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Rose-colored lips traced the jagged lines that marred her skin, deep indentations carved into shoulder, side and flank like pink chalk against the pale coat. The healers efforts was paying off; though the fresh skin remained tender to the touch it did not look to be in any real danger of re-opening, and with a bit of luck the scarring would be minimal. The hairs of her silken hide might not grow to cover the cuts and slices completely for some time, but come spring and the shedding of the winter coat Erthë would look as good as new again.

More important was the question whether she would ever be rid of the nightmares. Ever since her mothers death - no, wait. It had been longer than that... since the beginning of the Rift War, right? In short, for the better part of her life sleep had been uneasy and restless, riddled with dreams that frightened and agitated her. Rare was the day when she got more than a few hours worth of rest, when body and mind finally wore down enough that her sleep more resembled a coma, such was her exhaustion. Winding up on the receiving end of the Time God's wrath - she still hadn't seen Kiuaji since then, was he alright? - and being molested by a stranger while unconscious had left deeper scars in her mind than those inflicted upon the body. Unfortunately mental wounds were harder to heal too...

Along with the deep tremors that shook her each time she heard the howl of wolves at twilight the girl now found herself in deep mistrust of anyone with even the slightest hint of red on their person. It was all she recalled from her attacker; a mocking voice that she thought she recognized in every stranger she met, and a memory of red leaning over her while wave after wave of pain broke over her...

Shuddering at the memory, the filly sighed and folded her wing back down over the side. She was just about to return to her grazing when Tembovu's voice came drifting to her on the nightly breeze, clearly enough that he must be close by. Woolly ears pricked as she recognized the Lady's name; without even pausing to question what the Elephant man was up to she began to move in his direction, deftly picking her way through the woodlands until the king appeared before her in the midst of a clearing.

Why was he calling the Goddess on his own, rather than have Alune do it? Was the Seer away? But that couldn't be, she had seen him not too long ago... So why wasn't he here to do the summoning? At once concerned for her teacher, Erthë stepped out into the clearing and went to stand beside Tembovu, the long tail coiled around a slender leg as if to comfort herself - surely nothing could have happened to the devout man. Surely?

"Where is Alune?" she asked him, straightforward to the point of brusqueness; this was no time to beat about the bush. "I thought only the Seer could summon our Lady... Why are you the one to do it?"

Was it out of order for her to ask this? But the king was her friend, and a patient enough man - he knew her, knew that she meant nothing by skipping the niceties. In fact, considering the knots of worry that quickly formed in her gut the slender girl was being positively formal.... a testimony to her respect for the Elephantine, no doubt.

Quietly, she wondered whether the Goddess would deign to answer this request for an audience. It was highly irregular, and from what she had seen of the heavenly queen so far, the Moon loved ceremony...

Then again, their Lady was also a fickle being, terrible and lovely as she was unpredictable. It was hard to predict the outcome of anything when She was involved.