With the birth of her children, Xolani's mood had gone back to its usual good cheer. Her pelt, darkened for months with dull teals of fear and anxiety, had lightened considerably. These days, it was more commonly covered in the yellows of joy and the greens of love that the mare associated singlehandedly with her children. Though the twins had been a bit of a surprise, the silent mare had found herself captivated by their childish antics, entranced by their innocent charm. More than anything else, she found herself, for the first time, surrounded by a true family. Regardless of what came next for her, she knew that she would always have ties to her children, and that she would do whatever she had to in order to ensure a good relationship with them.

Despite her adoration for the babies, she had slipped away from the Dragon's Throat on this particular day in search of something pretty to gift them with. Other mares in the Dragon's Throat had recently given birth, and Xolani knew that the children would be safe within the boundaries of the oasis. Besides, she thought, how happy would they be to receive something from a distant land to remind them that there was an entire world beyond the borders of the Throat just waiting for them to grow old enough to explore.

The mare had wandered toward the west once she had arrived at the mainland, hurrying past the Heart Caves and pressed onward until she entered a comfortable wood. The heat of Tallsun was not so bad beneath the leaves that sheltered her, and in the distance she could hear a cheerful brook. Unknowingly, she approached the Ancient Rotunda, following the faint call of the water and the distant sound of hoofbeats. She arrived just in time to watch a stallion prance his way right into a marble pillar. The mare gasped almost inaudibly, scrunching her nose slightly as she imagined the discomfort that the steed must be feeling. She hesitated, not wanting to intrude, particularly as he seemed to shake off his momentary lack of grace and go about his business inspecting the structure.

But if she were to turn back now, she would have nothing to give to Patrick and Kolr. Besides, she noticed that the stranger was dripping blood onto the otherwise clean white stone. What if he needed assistance?

The mare stepped forward silently, carefully making sure that her hoofbeats would announce her presence. As she entered the Rotunda, she was amazed by its beauty: green awe colored her pelt, building a vague image of the building in which they stood. The image changed and morphed, the slightest of greens tinting the shapes upon her coat as the mare was filled with peace. Remembering herself, she turned her blue eyes to the stranger and nodded politely, a small smile on her face.

Thoughts.