The sun had set upon Helovia for the day, falling asleep descending past the horizon and letting the moon rise high in the sky. It was Her time to shine, covering the earth and its inhabitants with a pale, ethereal glow. It was cool night, with the slightest of breezes filtering through the trees and rippling the surface of the water along the bubbling brook of the Rotunda.

"... What a marvelous place."

Apollo's vocals, soft and reverent, echoed through the night despite the fact that he attempted to speak softly. Never before had he been here, in the Ancient Rotunda, so this was foreign territory... But it was beautiful, especially on that night. With the cool weather and the soothing melody of the bubbling brook, and the dancing fireflies that flitted to and fro, filling the area with breathtaking, blinking lights... Apollo was captivated. What a wonderful gift he could receive upon arriving to this place for the first time. Time and time again he swore that Nature was the most talented of life-weavers, and once again, he wasn't disappointed.

Standing upon the strange, stone structure and beneath the glass roof that held a beautiful myraid of colors, it seemed as though the Merciful had stepped into another world. It was so peaceful here, so beautiful... His meager worries seemed to dissappear. While not near as plagued with remouseful thoughts as he had been before being reunited with Ktulu and Lakota, soft doubts and uncertanties still nagged at him, weighing heavily upon his shoulders.

Many souls who he had known of before the terrible darkness, Apollo had not seen. Had they made it? Had they survived? Friends as they were, they would never be forgotten... And in the pit of his heart, the stallion was uncertain if their painful absence would ever heal. Still...

"I have to keep going on," he murmured, his dark lips quiet words as though he was speaking to a sleeping babe, "For them. For their memory... Right friend?" A lone firefly fluttered nearby, seeming to dance and twirl before his muzzle, and the Merciful's lips turned upwards in a smile. "You're very beautiful. You and your siblings... What a wonderful place to call home." Indeed, the Rotunda was exquisite. Beyond exquisite.

Even though he was no longer alone, for he had found Ktulu and Lakota, there was a dark pit of desolation and heartache in his breast. It was always there, hiding beneath the surface of his smiles, of his laughs... And it was the urge and yearning for companionship. For unrequitted love. For the bond that two souls shared when so desperately, intimately wound around one another... Like the bond between Ktulu and Eytan, or Lakota and Aoduan... Or Midas and Fina. From one bond-mate to the other.

"I can only wonder what it's like, my dear friend," Apollo said to the firefly once again, brown eyes watching the tiny insect's abdomen light up brilliantly before growing dim seconds later. "Mayhaps one day I'll find out..."

@[Midas]