It was fun, that race on the beach, and she was glad that he had thought so too. He was a little hard to read, this quiet friend of hers who seemed to space out every once in a while as they talked. It was endearing, that wayward attention span – getting distracted by the form of Hemlock in the sky and being brought back down by the sound of her voice.

Questions, so many questions, about him. There was a lot she didn’t know, after all. Where he was from, what his job was in the Throat, how long he had been in Helovia, whether he had a family… a mate.

The thought spurred a flare of jealousy and she was happy when there was something else to focus on. He mentioned how his companion had grown in both size and attitude and she chuckled at the comment. “This little sweetie? Surely not!” She asked unbelieving as she looked down at Ouija where she hit beneath her legs. Not unlike the last time they had met! Her heart warmed just at the sight. Hard to imagine such a sweet face having a big attitude though… Hemlock certainly had his days. An indignant chirp escaped him at that but his curiosity was beginning to get the better of him. The small, tan owl swooped down and landed on the earth a couple feet away from Alysanne and from Ouija. Pointedly ignoring the stallion, he focused instead on this white fluff ball that was hiding underneath the feet of his bonded. She almost looked like Imogen, just with fewer tails, and he liked Imogen, didn’t he?

Well hopefully they would get along. She was still hoping that Hemlock would warm up to Voodoo as well – because she had every intention of spending as much time with the unicorn as possible and it would be so much easier. Alysanne felt as though she was positively shining she felt so ridiculously happy right now.

With her thick coat, she could certainly see why Ouija would prefer the cooler weather over the heat of the summer. This must be just perfect for her! He returns the question and she doesn’t even notice that he doesn’t refer to the Edge by its name. For her, it’s so synonymous with ‘home’ that it does not matter at all. “It’s been well! I… um… I’ve been gone for a little while and only just got back. Went to go visit my sister and son.” She left the explanation there, even though there was so much more. There was some uncertainty about explaining the real reason why she had needed that family with her – not that she didn’t think that Voodoo wouldn’t care but, well, it was a complicated story. She wasn’t fond of the idea of burdening her problems on others. She much preferred to be on the receiving end of everyone else’s problems – to help them in whatever way she could.

He asked whether she was cold and she nodded immediately. “I am a little bit actually.” And with a smile she moved with light steps so that she was standing beside him – not too close (not as close as she wanted) because she was being careful. Careful of his space, careful not to impose herself or her body heat. She was cold but maybe he wasn’t. Still, she did lift up the wing between them just enough to touch him softly. Nudge him as she continued to grin. “Will you come stand by the Heart with me?” She asked instead, maybe if they were just a little closer they could find a happy medium where everyone – horse and companion – could be comfortable.