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Kaldin looked up toward the sky, ears swiveling back in nervousness. The light was leaving, the sun vanishing. What kind of dark crafting was this?! Maybe he shouldn't have left his herd to fend for himself, but the wanderlust had him in its grip and could not be denied. Maybe if he had stayed a little longer the shamans would have known what this was though. Ah, but how was he to have known?!

All he could do was move forward. He was sure he'd seen a clearing ahead, and he wanted to be out in it rather than among the trees. Nature all around him seemed both too loud and far far too quiet. The day animals voicing their confusion. He gave a low nicker of his own and dug his blunt claws into the earth, stopping for a moment to ground himself before forcing himself to move again lest he remained pinned in his current spot. The clearing was just ahead!

He burst out into it suddenly and looked around in owl-eyed surprise at coming upon it so suddenly before slowly venturing out into it before changing his mind and opting to stay close to the treeline lest something preternatural happen and he find the need to plunge back into the foliage. Once he had settled on a spot to stand, he kept the vanishing sun in the corner of his vision, something telling him not to look directly at it...and now that he was calm, a dim memory tickled at his mind. Something in a childhood fable of the sun hiding its daytime face. He couldn't quite grasp at the full memory of it, but this dim remembrance soothed him slightly. This had happened before. Maybe everything would be alright.

Kaldin's ears swiveled, thinking he heard someone calling. He listened, and then he was sure when it came again. No owl this, or crow, or raven. "Hello?" He called back, and stepped away from the trees toward the voice. "Hello, hello?" There was strength in numbers, and though there was but one voice calling, one was still better than none, and two was better than one.

His blunt claws dug into the ground shallowly as he moved toward the voice, body tense. It wasn't impossible to see, but without the moon to light the sky at all it was a bit more difficult. It could be a potential ally calling, or it could be a Shifter. One could never be sure, and in the dark he might not see the pelt until it was too late.

He might have actually been put more on his guard thinking of Shifters when he heard 'I'm scared', except that he barely heard it, so faint it was almost easy to think he'd imagined it. If his ears weren't as large as they were, he'd probably have missed it entirely.

"I understand." He said. "This is pretty scary." He moved a little closer to the voice, then took a risk and laid down, folding his legs under himself and tucking his tail close. "My name is Kaldin. What's yours?" Introductions seemed like a safe way to start.

He looked away for her toward the sky, squinting. "I don't know why this is happening either." He agreed. "But....I have to believe whatever it is will eventually stop happening. Maybe the sun is hiding for some reason, but I'm sure there's someone out there wiser than us who will fix this."

He looked back toward her, tilting his head and offering a slight smile. "Well, Ozzie. There's strength in numbers. Would you like to stay by my side until this passes, or at least until you get tired of me or find your herd or what have you? I personally don't think I'd mind the company at all."

His closest ear swiveled toward her. No herd, only family. Family that wouldn't let her leave again? On the surface that didn't seem unreasonable, since anyone on their own stood to end up a meal, He could defend himself well enough, but even he wasn't immune to that danger and she was big for a Usidia, but small otherwise.

When she came to settle beside him, he lifted his tail to make room and curled it around her afterward, both as an offering of protection and to help her stay warm for however long the sun hid. "Well, if you're looking for someone, I'll just have to help you find him." He decided. "Since we're both on our own, we'd benefit more from traveling together than apart."

"Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie." He chimed back at her cheerfully. Her name was nice to say. Pleasant. He could get used to saying it. However long or short this journey he had just agreed to would be, he thought he might enjoy it with this diminutive mare at his side.

"So, who is it we'll be looking for?" He asked to distract her from the current situation. "Do you know where they are, or at least what direction to start looking?" So far all he knew was she was looking for a male. Could be a stallion, or it could be a friend of another species. It mattered little to him other than the fact he had sworn to help her find them. Since he had no destination in mind himself, it seemed as good a quest as any.

He tilted his head. She was chasing a dream, or...no, based on what she was saying she meant a literal dream. A trail in the snow to a grove. So maybe she would find him in the winter. Wanted her to be free and safe? Was the implication that she hadn't been before? She had left her herd to find him....so maybe not?

"Well once the sun comes back out we can begin looking for somewhere lavender grows." He said. "It at least gives us an objective, and once the snows fall maybe you'll find his tracks....though that'd mean you were separated from me first, I'm guessing." He flicked an ear. "If it's somewhere with lavender, then it might even be soon since I'm guessing you'd need to be able to find living plants, or at least ones that haven't gone into hibernation yet? A surprise storm the plants aren't expecting?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, either way, I'll stick with you for now. It wouldn't be responsible of me to leave you alone, though I do have to warn you I sometimes eat meat. Just animals, not those who speak. I'll never eat you, and I won't let anyone else try either."