Her relief was palpable as he reassured her about her son – spending time with his twins. Oh the trouble they would get into! “I miss him so much. And Iona.” Guilt bubbled to the surface as she thought of her family. So many of them were still in Nocturne. She had Aleksandr here, it was true, and now Mikey, but her blood existed somewhere else. In all her years she had never been this far from Iona – she could put off that feeling for a while, distracted by Helovia and all the new and wonderful things, but it always returned. After all, her sister and her son were never far from her mind. And her nephews! That ache in her heart was real. The comfort of having Mikey so close was something but even her best friend could not make her feel better. She should have turned around at so many points, even now.

But how could she leave what was here? She was back with Aleksandr, close to him for all the time they actually spent with one another. The new friends here and the feeling that maybe this could be her home – that she had gone to Nocturne so that she might find her way here. All she wanted was peace, somewhere she could grow old with her friends and family all around her. A simple life.

Her heart was torn and for all her joy there was no denying that.

The change of subject was welcome and he mentioned the flowers in her mane and their absence and she was touched by the sadness in his voice. She missed them too, but all things considered it wasn’t all that terrible of a loss. What she missed most of them was the connection they tied to her father. She was an ordinary Pegasus now – finally something her mother could accept. Not that it mattered anymore. “I don’t think there are such things as dryads and demons here. We make a perfect duo – friends that don’t exist.” She whispered to him with a laugh, breaking herself out of the sadness for another moment.

And then when he produced the flower, Aly laughed in a lighter way – her usual, delighted, twinkling laugh and quickly nodded her approval. He could make even the closest sadness feel a little farther away. “It’s perfect Mikey.” It was tangled in her hair, where it would stay for as long as it could. The yellow reminded her of Iona, of the beautiful little daisies that grew in her hair, and it gave her more comfort than he imagined the stallion before her could probably realize.

It was nothing short of remarkable, the fact that he was standing before her – offering soft touches. Oh she might ache if she knew what were behind those touches on his end – but Aly was blissful in her ignorance. They were different than those she shared with Aleksandr, when he occasionally forgot himself or decided it was okay to care for a moment, so she did not think anything of it.

Yes, the fact that he had reverted to a Pegasus instead of something… else when leaving Nocturne was remarkable. Hadn’t he died, after all, to become a demon? Some time long ago before she had known him, in another life and another age when he had parents.

But he was here, he was healthy and whole, and everything else did not seem important. He teased her about being careful around him – and while she was momentarily confused (had Mikey ever healed her before?), it passed quickly. Of course he would want her to be safe. Her skin tingled where he nipped at her neck and she playfully pushed him away with her head - with no real effort into the motion. “Always my guardian angel.” She repeated again with a grin before promising, more seriously: “I’ll try my hardest.” She certainly had no intention of taking part in dangerous, potentially harmful activities.

Now she pulled back from him, missing the closeness but the heat of the summer replacing his body heat in full force. “Come, I want to explore more of this lake.” There was so much about Helovia she did not yet know – and this lake was beautiful, reminding her of the first time they met. She wanted to go for a swim, but perhaps later in the heat of the afternoon.

Turning away, she waited for him to join her – but could not wait to continue to satisfy the curiosity about him. “Have you met any others since you came here?”