Their numbers were dwindling dangerously, and it terrified her.

Despite her few absences, Sohalia the Transcended had been a member of the Dragon's Throat for many years. She had seen its leadership change and had watched its ranks grow and shrink, but never had she felt such panic at the prospect of their future. All of the faces that she had been familiar with - Gaucho, Africa, Midas, Einarr, Megaera, and so the list went on - they were gone. Gods, she had been gone until this past Birdsong. What had happened to their home? What had happened to their herd? They were nothing but a shell of the herd that she had known and loved.

It was that panic (and the guilt, and the pain, and the sadness) that kept her moving, forcing her mind to busy itself with the mundane day-to-day tasks that she had charged herself with. If she stopped to breathe, stopped to think... well, she might never start moving again.

So she moved. She ran along the beach in the morning, pushing herself until her muscles shook and her lungs screamed for mercy. She walked to and from the heaps of metal scraps that Cera and others had collected, carrying what she could to the church. And she flew, as she was doing now, over the dunes, purposefully avoiding the place where Gaucho's body had lain. The more she moved, the less she thought; the more she avoided, the less she had to acknowledge how broken she really felt.

A sudden glint in the sunlight caught her attention, and though she welcomed the distraction, she couldn't help the pang of fear that shocked through her. What if it was danger? She would be useless in a fight, and she didn't even know who to call for help anymore. Did Sikeax know how to fight? All she knew of their newly-named Sultana was that she had been a healer before, and though the mare was capable in that regard, Sohalia had her doubts about Sikeax's ability in combat. In her mind, there were warrior maidens, like Ampere and Megaera, and then there were the others, like she and Africa, more diplomat than military. She wasn't yet sure where Sikeax fell on that spectrum.

In any case, Astraeus interrupted her momentary panic from his position above her and to her right. Sparks flickered before her eyes as the wakiya caught her attention. - Isn't a threat, - he insisted. - Look. - And so she did. What she found, oddly enough, was an armor-clad Megaera landing upon the crest of a sand dune. Conflicted, Sohalia wavered in the air. Should she turn and go? Megaera hadn't been her biggest fan last time they had met - after all, in the Sunspear's eyes, Sohalia had deserted her family. Still, there didn't seem to be anyone else around, and having been on the receiving end of disapproval, the Transcended decided that Megaera deserved to be welcomed home.

Within seconds, the ivory dove had touched down nearby, though not near enough to startle Megaera or make her feel threatened. "Megaera!" she called, forcing a weary smile to her face. Even her good intentions could not chase the shadows from her eyes. Where have you been? she might have asked, but wouldn't that just be the pot calling the kettle black? "How are you?" she settled for instead, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears. What was there to be cheerful about anymore?

"Talk talk talk."
Astraeus.

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