It was late. The setting sun was nearly obscured by heavy clouds and only a trickle of sooty, dirty orange light remained to be seen in the west. A storm was drawing in from the sea but though the wind was rough and rain whipped the ground in heavy curtains it wasn't nearly as bad as it would be in a while. Through the dusky haze Erthë could see the waves foam in the distance, agitated even before they made contact with the black rocks and smashed into pieces against razor sharp edges. She was drenched, from rain and sea-water alike, but though she would have to seek shelter soon something made her linger there on the barren peninsula, longer than was wise.

A smile played on her lips as she gazed in awed fascination at the raging display that took place all around her. It was freezing, biting cold even though the season in general had been mild. Winter would be upon them soon, the time of frosted breaths, snowstorms and hardships. But somehow she looked forward to it all the same. The cold didn't bother her at all, nor did she care that her feathers were displaced and soaked through and the curls hung heavy from the crest in one unruly mass. In much she was still a child of the wilderness, even though life in a herd had made her used to relying on others for help and company. Erthë welcomed dirt, scrapes and bruises, rejoiced in muscle pains and mud in the coat - they were mere byproducts of life, proof that she had indeed been there, seen it all and savored every moment.

Come Frostfall she would be a yearling. This notion made her shudder in secret delight, even as she snorted at the measuring of time could hold meaning. It both meant something and did not, rather in the way she loved growing bigger while lamenting that she no longer was free from responsibility. Indeed, she was still a child, but no longer as innocent, as gullible nor as helpless as she had been. Though not yet adult she would be counted upon to behave responsibly from now on, act in a manner befitting a youth of the World's Edge, the Seer's apprentice. The time of restless wandering and carefree adventures was drawing to a close, and as in so much else the filly felt torn. Happy and sad, proud and reluctant, excited... and intimidated, because there was still so much left to learn.

But... not quite yet. There was still time before the seasons changed. Time to brave the wilderness, challenge a storm and place flowers on a toppled shrine. When a gust of wind crashed into her and threatened to steal her breath away the girl let it push her back, turned and padded slowly back to the deserted temples. Like her own wet skin, the pallor of white petals seemed to nearly glow in the gathering darkness, flickering restless points of starlight sheltered by the roughly hewn rock. Again she tried to read the symbols that had been etched into it, but like before the meaning of them were lost on her, wrapped in darkness and stolen away just as she began to understand.

"I wish I could have seen what this place looked like when it was still whole" she murmured to the stone, her words stolen from her lips even as she uttered them. "Why did You abandon this place? There's so much I would like to know, so many things I would ask about. What's the purpose of the four herd lands, what does the drawings in the Heart Caves mean, what is magic and why do you give it to us? Who were the foreign gods, why did Helovia need more land, is it really all over now? I wish I were the Seer, so I could ask it all and maybe even get answers."

Frustration was in her veins, bubbling and seething, making her shift restlessly while rain pounded against her back. Cold, clear droplets that froze as it landed on her skin and turned her coat heavy with ice; in a mere afterthought the girl shook herself and sent stabbing shards flying. She had tried to freeze the precipitation earlier, but found that rather than the thick, lush snowfall she had imagined her back had been struck by heavy lumps of ice, hail the size of pebbles. It appeared the water was falling too quickly to freeze properly before it reached her, and it wasn't like she could actually do anything with the ice once she had made it. Not yet anyway; she was working on it, practicing every day... but it was like she had hit a wall, one that just wouldn't budge no matter how she tried to overcome it.

In comparison, the mysteries she pondered seemed almost easy to solve.

Snorting she shook the head a second time, to clear her thoughts this time, then she smiled again as she pondered the mute rock with a bemused expression.

"It's okay though" she said, unembarrassed with the fact that she appeared to be talking to a rock. "I'll be patient, and I'll try to figure it out by myself first. I'm sure there are people out there who have answers, and if I really don't understand I'll ask the next time I see You. I hope it'll be soon, Alune promised we would do the Seeing and it's been ages since we got back from the caves. I'll make sure he'll do it before the seasons turn, so don't worry!"

The storm was drawing closer. Erthë could barely hear herself over the howling wind now, and instinct told her it was time to get going. Backing a few steps from the dark-veiled shrine she cast a final glance over the flowers, the monument, made sure everything was neat and in order, then bowed gracefully until her nose nearly touched the ground.

"I'll come again some other day, my Lady. Thank you for the storm, it's magnificent!"

Grinning, she straightened up and turned to leave, a bit reluctant but even less eager to get swept off by the hurricane.

Erthë

and my knees are shaking - - and my dreams are breaking - - but i know i live today