Alysanne wouldn’t admit it to anyone but she liked to keep tabs on the members of the Edge. It had been something she’d done for a couple years now. Not in a ‘where were you five days ago’ kind of way, but more in a general ‘who hasn’t been around in a while’. Helovia was a vast continent and it took some time to travel across it, she knew that well, but she couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry every time she realized she hadn’t seen someone for a while.

She just wanted to make sure that they were all safe.

So when she realized that she hadn’t seen Mauja since the herd meeting, or since their little post-meeting meeting, she started to worry. It was her natural state, worrying, it seemed - it came to her so easily. No doubt stemming from her desire to act as mother hen to everyone - and it was distressing to learn that one of her chicks had not been home in a while.

Perhaps it was nothing, perhaps he was travelling (perhaps he was avoiding her), but it wasn’t like Alysanne to brush off a situation and not give it any more thought. Instead, this worry joined the other thoughts in her mind that were festering, keeping her awake when she should be sleeping except for a few glimpses of sleep whenever her body literally shut down from exhaustion.

Pacing around the Edge waiting for the glimpse of the spotted unicorn didn’t seem to be helping at all so Alysanne expanded her search. Even if she came up with nothing, it felt good to actually be doing something.

Lyanna would be happy to know that Alysanne actually flew most of the way here - whenever the Orangemoon rains let up long enough to make flight comfortable. Hemlock hooted for joy frequently as she did so - offering suggestions whenever she faltered. Which wasn’t quite as often as it had been a moon cycle ago but still occasionally happened. But she had actually been practicing - mostly thanks to the fact that her little secret about not being able to fly had accidentally gotten out. It was harder to avoid stretching those feather limbs when there were others in the Edge that were learning too.

With a not-graceful-but-also-not-terrible landing, the painted mare arrived at the Deep Forest. She had been scanning the ground below her as she flew - which was easy across the distance from the Edge to here, with the Thistle Meadow covering most of that expanse - but the thick trees of this forest would make scanning from the skies difficult.

Besides, the overcast afternoon sky had released a light drizzle and the protection of the trees was comforting as the damp air encouraged the fragrance of the golden, decaying leaves to rise around her as her hooves trampled what foliage had already fallen.

Her green eyes were bright, and if it wasn’t for the nagging notion that one of her friends might be missing, this would be a pleasant day. Hemlock swooped through the trees off the weathered path that his bonded walked slowly along, weaving in and out of sight. The forest around them was quiet, except for the sound of the faint rain on the foliage above, and for now it gave them a sense of peace as they avoided the darker memories this place held.

If you could only understand—through my heart and through my veins

I gave it all,

I'll give again.