“I can’t pretend to understand his motivations. I think I had one incomplete conversation with him prior to the challenge. Aside from that he’d introduced himself at the previous rank meeting. That’s it. I can’t profess to know how his mind works. But I can’t say I’m particularly sad to see him go either,” She didn’t elaborate, but she had always had her suspicions that the Edge wasn’t his primary concern, and the statements that she’d heard him make upon departure all but confirmed those suspicions in her own mind.  She certainly felt the herd was more secure with another set of eyes that she could trust watching the border.  

“However my thoughts on the challenge were similar. It was not the challenge itself, but how it was handled. Rank challenges should never come close to costing someone their life,” she said, simply.  She had other thoughts on this matter, of course, most of them concerning how it was handled afterwards. She didn’t understand how one could win a rank and treat the others in the rank with such disdain and expect to be welcomed with open arms. It didn’t make logical sense in her mind.  However she knew there was no reason to dwell on it now.  As long as it was of no threat to the Edge, she didn’t care. Iona wasn’t one for bullshit, she never had, and she wasn’t going to carry this particular brand of BS around with her the rest of her life. 

“I’m glad we can move forward now. Certainly not something worth dwelling on now,” she said, with a reassuring smile to the golden woman. She couldn’t imagine what Raeden has been through, but she was glad that she had Tin and this Ron she mentioned to help her cope with whatever demons lingered. The name piqued her interest, but she prefered not to pry into Raeden’s private life. 

Iona was, however, immensely pleased when the woman accepted her position back. She’s only ever known Raeden to be confident and capable and she has proven so time and time again since coming to the Edge years ago. “Raeden. You’ve never let the Edge down. Not once.” Iona offered, with a genuine smile for the younger mare. She not only considered Raeden to be a capable Specter, but also a friend.  And she certainly could not claim to have many of those here in Helovia. “I’ll make sure that the rest of the herd knows at our next meeting that your rank has been restored.” She wanted to make sure that the rest of the herd knew that they had capable and competent eyes looking out for their safety and well being.