I was approached, but it wasn’t not from the direction I expected. Instead of the figure coming from behind, from the direction I had dashed through the forest, he had come from the other. As though just beyond the reaches of this forest there was civilization. My golden-brown eyes were rimmed with white, another clear display of my fear - if it wasn’t already obvious. Later, I would feel embarrassed for my state to which using the word ‘dishevelled’ would be a kindness but at the time there was no room for embarrassment - only fear.  

My first instinct was to resent the hushed tones that I was being treated with, as though I was a lost child. When the first approached, I stilled for a moment at his words before trying once more to work my way free from the branches - my ears laid flat against my skull at his voice. What did he know? I watched him with wild eyes as he moved towards my tail - vile thoughts raging through my head as I feared the worst. But with a couple pulls and the sharp sting that meant a few of my hairs had indeed been lost, he managed to free my tail from the offending branches. “Thank you.” I manage to get those scratchy words out as I scramble away but even those few steps exhaust me in my current state and I realize that I’ve run out of adrenaline to keep me going. Even if there was a new threat here, I no longer had the ability to escape it. But I could shift my stance so that I was looking straight at him.

My heart felt as though it was pounding in in my throat and I cannot think of a response, his manners and words baffle me after a year in captivity. He was young, a bay creature with a curious curved horn. In my home, antlers are the norm but I had seen those without horns and those with a single one before, they were just rare. And then two more were joining, with each emergence from the forest my heart rate picked back up so that I thought I might burst from it. The first was a mare, with the strangest hair I have ever seen. Purple, like the sky at dusk. She asked me if I was alright but I ignored the question and the answer that came with it.

Next, adding to the chorus of soothing voices was a tall beast of a stallion. Despite his size, he took every precaution to make himself seem unthreatening and it was with annoyance that I realized it was working. The rolling accent, combined with the safe distances that he and the others were keeping, was aggravatingly calming. They all speak with a slightly different accent, which I find strange. Especially since Zandora and Calder claimed to be from the same herd.

The same message was repeated by all of them. Dozens of scenarios were racing through my mind - almost all of them terrible. My heart was starting to settle its pace but my breathing is still ragged. I’ve been standing still for several minutes now but I couldn’t seem to catch it completely, not yet. Each breath burnt my throat and I had to hack a painful cough before I could respond to them. I finally managed, my normally smooth voice hoarse and cracked. “How can I know that?” I looked to all three of them in turn - all kind, if strange, faces that were gazing back at me. I started to tremble again but I’m fighting it now, wishing that I would stop acting so weak in front of these strangers. “How do I know that… Helovia.” I tested the word out, the pitch of my voice rising just a little on the last syllable and forming it into a question to ensure that I got it right. “Is safe?” They were asking me to trust them. Was it common in this land to approach a stranger and offer home and safety?

I took a step back from them, furious at myself because my honey-coloured eyes had started to shine with tears and I stubbornly willed them to stop. My legs almost gave way from that single step so I did not take another. And besides, I cannot go back from where I’m from. There was only forward to go. “Can any of you swear that I’ll be safe here?” I know I haven’t given them my name, I haven’t answered any of their questions, but I needed mine answered first.