My eyes are so heavy, my feet drag in front of me. I have been walking for so long. I don't remember where I am, and I don't remember where I am going. I just want to walk to escape from the shroud of darkness that has draped itself around me. Out of the corner of my eye I see a shadow move, my ears prick in excitement, I haven't seen anyone else in so long.

"Hello?" I stare intently at the spot where I saw the movement but everything is once again still. The silence is horrendously loud in my ears."Please answer me, please be here." My voice trembles as I call out. I need for there to be someone else here.

Suddenly there are shadows leaping around everywhere, they surround me. Harsh snickering echoes around me "We are here." the shadows move faster and faster, the plants they cross wilt before my eyes.

I am frozen in fear, I can feel the malice oozing from the shadows. They move too fast for my eyes to follow. One begins to slow its circles around me until it slows to a stop facing me. The shadow creature slowly lifts one of its arms and points a razor sharp claw in my direction while the others still circle faster and faster. I break through my fear and spin and run through the shadows, I veer off of the path I have been walking on and crash through my surroundings.

The shadows follow closely in pursuit, I move at break neck speed twisting and turning through the dense forest trying to get away. My breath comes out in great bursts, my chest and legs burn with effort. Just as hope for escape is dwindling down to nothing I catch a glimpse of a clearing up ahead with light streaming from it.

My hooves barely touch the ground as I make a mad dash for the bright clearing, somehow I know it is a place of safety. The shadows scratch at my sides with razor sharp claws the closer that I get to the light filled clearing the more aggressive their attacks become.

The shadows seem to be becoming more solid, and begin to move to block my way to the clearing. I gather myself up and barely clear jumping over the creatures in my way. Once I stumble into the clearing everything goes still. Everything feels light again. My breath catches in my throat as I look around.

Everybody from my past is materializing into the clearing. I see my mother standing with a stallion that must be my father. I remember my mother mourning his death. My human boy isn't far from the two, he sits with a sketchbook open intently watching the pair. There are all of the men who rode with me into battle, along with my fellow horses used as mounts by the military. None of either group had made it out of battle. There are countless others. But there, lingering in the back, facing away from me is Torolf.

I can just see him over the crowd from my past. A pang goes through me as I am hit with a wave of emotion, I don't want Torolf to be part of this. He should not be my past. Torolf was, is, meant to be my past; present, and future. My whole being aches with the love I have for him.

"Torolf!" All of my feelings take control as I call out and barrel towards the stallion. I crash past the others and straight towards him.

He doesn't respond to me calling his name, he just continues to stare straight ahead. I reach out and touch my muzzle to his mid-back. I jerk back at feeling how cold he is before moving in closer to try to warm him. I'm astonished to feel that the spot where I touched him is nearly hot with the surrounding area beginning to warm. I simply stand beside him for a while before he begins to move and finally speak.

"Avarielle," there is so much warmth in his voice, "I thought you'd never come. I mean after all, what is a mare like you doing in a place like this?"

"All of this time apart and those are the best lines that you can come up with?" I am torn between our teasing and my emotions of fear and confusion at my surroundings. "And I have a better question: What is this place? How are you here? You are.." I cannot bring myself to say dead.

"I haven't been able to think or do anything since I have been here. Just stare blankly ahead. Or at least that was it until you got here."

I playfully shove his shoulder, "Aren't you done with the lines yet?"

"It's the truth, so I think I did rather well for being so unprepared." A mischievous glimmer sparks in his eyes, "And it would definitely help if you weren't so beautiful, it kills my creativity." Any reply I could have slips from my head as he gives me a sly wink. "And I don't know what this place is. None of it makes any sense."

"I wish I would have gotten wherever this is sooner." I shiver in dread at the thought of having to face the shadow creatures but it was worth it to be here with Torolf.

"But that is the thing my dear Avarielle," I back away as I see the change in his expression, "I'm not really here, and you aren't either. You don't even have your eyes open."

"You are being absurd. Of course my eyes are open, I am looking right at you."

Torolf's expression softens and he closes the distance between us quickly, he wraps his neck around me pulling us even closer together. "Some things are not only seen with the eyes, my star, in some things the heart sees all. Now open your eyes, but don't you ever forget to look with your heart."


I open my eyes only to quickly shut them again. Torolf is gone. I am alone. It seems almost cruel for the birds to be singing such bright songs. As the birds croon joy back into my ears I hold onto my sadness, I hold onto Torolf.

I let out a sigh and slowly open my eyes. I remember being with Kahlua and another horse. I remember snow, and darkness but now sweat drips from my body. This is such a strange place and I am sure there are so many more strange events to come. I can't help but feel a smile spread on my face at the thought, this seems to be a land that young foals would dream about.

"Kah-" I try to call my friend's name to see if she is still nearby but my voice comes out as a hoarse whisper. It is the sound of a voice that has gone long with no use. I start to stand but I am unable and instead I find myself looking down in astonished horror.

