Wrapped up in the joy of seeing her friend again, the ocean mare doesn’t notice the stallion’s brief hesitation before he returns her embrace. All she knows is that, with the way her fragile heart has been bruised and torn and beaten, it is wonderful to see a familiar face. She sighs happily against his skin, breathing in his musky scent that is familiar and comforting, her little mind accepting everything about him as a much-needed beacon of hope. The Gods know how her faith has been shaken, and how her trust has been wounded. Shadows have haunted her, with their dark questions and cruel demands, exhausting the Mender’s fledgling heart and wasting her beliefs into shreds.

To have Mesec with her, so kind and honest, is a relief she hasn’t realized she’s craved until now.

Even when the cold air rushes again into the space between them, Tiamat hovers close, near enough to feel the heat of his skin and see how the sunlight plays over his eyes. She listens intently to his voice, her features brightening before they fall suddenly, wilting again into a knowing grief—a grief that the whole of Helovia shares now. How terrible it is that something so awful must happen in order for them to be united...even if it is in misery. “Yes...as well as it could be,” Tiamat mutters the words he had spoken, unable to hide the bitterness and despair that hardens her lips, and she fears that she might descend again into a weeping, pitiful mess.

However, the subject is mercifully guided towards happier things when Mesec’s new companion basks delightedly in her praise. Blinking against the moisture that stings the back of her eyes, Tiamat glances up beneath her lashes, smiling at the fox pup’s frisky antics. “Well hello, Lyra—this is Nimue,” the mare lowers her head to greet the little creature, a white eye focusing on the little whale as she peeks around her bonded’s shoulder.

Undeniably curious, Nimue stares at the kitsune from between Tiamat’s legs, another low whistle warbling slowly before she summons the courage to approach. Shyly she eyes the pup, wondering what she is exactly, and fascinated by the multiple tails that wiggle behind her. Nimue has never seen anything like Lyra before! Once within touching distance, the little orca stares for a moment, before reaching forward and bumping the fox gently with her round nose. Breathing a squeal from her blowhole, Nimue wiggles back as though startled, before returning to the pup and bobbing her head up and down. The sea maiden laughs softly. “I think we like her too,” she says with confidence, her tone coated with motherly affection.

She’s still looking at the leviathan and kitsune when she hears her name spoken softly; fluted ears prick forward before her eyes follow, blinking against the light that frames him. “Hmm?” There’s a gentle smile when she glances up to the stallion, one that has nearly forgotten the ache of the wounds along her cheek and neck. “Oh,” she forces a short laugh to try and mask the way her smile suddenly droops, how her heart suddenly twists (and not in a good way), but she has never been very good at hiding her emotions.

When she continues, she attempts to hold a smile, but her lips tremble and it isn’t long before she’s tucking her chin bashfully. “Yeah, I’m okay. It happened at the Spectral Marsh, when Kisamoa—” Tiamat feels herself choking on the name, bile rising to her tongue, and she has to swallow before she is able to continue, “—when Kaos unleashed his monster. I got a little carried away and didn’t see it coming.” Her head lowers unconsciously with the memories, her body seeming to shrink in on itself, and the same hot fire simmers through her chest—a poisonous pain she had never felt before that day. The injuries burn in her skin, and with tears moistening her eyes, she bears them dutifully.

Closing her eyes and breathing in deeply through her nose, Tiamat naturally directs her attention to easier things. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt?” She questions Mesec earnestly, stepping forward to appraise him properly, and make sure that he is here in one piece.


“Speech.”