She may not trust the God of the Spark, but he had offered them a home, and this was something that they desperately needed. And he had asked for so little in return: they were forbidden to make alliances with the other herds of Helovia. Well, that wouldn't be a problem, now, would it, with the herd notorious for their lack of fondness for those they considered inferior. No, it would be all too easy to abide by their patron's rules. Perhaps the shadow-mare even felt a kinship for him, with his plain unicorn appearance and his mischievous manner. She felt that he was a trickster, and out to create chaos. Chaos was something that she and her herd - her herd! - could benefit from.

As they trekked through the nearly invisible mountain pass, meandering between walls of ice and snow, she wondered if this land would be what they needed after all. They had spent Frostfall in the hellish wasteland of the Steppe, cold and hungry, battered by drifting snows and cutting winds. How could a land amongst the mountains be any different? But greed outweighed common sense, and she followed the god silently, her harem close behind. Surely he would provide them with an acceptable land - after all, he needed them as much as they needed him, if he were to upset the precarious balance that had settled over the land. And to keep them, he would need to provide for them - after all, was that not the job of a patron god?

Around a curve and the mountains opened, framing a picturesque valley, complete with caverns for shelter and a lake for water. In Birdsong, the sheltered basin was just coming into bloom, the harsher conditions of the surrounding mountains unable to touch the valley. The wing-hunter was sure that it would be cold in Frostfall, there was no doubt about that, but it would be an easy cold to weather with the experience of the Steppe behind them. And now, entering the warmer months, it would be an excellent place to gain strength and regroup, to build an army that would be able to wreak havoc and regain honor. And exact revenge, as the god had so promised.

His commands rang through the air. "Welcome home," he said. "Remember the promise you made me and follow your leader, Psyche. Her word is law from this point forward while Mauja is indisposed." Of course, he would know of the FrostHeart's fate - why was she surprised? But it irked her, that her rule would be only while the Ice King remained absent. No. He had disappeared, and she would not relinquish her hold on this land so easily as that. She would win the herd over, nurture the Plague into an unstoppable force, and when he returned - if he returned - they would simply have to sort out some form of leadership that she would be a part of.

The god disappeared, and left Lady Psyche to add her own welcome. "Welcome home, indeed," she said, loud enough for them all to hear but almost seeming to speak to herself. "Well, my dears, shall we explore?"

[W/C | 533]