Anthe decided that she liked Hector. He was understanding and gentle and above all else, he did not interrogate her relentlessly although she could see a thousand unasked questions in his gaze. Perhaps in time she would share a bit of herself with him. She could tell him about the thing she’d seen outside Helovia and all the different stories she’d heard, passed down from numerous encounters. She knew, deep down, that those probably weren’t the answers he wanted and like everyone before him, there would come a day when he would ask about her home and her family and about why she’d ended up in his home. And just like everyone else before him, his questions would be greeted with silence and a diversion and that was just the endless cycle in which Anthe’s life revolved. Now, however, was not the time to dwell on the inevitable future and instead, she offered the big copper stallion a genuinely grateful smile. Of course she wasn’t the first to move through these woods – she wouldn’t be the last, either – and it came to her attention that she’d managed to land in the mouth of Helovia. The frostbitten forests seemed to be a kind of gate between this land and the wide open space she’d flown across to get here, so she supposed that Hector and his people were used to confused foreigners stumbling around without a sense of direction or an ounce of knowledge about where they’d just arrived.

Her hybrid companion began speaking again, his words an attempt to soothe the doubt that creased across her pale brow. She listened, onyx ears twitching as her gaze wandered, searching the forest for an answer that did not appear. She could not tell Hector that she wasn’t so much afraid that she’d not contribute (she did, after all, have a keen aptitude for learning), but that she didn’t trust herself to stay. She could not tell him that the very idea of family terrified her because she’d so willingly abandoned the mother and father that had brought her into this world. She couldn’t even begin to explain just how tempting the idea of this new, foreign continent was that she wanted to see all of it. There were no words that could describe the aching feeling of regret that made her chest feel weighted. Even as the stallion listed off all of the other places she could go to make her home (seemingly mistaking her hesitation for disinterest in the Throat), Anthe could only force her gaze back upon him and will him silently to understand that this was something far beyond what he could have imagined. “I thank you for your concern, Hector; however, you need not worry. I would be greatly honored if you would escort me to your home in the Dragon’s Throat.” Oh how Anthe wanted to see the sea again. Perhaps it would help clear her mind.

She straightened, shifting her wings and shuddering at a sudden gust of wintry air. She hoped what Hector said was true and that the Dragon’s Throat would prove to boast a warmer climate than this. Sighing, she brushed her gaze across his features, another soft breeze brushing her long forelock from her face. “Perhaps you could give me a crash course on all things Helovian on the way there?” She tried to force a light tone into her voice, hoping that she succeeded in fooling Hector with her false excitement. Dread, instead, had settled like a heavy rock at this pit of her stomach and Anthe found herself worrying that if they didn’t leave soon, she’d bow out altogether.