Xolani

It had been some time since Xolani had met with Maren by the Fire, displaying her wish to become an apostle to the winged mare. Since then, she had waited (impatiently) for the summons that the Diviner had promised. Her days had been spent pacing the edges of the oasis, staring into brilliant blue waters, her coat dappled with orange excitement (to begin her training) and teal insecurity (for what if Maren forgot her, or worse, chose to ignore her?) in turn. How long, she wondered, would she have to wait? What could the Diviner possibly have to do that was more important than inducting new pupils into her ways?

Logic won in the end, as it always did; the winged mare surely had many duties to which mere herd members were not privy. When Maren was ready, she would call, and that was that. To calm her worry, Xolani allowed Ilios to escort her to the Heart Caves (the memory burned in the back of her mind, a mixture of happiness and confusion and hesitation). They had been beautiful, and their trip had ignited a passion in the silent mare to learn more of Helovian history. It began with the gods, who were depicted in all their glory upon the walls of the Caves. At the very least, she reasoned, she would know who she was to worship whenever Maren (finally) summoned her.

Of course, it didn't take much effort to decipher their herd's patron deity. The God of the Sun would control the desert.

When the time came, it came in a way that Xolani most certainly did not expect. She was, as usual, lounging beside the oasis, grazing peacefully upon the emerald grasses fed by its waters, when a tiger appeared (seemingly out of nowhere) to stare at her. Caught by surprise, the mare pinned her ears and backed away fearfully, fully prepared to turn and run; the tiger watched motionlessly, and in the brief pause between seeing him and preparing to flee, the girl noticed that he wore a Sun amulet. He also carried a teacup. She knew nothing of the latter, but the former drew her panicked mind to a halt. When she had calmed, the tiger led her to none other than Maren.

A tiger for a companion? Ilios had told her of companions after she had met Ampere and Kygo - but she had never imagined that predators would share a link with what would naturally be considered their prey. What an odd land I've found myself in. She halted before the Diviner, nodding respectfully to the winged mare, wondering if this was it - her induction into the ranks of the Apostles. If that were so, then shouldn't there be... well... more Apostles? Wondering just what manner of meeting she had been led to (and hoping it wasn't the sacrificial sort, what with the tiger and all that), the silent mare waited patiently for it to begin.

Thinking.