K A H L U A

As the wolf stepped back, Kahlua looked to him, thankful that he was so mindful of feelings. Still, she couldn't stop from taking a step back and to the side herself, to keep him even or in front of her. Though she felt sorrow for treating him as an outcast, she couldn't fully shake the primal instinct that demanded he was an enemy. The wolf was speaking then, apologizing to Resplendence as he had to her and for a moment, Kahlua actually thought something. She wondered how many times he had apologized for something he could not change, the form he was born with. She wondered how many times he had apologized for being himself. But as quickly as the thought was there, it was gone again, the stupid mare again listening idly to the conversation.

As Resplendence began to speak, then, Kahlua reveled in her words. She owed this mare her life- or her leg, at the very least. After the war Resplendence had taken Kahlua to find herbs when the rest were so worried about matters of more importance. Kahlua would not forget the action, for surely she would not have found the plants on her own. Here now, with the fallen angel suggesting that the wolf may be allowed in, Kahlua was quite pleased with herself. Perhaps she had done well after all. It would be a shame to do something that damaged her good name in the herd.

It was then that another appeared from the mists, forming from nothing and giving no indication as to her arrival. Kahlua stiffened and backed away a few steps, her heart racing from the surprise. Her ears flicked to this older mare immediately, Kahlua almost forgetting her fear of the wolf beside her. Her fright was quickly assuaged though, the mist mare's words smooth and reassuring. Hellena, Kahlua repeated to herself several times as was her habit. At the mention of the war, Kahlua bobbed her hears. The warriors were repairing and regrouping deep within the land, seeking solace in what they knew. Kahlua had left for the Threshold after being healed, taking comfort in something different. “This is Vertigon. I met him at the Threshold,” she explained for a second time, her voice dancing and bright as usual. Bowing her head then, to this mare she supposed was her superior, she fell silent and looked to Hellena with eager eyes. All she wished to do was please those above her, give them reason to find her useful. Perhaps, with this mare, it would be difficult to do- standing so near the elder mare, Kahlua's attitude seemed comical and especially childish, a collision of two worlds that would be hard pressed to find something in common.