My thoughts are the cold kind,
I've got storm clouds brewing behind my eyes

It was undoubtedly nice, being home. Despite the damp heat beneath the dense canopy and despite the rumors that kept flying around the herd after the apparently rather dramatic change in leadership it felt good to be surrounded by familiar faces. Her father was absent as usual, but to Erthë this was nothing new. It had been ages since she last saw his face, and though she worried about him and kept re-drafting her  speech for when he deigned to return it was a subdued anger, tempered by the realization that she wasn't an ounce better. They had probably walked past each other on the way to and from the Edge, out of sync yet so similar in habit that it was laughable. Try as she might, she was her parents' child in body and spirit.

Just look at her now. Already putting distance between herself and the herd land, already letting her wings carry her off to someplace else, instead of where she was supposed to be. It was ironic, but this time she thought her reason for leaving was justified. The smoke rising from the north-east had bothered her for days ever since she got back. Thoughts of Murtagh and his family kept popping into her mind, more and more frequently until Erthë couldn't justify inaction to herself anymore. She headed off, soaring high above the parched, drought-marked landscape towards the black pillars that marked the location of distant fires. Each time she caught the scent of smoke and ash Erthë felt a jolt of anxiety in her stomach, and each time she picked up the pace a bit more, pushing herself harder and harder in order to reach the Hidden Falls before it was too late.

As the mountains fell away beneath her and the distant land-bridge between the giant lake and the northern sea came into view however, a figure on the ground caught her attention. Even from this distance she was able to recognize the familiar silhouette of Tembovu - big, strong, handsome and a steady cliff in her turbulent life, one of the few constants she had to return to, aside from the forest and the Lady - and the sight of him out here surprised her. How long had it been since she last saw him outside their forested home? Intrigue made the small mare angle her wings and begin a swift descent, the warm summer air whistling around her ears as she swooped down towards the ground. Faster and faster she went, and at the last second Erthë unfurled her wings and angled out, gliding deftly towards the approaching stallion with a wide smile on her face.

"Hello there, majesty!" she called as she flew past him, playfully extending soft wingtips to tickle his sides. "So far from home, what lured you out of the woods?"

Making a sharp turn behind her high-ranked friend Erthë turned and came back around to land gracefully on the opposite side, small and pale and shimmering in the dazzling light of day.

Erthë

And my heart will be blacker than your eyes
when I'm through with you