”Calm yourself.”

The dove froze in place. Her sobbing immediately stopped and her reddened eyes widened. Her body tensed up, she clenched her jaws together and for a moment she seized breathing. That tone, that slight irritation lying beneath the voice of the woman before her, it reminded the cremello girl of her mother. A different fear rose within her and she stared at the hornless unicorn with chock clearly visible in her pale face.

As the sun finally disappeared beneath the horizon Alina listened quietly to the dark mare. She kept still even at the woman’s half-hearted joke and gave no response to what she was saying. With every word that spilled into the darkness the girl felt more and more uneasy. The words were kind enough and the voice didn’t sound much like Sarah Stephanie, but the tone; even if it were mild, it unsettled the girl. When it came to her mother the dove had always been on edge, always expecting an abrupt mood swing or even a swinging hoof. That horrible anticipation of receiving a scolding caused Alina’s hide to prickle and her heart to race. She knew the fear itself often was harder to take than the actual lashing; be it verbal or physical, but she could not shake the feeling nonetheless.

Now when darkness had surrounded them it was hard for Alina to see more of the mare than her purple eyes, but her companion was easier to make out due to his white pelt. Slowly the dove began to realize that unless the older mare was playing games she was no threat for the moment. And she was totally aware that, even if she had the same tone in her voice, this was not her mother. Anyway, those eyes could easily be mistaken as the eyes of Skuggi and in Skuggi’s presence Alina felt safe. And so she concentrated on the mare’s eyes and began to calm down.

”Mind telling me how you gained such wounds, anyways?”

Alina, who had let her eyes drift to the bear, quickly returned her gaze to the hornless unicorn and for the first time she showed signs that she had heard what the mare said. For a moment she wondered what to say, she felt the fault of the attack was mostly her own. She had decided to touch a stranger. She had been stupid enough to assume he was friendly despite his unfriendly demeanor. So really she had herself to blame.

"Instant punishment for stupidity, Milady." she said finally, her expression blank.

She wondered if she ought to thank this mare for what she claimed she had done. The pain was still so real and Alina was unsure if she might be lying. Anyway, she decided it was best to give thanks. Solemnly she said: "Milady, I cannot even begin to explain how thankful I am for your assistance. It seems I owe my life to you. Thank you."

At this rate she would owe her life to half of Helovia’s population before the end of her days.