Was it grand?

Was the Dragon’s Throat just as grand as I’d made it out to be? Had I been lying to him about the heat of the sands and the dust storms that occasionally rolled across the plains toward the sea? I found it all to be magical, a land of true wonder despite the exotic paradise that I’d once called the Hidden Falls. But what did it matter now? What good was my own opinion when shaping the views of others whose minds had already been shaped? I stared absently across the magnificent body of water designed to keep us safe and I wondered why it had been placed. Who did it keep out? In retrospect I should have been glad to lay eyes on such a crude measure of defense, but instead I found myself questioning its motives. It kept everyone out… including me from time to time. Was that how family worked?

I turned my attention back to both Ampere and Caneo in enough time to catch their introductions and I smiled in relief at the exchange. The blue mare was anything but motherly and yet somehow a net in which I knew I could fall. She was the brawn and the brains behind some important roles in the Dragon’s Throat, ones I was sure I’d utilize one day, and a sturdy companion should I need a helping hand. But what made her tick? What made her sacrifice for the two titles she carried? Was it family? Was I a part of it?

Again I’d distracted myself from conversation and again I was somehow surprised to hear my name rippling within the soft refrain of Caneo’s voice. I’d missed the tense interactions beforehand, or perhaps I’d simply wanted to ignore them, but even I could see the subtle shift of question as it slid from the planes of Ampere’s face when she regarded the young dreamer. He was not like them- not some war-hardened creature cut and trimmed for battle. His soul was one that reached far and wide while others like myself merely lingered close to heart. Dreamer was a tree with too many branches in which to shade us, but not enough sun to grow… and so we both fought the agonies of life, just from different perspectives.

I wasn’t yet sure how Caneo would answer the invitation to join me –us- in the Throat, but I pleaded inwardly for him to comply. I wanted nothing more than to show him that his branches would not only grow here… but so would his roots.

Please.

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