so i listen to the    wind for an answer

She remembers all too well how overwhelming the Threshold had felt when she’d first come here. There’d been three horses to greet her, two of whom were old friends from the Throat, in fact, and then Elsa from the Edge. They’d been kind, answering her questions without laughing, as if her questions weren’t stupid. Though of course they had been. She hadn’t even known the name of the land she’d stumbled into, let alone the name of herds they were talking about or the concept of companions. One of the mares had an otter, which to be fair, seemed very out of place in a forest. She was coming to realize that was not so odd at all here though.

Illios own companion is an interesting one, particularly if you haven’t stumbled across one yet. After meeting Chico, Lyanna’s gotten rather used to interesting companions (Chico was rather impossible not to love, even with that blue butt). She always found herself just a bit jealous, truthfully. The connection between bonded pairs seemed rather…well, wonderful. Something she wouldn’t mind having in a world where she still felt a bit alone. Not that that wasn’t changing quickly and drastically, it was. She had friends and Gawen seemed to have taken a liking to her (along with everyone else in his life, but she doesn’t mind sharing), and on rare occasions there’s still Apollo. But her family is gone, and she cannot replace them, or the feeling of knowing there’s always someone at your back. A companion, to her, seemed like the closest thing she might get to having that back.

Epiphany replies, and Lyanna is glad to find she’s pleasant. Not everyone she stumbled across here is, and it’s always nice to have enjoyable conversation. The mare offers Pip as a nickname, and Lyanna nods in acknowledgement, her thoughts drifting momentarily to the way Gawen calls her “Anna”. She’d never had anyone shorten her name before. Princesses don’t get nicknames. They get unnecessarily long titles and formalities and half the time no one ever even used to name. It was such a strange, unexpected joy to simply hear “Anna” from the colt.

Illios is the first to respond to Pip’s question, and Lyanna listens, appreciating the polite way he leaves her with the Hidden Falls to speak about. “The last herd is the Hidden Falls, which welcomes all species and is not too far from the Edge. I hear it’s full of hidden paths and ponds, and I assume at least one waterfall given the name.” She remembers Brisa and their meeting in the Labyrinth, and how the mare had spoken of her home. “There’s also many lands that belong to no one here, and various groups that don’t live within the herd.” Ashamin comes to mind, of course, and she wonders how he is. It’s been some time since they’ve run into each other here, though they used to meet quite often.

Illios continues, saying the Throat accepts all species, and she can’t help but perk her ears a bit and direct her next question at the stallion. “Oh? I thought the Throat accepted mostly Pegasi. Or did I just get that piece of information wrong?” She asks, her tone polite and curious. She is learning about Helovia, but she’s still relatively new here (a year is not so long, really), and she still finds herself asking questions constantly. She waits for Illios to respond before turning her attention back to Pip. “The Edge is a misty forest, and one of our border’s is a magnificent cliff. It is, in a way, quite literally the world’s edge. There’s all variety of horses there as well, and everyone is very friendly and welcoming.”

lyanna