What I thought was simply leaves laying on me is in reality vines that have grown around me. My heart is hammering in my chest. How long have I been here? Panic grabs hold of me and I fight to my feet snapping the vines and uprooting some plants.

Once I am on my feet I shake off the leaves and dirt from my coat and turn my head to look at myself. I have dropped a lot of weight and my coat has lost its well cared for shine. My legs feel unsteady underneath me. The peaceful quiet of the forest is interrupted by the sound of my stomach rumbling.

But first I need to take care of a hunger much more necessary that the one that calls for food, or even water. I remember Torolf's words and close my eyes. I could swear that I feel a familiar nip at my ear along with an amused laugh

"So you listened well Av, but you never have been able to get your priorities straight." My heart drums at the sound of that deep voice and tears well up at that laugh.

I throw my sadness to the wind and laugh along before loping off in search of water. Water, food, and more horses.

OOC: It is long, and not the best.. but I wanted to somehow fill in where I have been gone for so long. Didn't want to start back at the beginning with Avarielle again. Take this wherever you can, I was so unsure about how to open things back up. You can go to Avarielle's page to read her threads before this.

Ever in search, the girl traipsed the Threshold with a happy smile, memories of the Earth god's song twinkling in her ears. Happily, she hummed along, a song of bright hopes and easy futures. In her head, images danced, figures and trinkets of glass dancing like sugar-plum fairies on a snowy stage. The girl had no idea what was in store for her, but she knew that she was excited for it. Deliveries of the statues had gone well, the wall was standing strong, she was Glazier alongside Aaron, and there was little more for her to do than enjoy life. Only the thoughts of friends that had come and gone from her life put a damper on her soul today. The names were many that she had welcomed to the Edge. The number of those that remained were far fewer. How lucky was she, today then, to hear the steady beat of heavy hooves along the ground.

Expecting nothing more than another newcomer, which she would be more than happy to greet, Kahlua picked up a canter and shook out her mane in an effort to make herself more presentable. To be honest, since her appointment as Glazier, the girl had begun to care less (just slightly) about her appearance. Perhaps it was that she was becoming more comfortable around her peers. Perhaps it was that she was no longer trying to prove herself to the herd, having done so already. Perhaps it was just that the girl was growing up, seeing that looks were not everything, and that there was more to life than pretty faces and gleeful words. But then again.... maybe not.

Suddenly, the girl screamed. It was a joyous whinny, a sound celebrating the heavens and the gods themselves. Could it be? Could it really be? But there was no mistaking the girl, the lovely draft that she had instantly bonded with, and Kahlua wasted no time in making herself known. “AVARIELLE!” Her voice danced like that of a bride on her wedding day, the girl amazed that she should find a friend so long gone from her life. Without hesitation, the girl ran, almost tripping over herself, to Ava's side, skidding to an ungraceful halt as she tried to wrap her neck around Ava's, hoping the woman would stop her forward motion so that she could do so. Would the mare even remember her? Kahlua hardly stopped to wonder. She was a child in a candy store, eyes wide with eager hope and welcoming arms. Her friend had returned.

With every minute that passed it seemed as if the thoughts passing through Avarielle's head doubled. She was left with an abundance of questions, and she knew that many of them would remain questions, never to be answers.

The mare tossed her head in annoyance, she didn't want to spend her time mulling over these things that were weighing her down so. It then dawned on her, she had just answered one of her own impossible questions. Her laugh filled the forest, with one question answered she felt so much lighter. For the first time since she had found herself in Helovia Avarielle moved with purpose. She knew what she was here for in this strange land. She would find true happiness. The sound of her hooves rhythmically moving her forward proudly rang out. It was the sound representing her movement into her future.

Avarielle enjoyed the forest around her as she moved. The feeling of the breeze as it brushed past tangling itself in her mane before moving on to weave through the trees. The sounds of the birds calling out to one another speaking in their own beautiful language. Each bird seeming to start where the other left off, a never ending song. The feeling of the sun's rays wrapping around her in an embrace as if to apologize for the brief visit of the fickle breeze.

Avarielle jumped as a joyous whinny pierced the air, it was such an unexpected sound after traveling in silence for so long. She flicked her ears around trying to pinpoint where the sound came from, her heart raced at the thought of finding what had brought forth so much joy.

"AVARIELLE!"

Avarielle's step faltered as she recognized the voice and as she realized that she was the source of the happiness. Her eyes filled at the realization that she could bring out such a reaction in someone.

Kahlua came dashing in her direction Avarielle braced her legs out in front of her sliding to a stop just in time to keep from running into the smaller mare. A grin spread across her face as she returned the embrace Kahlua offered.

