I was smiling for a brief moment, a surprising and involuntary reaction to the jest from the dappled stag after I gave my name - the gesture fading just as I realized it was happening. How strange. Confused by the ease at which it was brought forth, I focused instead on Caenan - who has begun to speak again.

I watched him carefully, the kind bay stallion that had untangled me from the branches just a few moments ago, and my wariness grows when he started to describe his home. It was a curious thing, to state almost right away that it wasn’t somewhere to go if I sought sanctuary - or not only sanctuary. A year ago, Caenan’s speech might have stirred me - beckoned me to follow with him. I would have been intrigued by the talk of the mists, by the cliffs and the forest. But now… I wasn’t willing to make the gamble that somewhere so filled with adventure was also somewhere where I could find peace, if only for a while.

My instinct was to find somewhere safe for now - I wasn’t thinking beyond the next few days that I fully intended on spending sleeping. And there was nothing about his description that truly made me feel safe - the first part of it, the enticement of adventure, actually frightened me more.

And was he actually daring me to follow him to the Edge? The idea of adventure was too overwhelming for me, the adrenaline that had been coming in waves having receded again and the true weight of my exhaustion - of all that had been happening to me - was settling down on my shoulders. Brown-tipped ears flattened for a moment again at the word ‘flighty’ and I snorted in objection - muttering a low “Of course I’m afraid.” Was there anything else someone would be in my situation? I had spent the last year living in fear and now I was standing on the threshold of something entirely new. A little fear was warranted, was it not?

But then, I reminded myself, they didn’t know who I was or where I had come from. He didn’t know my fears.

The rest fell into turn, the pregnant Zandora speaking first about the Basin. To be quite honest, neither of the herds sounded like pleasant places to live. Were all Helovians daredevils that chose to live in remote and dangerous lands? I felt skeptical about my two options but knew that I needed to pick one of them.

It was Calder that helped make up my mind - my heart giving a squeeze at the thought of family. Could it happen again? Nothing had been sugar coated but I found myself wanting the home he described, if only for a few days until I figured out what to do next. I rationalized with myself that there were other reasons for my choice. It was pragmatic to go to the Basin. I’d be safer (assuming I could trust these Helovians) with a pair instead of a single escort and if Zandora was pregnant and could cross from her homeland then surely that path was okay.

“I think I’d like to see the Basin first.” I tested the words out cautiously, aware that I must sound unconvinced, but as I spoke I felt as though it was the right choice. I look to Caenan without apology but with sincerity. I was ignorant of Helovia politics, wouldn’t understand the implications of choosing one herd over another, and besides - I could hardly apologize for not being able to be in two places at once. “I hope I can come visit this Edge of yours sometime? It sounds like a lovely place. Thank you, for welcoming me.” I cannot bring myself to move toward him and bump muzzles as I believed to be polite, but I did offer a smile to the bay before turning to the duo that would presumably lead me onwards.

“If you please, I fear if I stand still any longer I may faint.” I did not want to fall unconscious before I had a solid wall of rock behind my back to stop anyone from sneaking up on me.