Standing at the edge of a crystalline pool of water, staring intently into its clear depths, Apollo had been somewhat startled when he had heard the voice of Ktulu carry along the breath of the wind. ’Members of the Grey, come forth!’ His head snapped to attention at his lady’s beckon, and immediately the painted stag turned away from the pool of water. He would return later, he agreed, and continue his solitary thinking… For now, Ktulu had beckoned him, and he would go to her. Such was his loyalty to his family.

The overo’s steps were light as he wove through the dark, familiar shadows of the trees, honey-brown orbs taking in the sights around them. He knew not what Ktulu was calling them for, but he wouldn’t turn her demand away. Dark hooves picked themselves up to avoid the twisting roots of the trees, his tail flicking this way and that as he made his way further into the depths of the Deep Forest. Why would she be summoning them? Had there been some kind of development…?

It didn’t take Apollo long to reach the clearing where, not only was Ktulu standing, but Ophelia as well. He dipped his horn to the sisters of light and darkness, as he always showed them respect whenever he came across them, and looked to Ktulu for a moment before his attention was distracted by the appearance of a large, draft mare. He remembered her, briefly, even if they hadn’t properly spoken or made aquaintances… Yes, her name was Tor. He had fleetingly met her in the forest with Phaedra, seasons back, when they had taken an impromptu adventure in the powers of glowing mushrooms… If he remembered correctly, she had been a part of the Grey as the family’s healer, the position that Apollo himself currently held. Tilting his head, Apollo allowed his gaze to drift from Tor and back to Ktulu and Ophelia. His gentle eyes lingered upon the sisters, picking his words carefully out in his head before deciding to speak.

“You called, my Ladies?” Surely it had something to do with Tor… Did she want back into the Grey? Apollo gave his head a quick shake. He recalled one of the key rules of being in the Grey; unending loyalty always. The draft mare had left them to join a herd, he knew, but little else. If she had come here, today, asking to re-join their ranks… Well, Apollo honestly wasn’t sure how it would go down.

If Tor did re-join them, would she want her old position back? The thought caused Apollo to bristle, his ears tipping back slightly and head raising. Now that he had finally achieved something for his family, filled a position where he could truly help those that had helped them, he wouldn’t readily give it up. The selfish part of him hoped that the Grey would simply send Tor away, and that she would return to wherever she had ran away to in the first place… After all, she had left them. The Grey had offered her a haven, just like it had done for him, and she had stuck her nose up at it. The thought caused Apollo to snort and stomp a hoof, the sound muted by the vegetation collecting upon the forest floor.

Whatever happened, the Grey would decide as a unit, and he would support the decision made by his family.

I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."