Sohalia

the Transcended

If she were to pick out one perceived weakness in the mare before her, it might have been impatience. As Sohalia listened, she felt as though Nephele was pinpointing problem upon problem, all of which should have been fixed yesterday. The dove had lived here long enough to know that it rarely worked that way; no, it took time to grow and rebuild, especially after the death of their Sultan, the departure of some of their warriors, and the recent influx of new life within their land. Yes, they were more exposed than what they had been in recent history; but they would rebuild. They would rise again. Whatever had been stolen, they would find again. They would prove their strength time and again, as they had for years.

"Your points are valid," she agreed as Nephele took a breath, adding with a smile, "but you didn't need me to tell you that. A question, if I may: how are thieves coming into our land without a key?" She had finally realize what needled her so badly about this particular issue. How would thieves be sneaking into their herd unless they had somehow stolen a key, or were a pegasus? If they were a pegasus, they would have been welcomed by the laws of the herd; if they had stolen a key... The thought made her blood run cold. Either way, something had gone terribly wrong if items had been stolen from their very own sands. "Do we know who the thieves are?" Her voice had taken on a new urgency, a new steel-tipped edge. Whatever her background, she would not sit idly by while their basic rights were treated so haphazardly by outsiders.

"Healers are often named by the Sun; perhaps He has a reason for not gifting someone with His touch yet." Her voice took on a more musing quality as the conversation shifted. "I have needed a healer on more than one occasion with my own children; we are lucky to be going into the winter, I suppose. Many fewer foals are born, this time of year." Of course, her own daughter had been born in the throes of Frostfall, and both she and Aleta had almost died for it. They needed a healer, and soon. "But you're right, we are in desperate need." She sighed. "I will seek out Maren. As our Diviner, perhaps she will be able to offer some guidance to our herd in this matter, or, if we are lucky, she can name a Sun Physician."

When Nephele offered to spar with her, the pale lady cracked a wan smile. "Yes, I'm clearly cut out for such a life," she said teasingly, cocking her head to show off her tattered ear, still only partially cleaned. Her gait, too, would have bespoken her lingering soreness. "If you have tips, I would be glad to hear them. I have found myself defenseless one too many times as the years have gone by." She tried not to think about her kidnapping. What would have happened to her if she hadn't managed to break free? She'd have been dragged back to her homeland to be a slave for some foreign stallion, never to see Gaucho or their children again, much less the rest of her family in the Throat. She shuddered.

At long last, when Nephele's suggestions had run dry, Sohalia hummed her approval. The thoughts were good ones, no matter who would be the one to set them in motion. "We need better hierarchies," she commented, half thinking aloud. "Our Gladiator - and the other top ranks - should be delegating tasks and teaching their groups appropriately. We've lost the ability to do that, it seems." After a moment's silence, in which the dove lost herself in thought, she added, "We should be working to put plans such as these in motion. Perhaps we should assign the Threshold as one of our usual patrols. Then it will not fall to one or two individuals to find new members. As for those of us here -" her gaze sharpened then, settling on the darker mare, "- we should be working together." Her eyes asked the question that her mouth did not: are we in this together, you and I?


"Talking."
-Astraeus.-

@Nephele