It seemed like she had missed things during her absence. The summons of the King certainly hammered that down - his call rang loud and clear throughout the snow-covered kingdom and made the very trees tremble and quiver, naked branches rustling nervously as though they too could be held responsible to the Elephantine man. Though uncertain whether the call was meant for her in particular, Erthë thought it preferable to be safe than sorry. Being Temobvu's friend wasn't going to get her very far and if she knew the man as well as she hoped he would not be happy to see her try to take advantage of him based on their private relations. This was business - nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Cruising along just above the treetops Erthë took a bit more time to find the mammoth stallion than she had expected. What finally guided her to the right place was the sight of a curious creature screeching among the trees; she veered off towards it to see what peculiar animal it was that could make such a sound, and as she made to circle around it with a mesmerized smile the sound of voices from the ground alerted her to the presence of others.

By the time she had found a place to land and joined up with the others, the meeting was nearly over. Only by the clearly audible shouts from the green-eyed, antlered newcomer she had greeted in passing some time back did she glean the reason for the summons - tardiness, absence, dereliction of duty. Approaching Tembovu from the rear the dove grimaced as she heard his sentence, from amusement at this cruel and unusual form of punishment and sheer disgust.

"You're being mean, Tembu" she said accusingly as she emerged beside him, the slender tail moving to wrap its icy coils around one of his dark legs. "Is it that bad to be away from a meeting? We don't even know when they are held, how should we know to be home whenever you call."

Erthë turned to Arah with a smile, lips pursing in mild curiosity as the gaze continued to Tilney - he had made an awfully loud defense of the pretty mare. Was that just how he was, or was there something going on between the two of them? If so it would be really cute, Erthë felt both enthused by the idea and slightly jealous. Would anyone make such a speech to defend her if she got in trouble? Maybe, maybe not. Though she had many acquaintances the doll had to admit that her close friends were few and far between. Perhaps she really ought to cut down on her travels, so that the family of the herd would not turn into a gathering of familiar looking ghosts - there but distant, unfeeling, uncaring.

Retrieving her thoughts from this foray into this bleak-looking prospect of a future the young cygnet looked back at Tembovu, craning her neck so as to gaze him in the eye while speaking.

"Did anything important happen, since you called a second time? I'm sorry I was gone, I had no idea you would host a meet before I returned. I can pick poop too, if you want..."

Though apparently trying to sound casual, even enthusiastic about it, the prospect clearly did not go home well with the girl. Gazing around surreptitiously she calculated how long it would take for three horses to clear the vast expanse of the Moon's protectorate; the estimate caused her wings to drooped in a sad, forlorn way. It would take forever, that's how long.

Erthë

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