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When we had passed through that portal, there was a brief moment where I wondered if maybe, just maybe, we might find respite from the hellhole that was Estanzia. I would have done anything to make it true - if not for myself then for Jaeger - but it was just a colt's foolish dream.

This place was no better, it seemed, the seering throb in my side a constant reminder that the Gods were just as cruel here as they were back there.

The wolf God of the Rift might have been successfully slain, but was the battle truly a victory? The mauve Goddess, damn her, had survived to live another day, to kill and plunder the lives of those unfortunate enough to cross her path. Squandered had been any hopes I'd held for this place, but then I had witnessed the most peculiar of things. So many had turned against the Goddess rather than the wolf of the Rift, though they had surely been punished in ways I didn't wish to know of.

Under Jaeger's direction, we'd withdrawn from the scene of the battle. Though my side ached an incredible deal, it was my pride which hurt the most. Like a pawn I'd been thrown haphazardously aside by the Goddess; beneath my skin, my blood boiled with unrelenting anger. I wished to do something, anything to show the so-called deity that she'd made a mistake, but I was nothing more than a feeble, helpless mortal, powerless to do anything about it.

I'd skulked away from Jaeger's protective eye, promising I wouldn't wander too far and that I'd remain vigilant in this foreign place. I came to rest before a small pool of crystal-clear water, peering within it to find a perfect reflection staring back at me. The hope and wonderment that had once shined so brightly within the azure pools of my eyes had long since been extinguished, replaced with something far colder, guarded, resentful.

A scowl marred my face, and hastily I lowered my head to drink, sending ripples across the surface to destroy the mirror-like effect it held.

Before long, another's voice could be heard coming from where I'd left Jaeger. A female, one I didn't readily recognize for obvious reasons. There was a deep murmur of a voice that followed it, surely Jaeger's own, but what they were speaking of I couldn't make out from where I was.

Jaeger was powerful, much more so than I could ever hope to be, but I couldn't bare to stand idly by while he was approached by a stranger. We couldn't trust anyone, only each other.

Abandoning the pool, I turned and headed back to the source of the voices, and what I found took me by surprise. The lady was a little one, standing at the height I'd been at only a year or so old. It was almost laughable, but my expression remained stoic, unmoving as I looked the pale one over. Jaeger had stepped into her line of sight as I approached, the action both welcomed and unwanted.

Moving to stand at the goliath's side, my eyes remained condescendingly upon the mare. I'd heard little of their conversation, but I had caught the tidbit about helping with minor ailments. My interest was piqued at once, but for now, I remained silent and allowed Jaeger to do the speaking.

Could the pale one truly be trusted?

"Talking talk here."

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