A
L
Y
S
A
N
N
E

Well, of course Alysanne followed her daughter. Naerys was prone to wandering, she had found that out quickly enough. It was a trait that she had unfortunately passed down and was now realizing how terrible it was to be the family member that stayed stationary while the one you left wandered elsewhere - even if it was for a short amount of time, it felt longer when her daughter was so young. And with Miykael choosing to live in the Falls, a betrayal that Alysanne refused to think about, Naerys only had to get out of sight of one parent to disappear completely. Luckily, their daughter came with a built-in tracking device. Even in Frostfall, the flowers that bloomed after the filly flared for a moment before succumbing to the cold weather and snow. It was a sad, if beautiful, trail of dead flowers that alerted her to her daughter’s wandering. Hemlock, agitated every time he did not have the girl in his sights, had already taken off after her. The little owl glided along, following her. Normally she was good, she stayed within the Edge unless Alysanne was with her, but today she seemed more ambitious.

There might have been a chance that Alysanne would have let her wander, but only if she stayed close. Leaving the Edge was too much.

She quickly picked up the trail, thankfully the snow and the flowers did not make it too difficult. She kept her wings tight to her sides as a way to keep out as much of the wind as possible as she moved along at a slow trot - as fast as she dared in the deep snow. Unlike her daughter, Alysanne loved this season - as did her companion. Hunting mice was more interesting when you had to seek them under the snow. It was good to get out of the Edge, even if it was just to track down a wayward foal.

The painted pegasus recognized the area before she saw the great structure - she had been here before. This was where she had met Parelia for the first time, when her companion had hatched under this very structure. A smile appeared as she thought of that day, wading through the snow toward the steps that would bring her through the curtains and, perhaps, to where Naerys was.

And sure enough, there was the beautiful, troublesome, little girl. “Naerys!” She called out, not chidingly but a warm greeting. She had never been good at discipline and, even if she had wished to be, she became too distracted once she was fully inside the rotunda. Green eyes noticed that her daughter was looking at a little egg and Hemlock recognized it even before she did. He hooted with delight and swooped down to perch on Naerys’ head and get a better look at the hatching egg. ‘Baby!’ He called out to Alysanne through their bond and she hurried over to stand beside her daughter. “You’ve found a companion egg! Oh darling, that’s wonderful.” How exciting! She wondered what it would be, but they would find out soon enough. “Let’s give it space to hatch and then we can help keep it warm.” Alysanne reached back and, just as she had with Hemlock, she pulled out several of her feathers and reached to place them loosely around the egg, making sure there was enough space for the egg to move and hatch.