Wherever fate may take the gilded woman, she would forevermore count Lyanna amongst her friends. The teal-tipped mare is too full of kindness and the genuine desire to do good for Yael to not find a kindred spirit in her. And if anyone doubted the Doctor’s commitment to the herd, why, Yael would challenge them to a dragon-fueled duel right then and there. That would surely show the slanderer what’s what.  

Aly, too, is full of sweetness, but the very nature of her position keeps her removed from Yael, a lowly Philosopher. She would never hold the Queen’s forgetfulness against her, brushing it away with a murmured, “Of course, eet ees no matter… zose vere nasty spiders…” frowning at the memory. The truth is that the Helovians let themselves be tricked into doing the spiders’ dirty work, which led to a beautiful creature’s death. It’s unclear whether or not Yael recognizes the impetus of her old magic resurfacing, because as you know, we do not often like to see the true cause and effect of our actions, but either way, it was an important event.

As Yael listens, her warm gaze flickers between the two women, listening intently but saying nothing until both are finished. They both speak of devotion and falling into their roles - it is a feeling the former Queen knows well, almost too well. Devotion to the point of blindness. She cannot help but admire their innocent induction and laugh at it in the same breath. Have they never been on the wrong side of history before? Fear of making the wrong choice again weighs heavily on her neck, a fifty pound chain of death and destruction you’d never know she’s left in her wake; a constant reminder of the need to shop around in the name of research and story collecting.

What she may find rumbling beneath Helovia’s surface may shock her.

She nods thoughtfully, piecing together her words in a diplomatic fashion. “I, too, xaf lost everyzing… but zere are a few xere xoo haf begun to replace eet…” Without hesitation, she nudges Lyanna’s shoulder affectionately, but there is a sadness in her voice that betrays a smidgen of her true feelings. “Eet ees odd, because een my old life, I was Keen of a vast desert, but ze idea of a Goddess appeals far more zan a God, you know? But zen I t’ink ze Eart God! Ach, but xe ees gone now. And vell... “ she shrugs, trailing off. “Vhat ees a voman xoo vonce xad ze po’er of ze Gods to do? I cannot go back, and so I must assimeelate.” A big ‘ol sigh escapes as she feels she is not conveying her meaning accurately. She also doesn't want to portray this endeavor as a selfish task. Time to finish with a thesis statement. “So, I t’ink zat learning ze heestory ees a dual good task - to teach ze future generations about Xelovia, and also to choose for myself. And perxaps, to collect knowledge about ze lands outside Xelovia, because eet seems to me zere are many foreigners like myself.”

And yet, none quite like Yael.

Then back to the Queen and the Doctor, she asks earnestly of both mares - they who have listened to her babble on about her questions and insecurities - “Vould you boze do me ze ‘onors of being ze feerst two to tell zeir stories? To-morrow, perxaps?”

Who could refuse a request like that?