My little cloud is so focussed upon the dirt between her hooves that she fails to see the reaction of the dark stallion who stands beside the one Kri calls Mirage. I feel his eyes roam over me, and I simply tilt my head, openly curious of his gaze at me, the frown that creases his brow at me. I inhale, drinking the scent of the woods, of the mares here and of the stallion before us. He smells... It is hard to place. He smells like the forest here, as he should, but there was something more, something, wet, that didn't belong to the sea I could hear with my sensitive ears crashing against the cliffs a mile away. My curiosity was great indeed, as I feel the same sensation cause a wave of distraction roll through my beloved, who looks to me quizzically, before peering upwards with he cerulean gaze, to meet the dark hide of Ink.

Instantly, a flood of memories not my own, rushes through my cranium. I am almost overwhelmed by the experience she shares with me as fast as the speed of thought - the adventure to the Steppe, the meeting of a gryphon, a mare and a young coltish stallion who possesses the ability to draw with this strange substance. Ink she had learned that day, was his name, and also the name of the substance he so expertly drew around. I tilt my head again, this time at her. My tongue lolls out of my mouth as I relax into a happy smile, taking advantage of her slightly lighter demeanour - the weather has shifted noticeably, warming up, the dappled sunlight that tries to reach through the trees seems to try harder - or perhaps it was simply the Sun God following minions of his herd across the land. I held confidence that it was my little cloud's own mood shifting, however.

She takes a step forward, a small smile upon her lips, and just before she motions to say his name, our leaders begin their discussions. Frowning slightly at the lost opportunity to speak to one she considered a friend from her childhood, she and I still turned our heads obediently to listen to the words exchanged. I felt her sadness attempt to grow once more as mention of our late father was made, and the response Mirage gave was fitting, and while it did little to lift the burden, it at least helped fill the young belle's heart with a sense of welcome here, in a land that could be considered a home away from home, should she so wish it. The weather remains clear, and so I am confident that we have taken a small step forward today, in our defeating the depression that haunts her.

Kri gives her warning to Mirage, and the dark leader reacts accordingly, declaring that we would not fall to the evil of racism or supremacy of a single species. Helovia was here to be shared by all, pegasus, equine and unicorn alike, among many other creatures - not unlike myself - who also found its lands comfortable, profitable, inhabitable. I felt the words of Mirage echo in my little cloud's mind, even as Ink drew his image - though I had seen his art through the eyes of my beloved, the simple masterpiece he drew now, that of a blank canvas of a horse awaiting the details to be etched into place, was so much more complete than the washed out version of my beloved he had drawn that day in the Steppe. Cirrus smiles at him once more, and I cannot help but broaden my own canine grin as the happy memory surfaced in her cranium once more.

But she clung still to Mirage's words, to mention of the exchanging of knowledge and skills - Willow, the healer from the Foothills, had mentioned something similar. Cirrus very much enjoyed the idea, she could see now how easily time and distance kept allies apart, even if the relationship shared between them was as solid as ever before. It would do no harm to become more familiar with these lands, and to have others travel to the Throat to do the same. "My Lady, there was talk of a Healer's meeting, where knowledge of our art would be shared for all to hear.." She hesitated slightly, unsure of whether her beloved leader already knew of this from her daughter, Onni, my beloved's own mentor. "I think the same sort of thing designed for our warriors would be beneficial." She finished, in what she thought was a bit of a lame end to her words.

A sense of duty has awakened within her, however, and for a moment, it swallows the depression, pushes it aside so that she can focus on building something grand for her herd, and their allies. Inwardly, I celebrate, and know now what to use in future to keep her mind from wandering down those dark, depressed alleyways that led only to further self-destruction and damage. My little cloud would be the cause of something great in these lands, and I was the lucky one close enough to her very soul to feel its initial stirrings.