Loretta sense them first, and sends Archibald and image of the pair. He turned his golden eyes to them as they approach. His friends, Lakota and Aodaun. The Dauntless simply dipped his head in greeting to them, eyes turning back to look down at where the Foothills once stood, the dawn breaking behind him. He was content with Lakota at his side, her presence always welcomed. Her warmth touched his side and Archibald naturally moved towards it. He gently pressed his massive shoulder into her, seeming to cover her like a sanctuary. She was his sister, bonded to him by strife and history, unable to be removed from his heart. Loretta turned to move over by Aodaun, tail wagging some, before she moved her muzzle out to groom and lick the polar bear's fur. It was a gentle show of affection, something Loretta did with her sisters and Eytan as well.

Silence passed over them, a veil of their emotions. The healer broke the silence first, seeking answers from the warlord. The stallion's blazed face hardened as he thought, mulling her question over in his mind. Archibald took a deep breath, the memories of his past filling his mind. Wars raged on, patrols ran through, challenges burned, and bone and sinew were sewn back together in his mind's eye, and all of it happened with Lakota at his side...and Ktulu...and Apollo...and Ophelia...and Circe. His heart throbbed with the memories, panging for his brethren to be at his side once more. The Grey no longer existed, but the bonds and loved formed between the handful of horses that were willing to sacrifice everything for each other remained. Sighing, Archibald nodded, his golden eyes still looking out across the Hidden Falls. "Without our past, we would be nothing. The pain we caused, the pain we felt--all of it--it matters. Strife and war and gain brought us together, but love kept us together. Without the sins of our past, whether they hold weight or not, we are better for it. How useless our lives would be had we done nothing, had we stayed in the Deep Forest like stags and does, hidden in the darkness." His voice was hard, stoic, but was heavy. Lakota was no stranger to this tone, he knew.

It is my hope that Circe will join us, soon. We have conceived another child." A smile breaks Archibald's pale pink lips suddenly, turning his head to look at Lakota with hope glistening in his molten gold eyes.