More arrived. By this stage, the dragonmare knew they would. She stood before them, unmoved from her position at her mother's crown, and unwilling to move until her mother's body was floating away as ashes upon the wind. The stubborn determination of a dragon held her on her spot - it was fortunate for all present that it was tempered by the equine blood that she was able to convey her desires and seek permission before simply asking one of the soul-lights who accompanied her to light a flame on the dry, autumn leaves surrounding her mother's body. Her gaze, forever golden in its depths, peered at each who arrived; an icy one whom she recognised vaguely from her last visit to the Edge, a completely new, many-horned one, and somewhere on the edge of the gathering she registered at least one more set of eyes - no, more, for there were bonded creatures present as well.

Tensions flare and then ebb, as the foolishness of before is washed away by sorrow, and the mourning tones of the dragons continue. Every now and then Amaris adds her own soft hum, a melody neither entirely equine nor dragon in origin, a simple intricate addition to that which is already being sung. The golden mare watches as the leopard lord bows his head - she can't help but wonder if they had ever stood so near to each other in life, or what it something only this tragedy could elicit without violent repercussion? - her ears pressed forward to capture what he says. Memories are summoned from the depths of her mind at his words, memories of the Sun God's presence, a gathered crowd, and Mauja, Mauja was there with his neck and shoulder red and raw, charred and ruined. She was smaller then, but she remembered watched as the Lord of Light and Fire traced Mauja's wounds with his fiery magnificence and healed them, leaving not a hint, not a trace, behind. Amaris remembered telling her mother - the body before her - of the events, then remembered days, weeks, later, when her mother returned to her, asking the same questions again - what could it mean - Mauja spoke of a trial - and now Aaron was questioning it too -

Amaris shivered as the memory of the icy tree marking the place where Torasin had fallen sprung to the forefront of her mind. She didn't want to think about how large or small a part she had played in Mauja's life, in something that had clearly churned away within him like some poison for too long. Because if she thought about how it was her fault he was found out -even though she didn't know then, truly she didn't- then it would be up to her to fix it, she had to fix it, but how could she fix it when she didn't even know what it was -

"Kiba burned you." She spoke softly, simply, the words meant only for Mauja, though no doubt someone else overheard. The mare couldn't process anything else for that moment - Aaron's words were heard but the girl was unable to respond to them, her mind too choked up, the traffic jam of emotions were piling up at a bottleneck of realisations and unpleasant truths.

I am Alune, another spoke then, his tones somehow penetrating the dragonmare's attention, as her gaze, numb and vacant, looked to his own. He spoke eloquently, though his words awoke the fire within the dragon's breast - she almost laughed, but ended up coughing a sob through her crinkled nostrils instead. Dragons don't feel the cold of the night - and don't presume to tell me how to think. But he was trying to be kind, trying to show compassion, and Amaris thought the world could do with more of kindness and compassion, so she allowed his words to be voiced unchallenged, and simply nodded in acceptance of them. He spoke a prayer then, and the golden one knew it to be a fitting one - Mirage was ever a follower of the Goddess of these lands, she had been born on lands where the Sun never rises, Amaris held no doubt within her breast that her mother would return there once more in death.

The dragonmare was not sure what Mauja meant when he asked what Mirage was (for Mirage was ever a dragon if she was not an equine) - but he seemed to want to define her as some kind of bird. Amaris returned her gaze to him, questioning softly, reflecting the puzzlement he conveyed through the distress in his tones. Is he mad? she wondered, or just tormented by grief and misery? How else could a stallion arrive to the death of what surely had been his enemy and proclaim justice, only to (appear) to be genuinely concerned about her funeral arrangements moments later?

Help me, he pleaded with her, and the mare couldn't deny him. She nodded and stretched out her maw to him, wondered if he would allow the touch - wondered if it was the right thing to do at all - and blew a warm breath upon his spotted skin, as if that would give him the answer. Maybe all he needed was to be reminded that he was still amongst the living, that the living were real and here and that they cared, and that he should care too, because to hell with grudges and wars and violence - Amaris wanted peace, no matter the blood between her forebears, no matter the petty arguments that caused entire herds to become disjointed and lost. If she could make amends, maybe everyone else could, too.

"I need you to help me," she started, seeking out his gaze as she spoke, hoping he would hear her - hoping he would help her. "We'll do it together," she explained, as a red and a blue dragon-shaped soul-light descended from the canopy to hover nearby. They were ready with very real flames held within their ethereal jaws to spew out as the dragonmare requested, though she asked them to wait until the spotted steed had done whatever it was he was fretting about doing. "I trust you to choose whatever you feel is right," she said with clear honesty, willing him to select that which he needed to the most - we all have demons stalking us, perhaps this will enable you to release a few.

[ lol, I took this quiz as Mirage and it told me she was an owl. Do whatever you like Neo! :)
PS - if/once Mauja releases his fire-birds please everyone feel free to play out Amaris' magical dragons helping the flames spread with their fires ]

Daniel Schiersner @ flickr & larfsalot @ deviantart