Sleep evaded the Moon Doctor as well, her nights growing restless as the green started to leech out of her world and turn to the golds, browns, and greys of Orangemoon. She didn’t know what to do, if there was a way to get back to the cheerful mare she had been when she first arrived in Helovia. For three years she had dedicated her life to this place, forsaking the bonds of her family (who, eventually, followed her here) and for what? Heartbreak and a cozy corner in the Edge where she remained forever the Doctor.

But there was a tickle of a thought in the back of her mind, a need to do something - something physical, something helpful. She knew she could have gone to Iona for it - her twin had enough experience beating up demons to be able to help train Alysanne into something of a warrior. But she doubted Iona’s willingness to come to physical blows. She would have better luck, she thought, with someone else in the Edge and with few friends left she needed to seek an acquaintance or a stranger. Someone to dance the line between trust and unattachment.

And their king, standing in the cold morning by a freshwater pool, seemed like the best option she was ever going to get.

The chill in the air was enough for her breath to come in puffs of faint mist, solidifying her need to get moving so she pushed herself to make the steps that would take her to him. They were hesitant steps but they were steps all the same. She came to stand near his left side - facing him instead of pulling up to stand beside him. “Tembovu?” She approached him cautiously, still wondering if she was really going to ask this and her green eyes were clouded with the uncertainty. She felt nervous - she had approached Kaj about training once before everything had fallen apart but they hadn’t gotten very far. It was silly, she didn't remember her heart hammering this way during more romantic endeavours. That came naturally to her - this... this was something entirely different. “I was wondering if you could help me with something, if you’re not too busy.” Watching and waiting for a reaction, she took a deep breath before letting it all out in one rush. “I’d like to learn how to fight.” The words were heavy and foreign on her tongue but she willed herself to speak them all the same. “The Edge is my home, my family is here, and yet I'm helpless to defend them.” A steadying breath as she took a step back, the uncertainty in her green eyes replaced with pleading. “Please. I... I don't want to be helpless.”

A: 0/3
WC: 458
Notes: magic/companions/extended timeline sounds great to me! Not sure if I even need to agree to it but it's all good!