I remained silent as Evangeline explained her discomfort. She had grown up in the Woodlands; perhaps it seemed a part of her, the loss as irreconcilable as the loss of a limb. I felt no such attachment – only a brooding melancholy – but the majority of my young life had been nomadic. For Evangeline… I regretted again my actions against Roanne, guilt sliding like a blade between my ribs. If nothing else, I never aided our cause; at worst, I had precipitated our destruction.

     And Evangeline’s current state.

     She did not blame me; this she made quite clear, her touch as gentle as her words. I gave no outside indication of my thoughts; I did not wish to trouble her anymore. More pitiful, perhaps, I enjoyed her praise and her companionship, both. She had grown from a wise but frail young child to a resilient mare, capable of shouldering far more than she ought (so much more). I ought not think of her as a child anymore, or as an apprentice… But merely accepting her as a friend, no greater business necessitating our interaction, felt wholly alien. I was a creature of service; I was not certain I had, in all my years, enjoyed a relationship such as that. Pitiable, perhaps, but I never regretted the fact.

     I supposed we might support each other, if the world had rendered us isolate and yet thrown us together. With a low sigh, I studied her face again. Her tone grew near indignation as she rebuked my previous apology. One of my ears cocked back in mild distress; I should have known better than to accept blame. A simper tweaked at my features as she finished; with a tilt of my head I answered, no hostility in my voice but perhaps a touch of amusement. ”And yet you remained? My gaze fell to the tiny marks across her shoulders – unnoticed until now. She, younger than I and owing far less to the world, had remained.

     I swallowed past some large obstruction in my throat.

     ”Your faith is astounding,” I said at last. Slowly, I turned the next words over before speaking them. ”I am glad to have found you, Evangeline. Seeing you well lays to rest many of my concerns… But you must have found a better occupation than searching for me?” I would have been glad to hear she spent no time in such pursuit; I wished to know she had found business elsewhere. Companionship elsewhere. I was only one old man, no fit acquaintance for the likes of her; she ought find other company, as well. ”How long have you been here?” I asked, perhaps to prompt her, rather than receive another lecture on the justice of my own graceless stupidity. ”What do you know of this herd? Their intentions seem noble, to me, but I would prefer a more seasoned opinion.” Briefly I paused to blink at the morning. Gradually the fog lifted around us, inviting the distant roar of the ocean and the cool, distant kiss of the sun. ”Did any others… find this place?” I voiced the last question low, uncertain what answer I expected. I certainly hoped never to meet Roanne again, but many of the others… I had a little fondness for them, in my heart. They may have made good students. We may have been great.