The mare had grown fond of the little filly who was painted so similarly to her sister, but had a pale horn instead of a crescent upon her rump; Aylin. Thoughts of the flicka pleased Mirage, she had an affectionate for her that was not unlike a mother’s affection for her own daughter – certainly Mirage would not deny such feelings existed. But the filly had a mother, a capable one at that, and Mirage was not about to interfere or upset their family, but rather she would be a friend and ally to them all, should they allow it.

Vast stretches of meadows rolled out before her, it was a dark hour of the night, the mare suspected that dawn was probably only half an hour away, and then the Sun’s rays would stain the horizon once more, and the heat that had been soaking the lands would once again scorch her existence. She longed for knowledge of how to escape such drought, but she was not a god, there was little she could do but pray that the balance would be restored soon. She looked forward to the change of the seasons, but even then, she was fearful that the change would be delayed, that winter would be pushed farther and farther back as this dreadful TallSun stretched onwards.

It was somewhat cool here, however, she was to the north of the Threshold, nearer the lands that were bathed in ice and snow, and under the protective blanket of midnight sky she was able to call upon an inner peace to soothe her worries. The pressures of Leadership were great, but she bore them well, her countenance was strong and sure, the crown that had been placed upon her had not slipped, not yet. She lived for her family, it was for them that she rose as WeyrLeader, not for her own gain, no, she longed for all of them to benefit from this choice.

Quietly the mare looked to the stars this night, the crescent moon that was in the sky reflected in her gleaming pools of aureate, inky threads swishing against her hocks. A rare breeze caused a tingle upon her sensitive forelimbs, the burns upon them had scabbed over and healed for the most part, though the vulnerable to pain. The mare breathed in, and then let her breath roll out in a sigh, as her dragon settled upon her back with the muffled flutter of wings.

[ For Aylin, whenever you have time Ali – you said you wanted some more Mirage x Aylin threads :) ]