shoulders had began to collect some snow, giving the fur an almost glimmering look. Once she finished admiring her clothes, she picked a new topic of interest. - “...Would you be willing to tell me about your traditions?” - Hastening her pace, she shifted alongside Diana to a path leading further up onto the mountain ridge.
- “Oh! With pleasure.” - Diana perked up immediately and a mirthful smile took its place on her face. - “Well for starters, we have this main tradition of ours called Aurora’s feast... Our folk also receive totems for spiritual guidance at the age of fifteen, carved by the elders themselves... And from what I know, we marry at a pretty young age, which has also become tradition through the years.” - A thoughtful tone addressed the last part.
- “Aurora’s feast?”
- “I could explain, but, I’d rather see your reaction to it completely unspoiled. Stick around long enough and you won’t be disappointed.” - Reaching a steeper part of the path, the older mare became more careful with her footing. - “Keep your eyes on the trail, the rocks are a bit loose around here.”
She warned. Prompting Snowfall to look around with proper attention, mist puffed from Snowy’s lips and nostrils as she let the image of the environment sink into her mind properly. The uneven terrain of the mountains stood under her hooves at a steep angle, with vast areas partially covered by chunks of forest while all of the mountain’s extension was blanketed by coating snow.
Rough patches of dark gray rock broke through the snowy layers, especially where the side of the mountain became even more angled. Gigantic boulders sat neatly embedded into the ground, often surrounded by smaller plaques of rock, stones, and pebbles.
Most of the territory they had to cover was laid at angle, varying in it’s tilt. The paths they had to traverse weren’t much different. That said, they also had to take the not very common, but still present, unstable ground and the slippery snow coating it into consideration. Snowfall broke off from her momentary trance when a hand was extended towards her; nodding with a serious expression, she accepted Diana’s help and got pulled up and forward after locking her arm around the mare’s. - “I shall, don’t worry.”
- “I’ll try not to, but I make no promises.” - Diana took a pause and inspected the terrain around them. - “We’re entering the forest, so from now on, keep your voice down and avoid talking unless we have to, got it?”
- “Yes. So what are we hunting?” - Snowy asked while double checking the equipment given to her.
- “Elk.” - Diana answered shortly while she did the same.
The pegasus’ eyes widened a bit at that; such an animal was a resilient prey to tackle, however, she had no intentions of giving up or backing down no matter what difficulties they faced. - “Right.”
- “You did mention that you had experience with tracking if I recall correctly...” - Stopping right beside a tree, Diana leaned against the trunk with an arm and gestured. - “Go ahead then. I’ll aid you if needed, but consider this your hunt.”
Snowfall inhaled sharply and a small thrill of nervousness ran up her spine, but in spite of it, she nodded and walked past the larger mare into the forest, already scanning for obvious signs that could have been left behind by their prey item in question.
Even if she could rely on Diana, this was still her hunt and she had to make it count.
Wandering deeper into the vegetation and trees, it did not take them too long before the pegasus caught Diana’s attention with a simple gesture of her hand, pointing to a trail possibly left behind by a lonely traveller; the hoovesteps were akin to a large deer animal. They were in the direction.
- “Over here.” - Snowy mouthed in a whisper, quickly moving with discretion between the abundant trees and coarse terrain.
Diana followed every movement made by the small pegasus with fixated focus and wonderment, she reached inside the thick furry collar of her clothes, pulling at the cord of the totem she wore and briefly taking it out of her shirt, inspecting the worn out wooden elk figure. Glancing to and from the small piece and Snowfall, she sighed as she squeezed the totem in her hand. A familiar anguish creeping up and tightening in her throat. She closed her eyes only for a moment, and tucked the symbol back inside her garments and hastened her pace as to not fall behind.
Ruminating about the past was of no use if she wanted to keep going, no matter how many times her wounds threatened to burst open once again.