Although Mauja’s tone was mostly neutral, Alysanne fancied that she heard enough judgement from him, as though she had shared some despicable secret that personally offended him on some level. “I feel more comfortable with my hooves on the ground.” She replied defensively, those pale feathers ruffling slightly as she spoke - like rising hackles - but she took care to keep (most of) the edge out of her voice - which was made easier by her stubbornly keeping her eyes on the ocean and sky. “I didn’t ask to have wings.” She knew it was strange to others that she didn’t fly, but she didn’t understand why it was so noteworthy for them. What did it matter if she flew or not? How were they impacted by that fact in the slightest?

There was much that she wished for in this world but she did not hold a grudge against those who had what she did not.

Alysanne was still learning that just because she did not do something that did not mean others wouldn’t.

His soft insistence that she was not a fool brought a sad smile to her eyes as she shook her head, replying in an equally soft voice. “Oh Mauja. How do you know I’m not a fool?” This was the first actual conversation she had ever had with him - that she could recall, anyway. And so far all she had done was ramble and burden him with too long of an answer to a short question. If that wasn’t foolish, she didn’t know what was.

Although she rarely minded sharing such personal facts, she might have chosen better company to do so - someone that was more friend than a glancing acquaintance. She felt a strange bond to the pale stallion, forge undoubtedly in part because of her daughter and because of how she had helped to heal him from a severe wound.

Not that she needed much to form bonds but it was there nonetheless, whether they both wished it or not.

When he asked about her quest, Alysanne hesitated - uncertain of how much she should share - but decided to share enough that she might at least try to show why she had brought it up during her rant. “For the ability to transfer the pain of others onto myself, the Moon Goddess has asked me for tasks that require causing harm to others.” A brief summary, but still true. To refuse healing to someone in need, to injure someone she cares about, and to receive injuries herself without any healing. The last should have been the easiest - if it wasn’t for Tembovu and Iona stubbornly demanding that she heal herself when she was injured. She’d have to be smarter about receiving injuries and concealing them, lest some hard-headed king or well-meaning sister use them as leverage against her again. “They are wisely appointed tasks, and I know that the sooner I complete them the more I will be able to help those around me.” Or, at least, she knew that now after another conversation with the Goddess. “It’s just… when it comes to the moment for my actions… I falter.” The problem of sacrificing the health and wellbeing of one in the present to save many in the future was, theoretically, a simple problem. Until Alysanne was face-to-face with the one she should refuse to heal.

She wondered if this was further proof for her bearing the label of a ‘fool’, wondered what Mauja would do in her stead. But instead of asking that or any of the other questions that danced around her mind, she asked another entirely. “Have you ever done a quest?”