”You know better.” Evangeline spoke sternly, as if she were the older of us, and I a silly foal. And perhaps I was too wise to lay down like a lamb in the face of this illness, but my body no longer kept up with my mind. Small spasms ran though my folded limbs – punishment, perhaps, for pushing them so far. I wished only to sleep and yet Evangeline was next to me, suddenly – her side a warm wall, smooth and soft with the curve of flesh over her ribs. My nerves tingled distantly with surprise. Was I so weak? My ears flopped briefly as her muzzle found the mop of forelock on my crown (demeaning). And yet I felt strangely at peace, to be near her – as if her presence alone were enough to make me whole again. Comfort and confusion ran at equal pace, both left behind, eventually, by the muddled thickness of exhaustion. It proved slow but all-consuming.

”Where did you go?” The next question reached me from somewhere distant; my attention wandered farther into darkness as I listened to the awkward rattle of my lungs. Where? The memory stirred distantly. Isilme had succumbed to darkness, and I… where had I gone? Nowhere – anywhere. I had sentenced myself to a life of exile quite by accident. It was nothing exciting, save the part where I forgot one must eat and sleep, and subsequently fell prey to disease. And even the disease had been of interest, in its early stage – but now I wished only to rid myself of its grasp, and concentrate on other things. What could I say to her? ”Away.” The word rasped, sluggish, from my throat. Where was Roanne? My head lifted with a jerk; the sound of hoof beats reached us, distantly – and I on the ground.

It was a mare. I drank in the sight of black and white with little hope of remembering the pattern. She moved so quickly… my ears tilted back, mixed irritation and alarm beginning to pool hot in my blood. I was no longer certain it would be enough to stand – I was so tired – but I watched her, awake for the moment, and caught with some accuracy the noise of her words. Resplendence -- a name? But a word, as well… one inappropriate for the situation. She acknowledged me with a word; I stared back, exhausted simply by the sight of her nervous movement. Be still. But then more noise…

Another mare. This one wore ivory and pearl. She broke from the trees like a hunted beast, and something bright above her – Tallis? When had Tallis gone? Another dragon sat on the mare’s back, talons busy as she circled, her eyes like searchlights. An academic gaze, I thought; the level of attention threatened to overwhelm, but I narrowed my eyes onto this newest stranger. Resplendence? I could not be sure. She looked first to Evangeline and then to me. It was all quickly becoming too much; I needed to stand, with these women darting about like flies. The stringy muscles of my legs all quivered ominously, when I called on them. I lay tense, peering up at her with one eye only a little covered by black forelock. So, she was Resplendence… and by the sound of it, some kind of healer. My rattling breath stopped short to make room for a quiet snort.

”I can speak,” I rumbled, hoarse and far more pitiful than the situation called for. A wet, shuddering cough belied the valor of the words; I had no strength left for theatrics. Her ear was at my side, soon, anyway; with a roll of my eyes I breathed in, out – simple enough to hear the croaking rattle under my ribs. It crackled like dead leaves, and I coughed again, dripping phlegm onto the ground. Her touch was not particularly welcome, though I bore it with what little grace I had – ears back, body leaning without thought much closer to Evangeline, who was at least a known quantity. Nor had she become frantic – an admirable trait, and one this healer ought to learn from.

”It’s in…” I drew a deep breath as the mare moved away; breathing became more difficult with the excitement. A rattling snort. ”It’s the lungs,” I said, bracing the weak muscles of my legs. Some movement caught my peripheral vision – another damned spectator, just when I wanted most to be left alone. ”Some kind… infection.” It had seemed like a cold, at first, but it had clearly become more than that in the preceding months. I wished to detail the finer points of its progression – the quiet slipnoose tightening of choking in my lungs, the lack of appetite, and lethargy – but I coughed again instead, and decided against it. The newest stranger had a dog, a wolf, or something – running about like a wild animal. Even with my senses dulled, it smelled lethal. I rocked back at last, my forelegs twisting out to stab madly at the ground in front of me. Stand -- I would stand. If it would quiet them all down, anyway…

Of course, being upright seemed a sensible idea, but I had lain down for a reason – and a good one. My forehand took the diminished weight of my skeletal body with surprising ease, but as the haunches rose to meet it, my legs spasmed in outright betrayal. With a grunt, I began to sag. Oh, pitiable, embarrassing thing I’d become… I spread the weight of my hooves, but leaned toward Evangeline – toward whoever might be around. They were so many – at the very least, they might be helpful. Gasping with the minimal exertion, I allowed my head to fall, nose dripping mucus freely into the grass. A moment ago, I had wished to speak… But forgetting that, I let my eyes flick dully toward the pearly mare instead. Work fast. My usual skepticism faded wholly in light of my desperation. Perhaps she would prove useful, and I would be healthy once more, after all… It hardly mattered. I had either to trust her or lay down and die – and I had already decided against the latter.