((Thank you to all you Day 1 posters! Let's see what you've found... ^-^ And if you missed posting yesterday, remember, you can still post for today's round.))
----
As Sanctuary trots purposefully between the slender trunks, avoiding low-hanging whip-like branches, the air seems to warm around her. Despite the wide natural pathways between the youthful trees, they seem to have created enough of a buffer the the gentle winds that brushed the hot springs are brought to a standstill; it is almost as though this and the golden shafts of light have worked together to lay a cosy blanket over the entire area. And in this haven, a profession of sensational mushrooms, toadstools and mosses grow, creating a sensational -if incredibly slippery- mantle over raised tree roots and small hollow logs.
It is while avoiding stepping on a particularly large, fungus that she spots something of interest; a raised hump of what appeared to be earth crackles under hoof, partially collapsing to show a hollow inside. This must have once been part of a log, long since overgrown by it’s descendants, but it’s protected insides have remained as they once were; a bright, shimmering silver-
Silver Bark! And there, where her hoof broke through, a manageably-sized chunk has broken loose with only a small amount of moss and earth still attached.
----

Wind whistles through the tops of the stones here, a pleasant natural sound despite the very slight lingering chill of winter in the breeze. With the sun warming the rocks, it’s hard to be bothered by that negligible bite, and they surroundings do their own part in distracting Bite as well. The formations -some so towering as to make even the largest Sam feel tiny, while others seemed so delicate they would crush underfoot like flowers- provided distinctly unusual scenery on their own, but hanging from convenient niches were hardy mountain plants that seemed almost out of place this far from the peaks.
They seemed to be getting along just fine, however, alongside more common blooms; some in particular she is quick to recognise and grab; there, in an odd shallow bowl of a formation, a single brilliant stalk of
Sunsnap struggles against a profusion of weeds. And over there, nestled amongst more exotic (and rather spiky) plants blooms a very content looking
Sweetscent Flower, it’s pristine form obviously protected from birds and the like by it’s prickly neighbours.
----

Perhaps, in retrospect, checking
every hollow on her way hadn’t been the most practical idea Chirp had ever had; sure, she had been lucky enough to find a sprig of
Tandil Berries in the first she checked, but many were empty, or held interesting but otherwise worthless flora, and a fair few had residents who weren’t particularly please to be disturbed so soon after their long winter’s rest, chasing the interloper away quite decisively. But the vibration she followed told her that she was definitely close to something, only seeming to grow stronger. Actually, surprisingly so. That… There was no way that could be the sound of a foal! In the time it took for Chirp to come to that conclusion, however, another Samanayr seemed to spring from behind the dense foliage of the bush she had been headed toward.
“WOAH!”

The stallion’s cry was shocked, but he had obviously been in such a rush to reach the Spring festivities that he couldn’t do anything halt his speed in time, and he all-but tripped over himself trying to avoid the smaller form of Chirp. “Aaarrgh…” Shaking himself out but appearing uninjured, the chocolate-y looking male moved to look over the scene in consternation, spotting the now hopelessly trodden and unsalvageable berries that had been tossed from Chirps possession. “Oh for the love of…” He shot a brief, pleading look at Chirp even as he seemed to be backing in the directions of the hotsprings. “Look, I’m really sorry okay, but I’m in a HUGE rush. Come find me at the festival when you’re done… Whatever it is your doing… and I’ll pay you back, on my honour! But I just- I gotta go!” And as quick as the male had appeared, he was running off again, leaving nothing but his name and the promise to hang around until Chirp had come to find him again.
----
Despite the generally steady, solid nature of rocks, the foundations of the particularly worn pillar it seemed were not so deeply rooted in the earth. Study’s slight but atypical weight against the monolith’s side caused the entire structure to shift, tilting just slightly with the rough groan of unsettled earth. Perhaps a crack or a fault was to blame for it’s unsteadiness, or perhaps this stone had rolled itself here eons ago and was not, in fact, truly attached to the bedrock… Whichever was the cause, neither could account for the ungodly screech that accompanied the other, more natural noises of movement.
That was, in no way, a noise that could have been produced by stone.
This notion was further cemented when, continuing to screech, a small feathery bundle tumbled down from the upper edge of the pillar before striking Study soundly on the snout like a thrown pebble. No… Not just
like a thrown pebble,
exactly like. Clutched between the birds talons was a rocky protrusion that glittered and gleamed… Oh, a chunk of
Gleamstone! Perhaps it had snapped off somewhere higher up the monolith while the firebird was perched on it. Either way, both the bird and it’s prize now sat at the base of the rock, seemingly quite dazed.

----

The pathways and sighing grasses seemed to be filled with nothing but life, and as Departure followed her blue butterfly, it was quickly joined by another, and then more, in an explosion of color. The air was heavy with the scent of flowers, and so it was no wonder that other travellers had missed the normally pronounced perfume that the cluster of
two large Sweetscent blooms produced; the mare herself had to practically trip over them before being able to tell them apart from the riot of color around her! Plucking their beauty almost seemed a waste, but the masses of tightly-closed buds around them surely meant that more would be blossoming to take their place soon. Around them, smaller glittering insects buzzed lazily, seeming to pass to and from between the tall grasses with much more ease than an adult samanayr was capable of, heading off to other sections of the impromptu maze, lured perhaps by sweeter scents now that their prize had been plucked.
----
Though none of the searchers has located the missing filly yet, maybe she's only hiding out a little further in... Or perhaps you have changed you mind, and think that you'd be better spending your time searching somewhere else?
* Echos -- Glory of the Emerald Spring
* Yuiven -- Automaton
