"And now I wish to God that The earth would turn cold
And my heart would forget it's made of glass"

The voice of her father pulled her gaze from absent-minded vacancy and prompted her to actually look at where they were. Shrugging the ivory bow to a slightly less uncomfortable position the girl scrutinized the dense line of trees up ahead, trying to see what it was that made this place different from every other forest they had crossed on the journey south. At first glance it wasn't much at all that made it stand out. It was the same mixture of spruce, pine and leafy trees as in the Deep Forest, perhaps a bit denser and with darker shadows beneath the branches.

But as they slipped in beneath the canopy and the mist came creeping along, Erthë felt a shudder travel down her spine. Half pleasant, half uneasy, she could definitely believe her father's words; if the Dark Lady lived anywhere, it had to be here. There was a sense of mystery to these woods, with the soft shapes of rock and root beneath a thick layer of moss. If she pricked her ears, she thought she could hear the sound of running water, and though the birds had gone silent upon their arrival she remembered their melodic songs echo from a distance.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, a spark of interest entered her eyes. Her stride lengthened and became almost graceful - as much as any half-grown child could be, anyway - and it was with awe she studied the remnants of the glass wall, the glittering lumps and shards on the ground catching her attention just as much as the remaining structure. The shade was cool and soothing to her over-heated skin; the young hybrid didn't object when she was told to stay put, but rather continued to study the wall with Vlasi on her heels.

"I wonder how they built it" she murmured softly to the cerberus, stepping carefully among the sharp pieces of rubble. "Why did they raise it, and why let it fall apart? Do you think they can do other things too, besides walls? It's so pretty, glittering like ice..."

Sparing a brief moment the filly glanced up to make sure her dad was still there, she saw him stop a few strides ahead and call out into the silence. Pricking the small, woolly ears she tried to listen, curious as to who would come; maybe Tembovu, the kind giant from the Threshold forest? Or maybe the daughter of the kind healer, Miykael?

Though of course, it might be a stranger too. She didn't even know who all lived in this place.

"And all the pretty tulips would disappear
And never disturb me again"