we built this city on broken glass

It had been a long time, a terribly long time, since he had last been within these walls and yet so little had changed. The layout itself was near entirely the same, more than one of those faces that passed him equally as familiar in turn and yet with that lack of ability to age Hunters very likely appeared the same year after year. If any of those beings recognised him in turn they paid little heed and yet, Frost suspected, that encapmarment was near filled with pale coloured stallions. Each as unremarkable as the next to the majority of that Hunter crowd. Frost, for once, decidedly glad for his relative anonymity amongst that crowd. Nadya, however, so appeared to have caught more attention. Frost no sooner having hurried them past that distressed mare only to find himself halted once more by the direct approach of another man with a buckskin colt in tow. Frost's own gaze shifted briefly to the younger colt and yet he so hardly recognised him in any sense. The stallion's attention near immediately back to the Hunter and his desire to use him as a piece of furniture as he leant against Frost's side- only to attempt to flirt with Nadya in turn. How decidedly irritating.

His ears shifted backwards to bury themselves with clear displeasure into the thickness of that white mane. That effort to at least attempt to appear no more than a subservient mount decidedly more then he had anticipated in those moments as the man leaning against him only further attempted to coerce Nadya into coming out with him later that night. Frost abruptly hfting only to prompt the Hunter to stumble ungracefully. That decided gesture earning the equine a loose slap across the shoulder and that command to stand still. Frost assured he regretted little about having fled this very place all those years ago. His mind reached readily for Nadya's own in those moments, the amusement within his girlfriends thoughts hardly missed. Her insistence he himself had hardly been easy to shake prompting that snort all the same. "If my opening line had been as bad as his im assured you would have found a way to be rid of me." The violet-eyed horses ears remained pinned back all the same in that clear display of displeasure at the man beside him. Nadya's efforts to remember another port within Iceland hardly unnoticed before she made those excuses- only to promptly point out the colt's halter had been fixed into place incorrectly. That Hunter glancing hurriedly behind him to examine in it then only to curse beneath his breath and reach to repair it. Frost so hardly requiring any further urging as he stepped away from that fool of a man. His tail lashed up against his flanks a final time, several other Hunters moving out of the way to allow his far larger frame to passby. Frost hardly unaware of those very glances Nadya seemed to be earning from every second male Hunter they passed. Anything or anyone new within that frozen wasteland so decidedly a point of intrigue.

That sudden tug against his own mane readily drew his attention then as Frost continued forward, his mind reaching for Nadya's own as those spoken thoughts easily found him. That query of just where they were going met with that toss off his head toward the far end of that main part of the encampment then. "Towards the fields where most of our kind are kept. Those not in the hospital wing or in the stables live in different sections. Women and children are in one area, those on paddock rest or waiting to be assigned riders are in another, stallions are in another and those on active duty or in training are in the stables. The Hunter's village is over that way." His head shifted once more to nod toward the right in the direction of the Hunter housing quarters. Frost himself shifting off that main 'road' of sorts and toward that stable block then. "Not everyone who lives here is unhappy, Naja. Some are well treated. If you are valuable to them. I will show you." That path toward the stable block was hardly far. Several other Hunters and horses passing them in turn, none of them seeing fit to question them in any sense. After all, Hunter's and horses covered that 'town' in every sense. Strangers amongst them a common sight. Frost strode so directly into those stables then. The warmth inside readily noticeable in comparison to the chill that clung to the air outside. Several more Hunter's bustled about inside that barn, sweeping the aisle clean or hauling hay. The WereHorses that filled those stables were nothing short of immaculate in their condition. At least for the most part. Several of them (those less inclined to escape perhaps) lifted their heads over their partially opened stable doors to eye Nadya and Frost in clear curiosity. The majority of them fitted with leather halters that bore their names engraved on the side in turn. Even those within the fully locked and barred stalls hardly appeared discontent in any sense. "These horses have passed training and have riders, when missions come in, they ride out. If you are lucky to have a good rider, you have a decent life."

It was easy to tell, after all, which of those horses had the better riders. That vast majority of them appearing in decidedly good condition and yet, several amongst them were decidedly more scruffy and unkempt. Two wet muddy and had clearly been left as such. One mare, soaking wet, looked nothing but displeased with being left to dry without even a rug. A good hunter was perhaps the most any of them could hopeful if only for how much more bearable it might make that life. Alexander, he had decided, was by far the best he had known and yet- Frost so hardly lingered on such thoughts. The stallion content to stride the length of those stables before stepping back out to the chill of the outside. Frost picking up that easy trot then if only because that quicker pace so made them appear in a hurry and less likely to find themselves stopped a second time. It was several minutes later that they passed out of that bustling, main section. The Warhorse following another well worn path for near half a mile then before that near giant, fenced off area so loomed before them. Those fences near thirty foot high with double gates. A watch tower beside the first gate housing three Hunters, each of them far more intrigued in the television then the approaching pair. "Tell them you're here to do a head-count for the annual report." Those words were uttered hurriedly to Nadya's mind alone as Frost slowed to a walk once more before stopping beside that guard tower. One of those Hunters prying himself away from the tv to glance at Nadya expectantly before waving the woman in. Several buttons were pressed on that control panel then as that first set of gates rolled open. The second set opening up only after the first had closed. A fail safe- and one Frost had found distinctly difficult to get around the first time he'd escaped.

That fenced off space they so stood within now went for several miles in either direction. That imposing fence running the length of it and all the way around and yet- there was little within it save for miles of frozen ground, a stream and a scattering of trees. In the summer, at least, that barren earth would give way to grass for most of the season. Yet here and now it appeared little more than desolate. "I was seven years old before I realised this fence went all the way around. It took me seven years to realise we were fenced in." His own head shook as if near disappointed in his own childish naivety before he strode towards that large collection of hundreds of wooden huts that lingered before them. A number of women and children milling around this area now. The vast majority in their human form and yet several of those mares pranced away the moment they caught sight of Nadya. Frost waiting until they were far from those gates before allowing that illusion to drop. Several of those women staring near blankly at them now as if undecided just which side Nadya was really on. Frost and Nadya so suddenly having become the very center of attention. The sudden, soft utterance of Frost's name abruptly seeing the stallion turn as one woman stepped forward. "Frost? Is that you? Oh my god. Find Katrin." One small boy hurried off to do just that, several other children following in his wake. The blonde woman who had spoken first rushing forward then to throw her arms around Frost's neck as best she could. The stallion snorting in surprise at the gesture. "You got so tall!"

The words were near muttered into his neck as she hugged him. Frost shifting in slight discomfort at that show of affection before the woman leaned away. Her gaze at last falling to Nadya as if trying to work out just exactly who - and what - Nadya was. Frost, this time, allowing his affinity for that mental communication to reach all of those beings present so that they might all hear this words. "Naja, this is Gaeska, a friend of my Mother's. Gaeska, this is Naja, my girlfriend."

"She has nice hair."

Frost hardly found he had the heart to tell the woman it was only dyed. In the least that bonding of hair was surely a good place to start.

FrosT