She flies down and almost right past me, and I whinny pleasantly as I see her sopping form emerge from a cloud. It seems she doesn't mind getting a little wet- I wish I could say the same of myself and my fiery appendages, but I've spent little time in the water. It's strange how I could be raised in Ultima and the Tides herd and still feel uncomfortable in the swaying waves of the oceans and lakes of this land. Then again, perhaps that was why.

Then again, perhaps it was time to change that. "The great lake is below us, if you'd care to land for a moment and-" then I pause suddenly, watching as her gaze changes to one that is wistful. She seems entranced by a passing bird, and her wings seem to stop mid air, leaving her falling quickly. She recovers, but still I have reflexively swooped down to catch her, and Arbutus is flying restlessly in circles above us, crying out with clear distress. I not only trust his instincts, but my own; it is clear that something has very suddenly drawn her attention to darker times.

Slowly I lower myself to hover beneath and beside her, and let one of my wings pass over her legs comfortingly. "Let's take a rest down at the lake, shall we?" I murmur softly and comfortingly, feeling strange, appropriate mother instincts kicking in. Strange that I know how to act so kindly after being subject to such abuse by my own mother. I suppose, knowing that what she did was wrong, I can simply do the opposite and always be in the right.

I trace my horn lightly across her ergot, and lift my tail so that it wraps with ease around one of her fore-knees. Gently I lower myself, moving slowly, guiding her as my wings let air rush through their fiery feathers in small amounts at a time. With growing concern I look up at her- perhaps she has just remembered something from the past she has forgotten. Judging by the look on her face it couldn't be a happy memory.

I begin to wonder if she blocked it out on purpose, if perhaps it was simply too traumatic for her to relive each morning when she awoke. Then again, I wonder why I can't do the same. Arbutus wheels around the pair of us, trilling nervously and picking at Aure's mane and nudging her downwards with his flame hidden so as not to harm her. I smile at his display of kindness- he is a good companion. A loyal one; a friend. Perhaps Aure is as well.