"Kahlua! It is amazing to see you." Avarielle stepped back and took in the mare. She drank in the feeling of seeing a friend you don't count on meeting again. Kahlua radiated confidence and seemed to only have grown more beautiful. "The sun is out, so are the lamp trees gone? So much seems to have changed in Helovia." She paused not sure if the statement was true, after all, she hadn't seen much of the place. "And you, you seem different. Much more content, and confident. Not that you weren't confident before." It was something she admired about Kahlua, the mare always seemed confident in herself. "I remember you wanted to become a crafter, did you? What all has happened since I have been..gone?"

Asking so many questions made her chuckle, thinking back to when she had first met the other mare and the streams of questions she had asked then.

If there was one thing Kahlua hated in this world, it was losing others. Finding them again... well, it was something she hardly thought about. But Avarielle was back now, here in the forest and what rapture the girl felt for it. The draft girl's warm embrace made Kahlua's heart soar, her smile as wide as it was possible to be. If she were a rabbit, she would have been bouncing in circles. As it was, Kahlua manged several small half-rears with a few tosses of her head. All that joy had to go somewhere- in Kahlua's case, it manifested as excess motion. Luckily she had found enough presence of mind to move just a little bit away from her long-lost friend before doing so.

It is amazing to see you. Kahlua hummed a happy song in response, finding a few words amongst them. “I thought I'd never see you again!” As the shire mare mentioned the surroundings, Kahlua looked around, reminding herself with her eyes that the sun was actually back to stay. Everything was exactly how it should be. In the pause that Avi offered, Kahlua rattled off a few quick things. As much as had changed with her, one thing had stayed the same- she always talked too much. “The sun came back! And it's been back every day! There are a few of the trees around...” she trailed off to think for a moment. “But they seem to be a lot dimmer! I'm just glad the moon isn't the only source of light now.”

And then the compliments for her came. She was content, confident- and Avi mentioned crafting!! “I was made Glazier!” Her voice exploded in a flurry of excitement, the girl tossing her head some more. “Avi, I built a wall! You have to see it!” Kahlua had no children, and had no intention of having children, but if she ever called anything her baby it would be the wall. The glass monstrosity that had almost killed the girl from exhaustion after working on it for a month straight. How could she not think of it as her own? Her precious.

“And you! What happened, why were you gone? Was it something we did?” She paused, trying to think. Avi had not been a member of the Edge very long before she had disappeared again. Kahlua couldn't fathom why she had gone, so enraptured with the culture of the Edge as she was. “Will you return to us? I can welcome you now.” She looked eagerly to the girl, hoping with all hope that the big draft mare would say yes. Why wouldn't she? But Kahlua still waited anxiously, like she had just proposed to the girl, her heart aflutter with the possibilities.

Avarielle filled with warmth at hearing her friend say that there were still lamp trees. The trees looked as if the stars themselves had came down to rest upon their gently swaying branches. They left her imagination to run wild at the possibilities of the new strange things she may encounter in Helovia.

But she wondered where the sun had gone for all of that time. A soft smile formed itself on her lips, maybe the sun had gone into the night to be with the other stars. She had always thought it must be lonely to be the sun.

Kahlua was a spring of energy that overflowed in her obvious zest for life. Avarielle smiled at seeing the animated mare tell of her accomplishments. The curiosity in her mounted as she listened to Kahlua speak of building a wall.

Walls have two uses. To keep its occupants prisoners preventing escape; or to guard the lives of those nestled inside. Avarielle had a mix of emotions delicately dancing together as she watched Kahlua, happiness for her friend and worry. Kahlua was not one that would have any ill will towards others. She felt her blood chill at the option that was left to explain the wall. What was being kept out?

The Shire shook herself as the steely emotion of protectiveness tensed her body.

Avarielle calmed herself for a moment and reminded herself that she was far from her former life. The wall could simply be an extra safety buffer, a "just in case".

It was in those few moments the mare realized that along with all of the excitement and hope for the future she had found in this land she had also found herself feeling anxious for the unknown.

"And you! What happened, why were you gone? Was it something we did?"

Avarielle winced at her friend's question it was upsetting to think that the ones who had welcomed her so wholeheartedly might feel as if they had done something wrong.

"No! You had nothing to do with it." She tried thinking back to what had happened. "I don't remember why I left.." The mare wrinkled her brow in confusion, she remembered waking up but she had woken to such strange circumstances. If she told Kahlua about how she woke up surely she would be thought to be insane. What would her life be like now if nothing would have happened and she had gone right into The Edge?

"Will you return to us? I can welcome you now."

Avarielle's heart skipped a beat and restarted itself racing. "Really? Could we go now? You'll just welcome me again? Even after I.." she realized she didn't know what to say, "after what happened? Oh Kahlua I am so excited! I want to see your wall, I want to meet everyone."

All of her darker thoughts were whisked away with the lightness she felt at knowing she had somewhere to go. She hadn't had a home in years. Maybe this would be it.