As soon as Mesec’s hoof was placed on the sparkling, moonlight bridge, he wondered if he had made the right choice. Perhaps it would have been better for him not to leave Vesper, even if he had only left her on the bank of the lake. Would a better father have demanded safe passage for both him and his daughter before giving into the calls and beckons of the mysterious, though so far friendly, lights?

He needed to trust the lights because he needed them to bring him back to her safely. His heart had jumped with the first step - his body jostled with the strange sensation of stepping forward expecting to find no resistance but instead discovering something impossibly strong and beautiful - but with each that followed he became more confident and trusting of the bridge. After all, if it were to fail he knew the lake would be bitterly cold but swimmable. Every few steps, Mesec turned his head to look at his daughter and his companion on the shore. Compared to the luminous spot he was in now, the silver star girl on the shore seemed shadowy and dark but he could still see them. Lucius shifted uncomfortably where he had landed - his piercing silver and violet gaze filled with the doubt and distrust that Mesec kept at bay.

The demigod paused only when the bridge ended, uncertainty flickering into his mind for a moment as he reached forward with his nose to brush softly against the edge of the misty structure to confirm that it had indeed ended. The lights were still around him, shifting and dancing until they spoke, beckoning him to look down. By now, his curiosity was winning out over his fear and he followed the instructions, his silver gaze drifting down past the luminous bridge to find something glowing in the water - a soft green light. At first, it was difficult to make out what was there, but he recognized the shape of the object soon enough, just as the giggling voices asked him what he saw.

An egg.

At once, Mesec thought of two things. He thought of Virga, his son, the only one of their trio family without a companion and for the hundredth time that day alone he wished his son was here. And then Mesec thought of Lucius, when the large zephyr was no more than a black and silver egg himself. ‘Will you take it? Or will it take you?’ The voices asked and Mesec smiled faintly to himself - thinking that if the egg held what he thought it did, the answer was a combination of both. If he took it, it would take him too.

Lucius felt Mesec’s hesitation, a wall of it built with a dozen questions. The egg could hold anything, really - they had both seen enough of Helovia’s magic to know that - but if it was a companion? What would that mean for their bond? And then, practically, Mesec feared reaching into the water to pick up the egg with his mouth in case he damaged it or dropped it. In response, Lucius took off from his post with Vesper and glided up to catch up with Mesec before lowering himself as slowly and carefully as he could - talons outstretched to grasp at the egg settled in the water.

There was only one way to find out what was going to happen, the zephyr reasoned, and hesitating was not it.