A rustle is heard from a bush to your right, and you stop, suspicious. About a second later a large shape springs out of the shrubbery onto the path with a shout, just a small distance away. You step back and blink at the creature on the path, surprised.

Seeming rather surprised as well, the creature turns its head and looks at you. It stands squarely on its four hooves as the snowy mane and tail blow about in the wind, the two golden wings folded and tucked close to the brown body. A purple spiraled horn juts out from the middle of its forehead, and it smiles sheepishly at you. It does not, you notice, offer any explanation for its recent weird behavior.

"Sella li, kavernin," it greets you, accompanied by a flick of an ear. "Ze ve Eran'verana." Your blank look is plain upon your face, and the creature frowns. "Y'don't know gavanian, do you?" it asks, then continues without waiting for an answer. "Ah well, not even many of our kind remember it," it says with a little sigh, "I am Eran'verana, the first stallion of my kind fostered to this realm." The stallion smiles and tilts his head. "And little did I know that I was to be followed by a number of my brothers and sisters."

"Your kind...?" you ask, not seeing much of a threat in this friendly stallion, and so allow yourself to be curious. "Painted unicorns," Eran'verana says, grinning merrily, "Paints for short. This part of the meadow is home to me and my half-brother Yiatas. You could say we are the welcoming committee."

As if on cue, you feel a warm, moist breath of air at the back of your neck. You jump, then slowly turn around, sincerely hoping that is it Yiatas.

"Hullo," says the stallion standing before you, "I'm Yiatas." He grins as he speaks, his mannerisms very similar to those his half-brother, though that seems to be one of few similarities between the two stallions. Yiatas has a long golden mane and tail which you believe are as silky as they look. His body is patterned in black and white and his horn is deep blue.

Turning to his older brother, Yiatas asks, "You were going to pounce the traveler, weren't you?" Slightly abashed, Eran'verana confesses. "Erm, yes. It would be a great icebreaker... And just like the good old days," he says. "You’re too old for pouncing," says Yiatas jokingly, "What would Ella say?"

The winged stallion recoils as if stung by the words, and at the same time, Yiatas widens his eyes, realizing he has said something wrong. "Aw, Eran, I’m sorry," he says, sincere, "I didn't mean to-... It just came out..." "It’s okay, Tas," his brother replies stiffly, "I have to go anyway. Realm duties." He quickly excuses himself before swiftly walking off along the path in the direction of the realm's midland – the direction you came from. "I really am sorry, Eran!" Yiatas calls after him, but Eran makes no sign of having heard him.

You feel confused; some kind of family drama seems to have been played out before you in an astonishingly short amount of time. With a sigh, Yiatas turns back to you, and seeing your bewildered expression, he begins to explain.

"Ella is the nickname of the mare who used to be Eran's mate – Ellamish. They hadn't seen each other for ages, because she’d been lost in the voids between worlds for a long time, and Eran missed her a lot." The stallion is silent for a few seconds, looking down at his jade-colored fore hooves before continuing. "When she came back she was different. Acting as though she hadn't missed him at all and that it was a treat to be lost in the voids - separated from him." He shakes his head. "It was almost the same with my mate, Allicasna, but she was not lost. At least I knew that she was not in any danger. It was the faults of the teshasta, the fates, that we could not meet during that time. But now we are together again – praise the skies – and she is more beautiful than ever. We would be happier than ever before if not-..." Yiatas stops talking, and you can tell that he is remembering that you are an outsider - a traveler just passing through.

"Perhaps you should get going? There are many more of us paints for you to visit," he says, wearing a smile that does not look completely genuine. "Just follow the path and you'll be sure to meet Lumet and Dotey before long." He bows his head to you before leaving, headed towards the heartlands, just like his brother.

You watch the departing figure for a second or two, then start to turn around to go on to visit the next paints - Lumet and Dotey, was it? - when you see something odd on the ground. You stoop to take a closer look and see that it's a – cinnamon bun. That's odd, how'd that get there? You decide to leave it where it is, and begin to walk down the path .