RUSKE

        My first journey to the World’s Edge had been far too harried for a proper inspection of the territory’s border. Only upon regaining my strength had I truly noticed the wall: certainly a great edifice, at one time. Previous inspections had been brief and yielded little information; I observed from a distance, curious but ever driven by another goal – so much to think on, here! My thoughts surged constantly, a thousand questions seething. Matters of architectural wonder were pushed aside until I had, for a brief while, sated the worst of my curiosity. As I found myself within the borders of the Edge once more, however, I suspected the time had grown ripe for studying the shards of glass, which so often rose from the earth like jagged teeth, glinting. An ominous impression. certainly.

        Perhaps I ought to be glad I never noticed them at first.

        My strides took me alongside the ruined structure, hooves crunching now and then over shards of glass. I worried briefly about catching a sharp edge in the frog, or perhaps piercing my own sole, but quickly dismissed the notion. If I stepped carefully enough, I might avoid the largest pieces and yet satisfy my curiosity, all the same. It was truly a marvelous creation: something out of a long-ago dream, very distant, nearly given up. A part of me ached – I had nearly forgotten the sensation. Arriving in a land of plenty long after my ambitions had dried up… cruel, fate. Though perhaps I set the path myself, destined ever to strive and fail or to quit and find late success hurled in my face. Did it even matter?

        A particularly large gap lay before me; with a thrust of my haunches I hopped through, satisfied at least with my ability to leap meager distances. Beyond the Edge, the world stretched pale into the distance, a landscape of trees and jagged mountains. It might be lovely; it looked as many other places did, from far away. Only Helovia’s inhabitants remained of interest to me, truly. They at least proved varied; I moved forward once again with my ears up, hoping perhaps to meet a herd mate. They proved reclusive in many respects, or perhaps simply scarce. I could not be certain how many in this land approved Kahlua’s goal of peace; I might hope, but my optimism often proved disastrous. Instead I merely wandered, gazing at the wall and also at the outside world, until a certain noise caught my ears from somewhere ahead: a timid voice, feminine, reverberating in small echoes off the warped and shattered glass that must have drawn us both.

        Head up, I spied her in the distance: white, brown, solidly build. Another mare – it seemed the World’s Edge attracted more of them than any other. Though I could not profess to find discomfort in the situation, I did find it strange. With a hoarse whinny, I answered her much softer call – my own voice much abused by an unhappy past. ”Hello.” Drawing near enough, I responded to her query in kind. Was she one of our own? Somehow I doubted – she stood on the wrong side of the wall, for one. And the smell on her hide, faint with distance but identifiable, did not match the particular smell of the forest. A visitor then? Or a newcomer? Certainly others existed who might do better in assisting her than myself, but I could hardly retreat, thus announced. I might do a small service in meeting strangers at the border, anyway. ”My name is Ruske,” I introduced myself, ”nurse of the World’s Edge, this land.” How foolish I might sound if she did know the place; I shoved that worthless touch of anxiety far aside. ”Are you familiar with it?” Though my gaze rested, for the most part, on her face, I did not fail to recognize the brown wings skating on the air above her – a dragon. For no discernable reason, its presence set me more at ease than the mare might have, alone. Perhaps because all those I had met in company of such creatures were kind, trustworthy. I had come to see dragons as an excellent judge of character, if nothing else.

NursE

world's edge

RUSKE

        She did not respond immediately: instead, the words came slowly. Thoughtfully, perhaps. She met my eyes with an even gaze, neither commanding nor aggressive, but aware. Just as quickly, her eyes swept away; I cocked an ear at the ruin nearby, my thoughts whirling alongside the conversation. Preliminary judgment, flawed as it often was, suggested this mare would prove interesting – pleasant even. ”You have been farther across Helovia than I.” The statement came out wry with embarrassment. Uneasy then, I shifted, allowing my attention to waver from the mare and her companion to the nearly surreal quiet of the herd land nearby. If someone else had come… but only I was present. With a nod of my head I steeled myself, thoughts braced to meet the next of her words.

        ”Isi.” I repeated the name – short and songlike – with a brief nod of my head. ”A pleasure.” However often I had uttered the same words in irony, I was then quite sincere. She appeared pleasant; my eyes shifted to the watchful attention of the dragon on her back. ”And a pleasure to meet your dragon, as well. I have known a few bonded equines, in my time. All worthy of the highest compliments.” Evangeline jumped first and foremost to mind; I shook the recollection off internally. It was no time for nostalgia.

        With a sigh, I cast my gaze again at the wall, and the tree beyond, and the turf at its feet. ”Our queen is named Kahlua,” I said in answer to her second question. It was true enough; I knew far too little of any other ruler to describe him. Yet I knew enough, I thought, to address the nature of her inquiry – and resolve her current status as belonging nowhere. ”She is likely somewhere within…” I turned and stepped briefly away, lifting my head to let a long, hoarse bugle shudder from the back end of my throat. Falling silent, I stifled an irritated cough. ”Though I hope she managed to hear that…” Then spread before us a period of waiting, for better or worse. I turned back to the mare, searching my recent memory for some form of distraction. ”You said you arrived here when ‘shadows ruled’…” Merely repeating the phrase sent a damp shiver down my spine. ”What did you mean?”

NursE

world's edge

RES && VAL

There had been a loud bugle that had caught Res's attention. She had been heading back towards her garden after taking her time off. But, it seemed as though that wasn't going to be happening again. Swift hooves carried her forward as she headed toward the call. Valiance, flying above and ahead to take in the scene before Resplendence arrived.

Forever protective as she was, Res was preparing herself to call him out and discipline him for one of his diving attacks. But, what she arrived to was simply him circling the air, seeming content for once. It was really funny how just the presence of another dragon seemed to calm him and keep him from attacking those at our borders.

Her nervous tick, returned though, as she came up to the group. There was the one whom she had healed earlier, and then there was one whom she didn't recognize. Sweet lyrics spun from her maw before she was fully within sight. "Someone called?" she whispered, eyes widening as she allowed herself to fall a few strides behind Ruske, facing the painted one.

Valiance puffed up, doing one last circle, before resting upon Res's poll - eyeing the group before her as he always did in group situations. "I'm Resplendence. One of the Moon Doctors here," she continued to whisper before peering over to Ruske, "Are you feeling any better?" A gentle tilt of her head to the side before she looked back over toward the painted one. "Can I do anything for you?"

Still, the mare spoke solomenly, quietly, definitely soft-spoken. She was not one for trouble, she was the quiet intelligence that probably lurked within this herd (if she would ever accept that she was smart enough to be of assistance or to actually matter). And now, it was time for her to step back into the spotlight just long enough to meet new members of the herd, to see if they could actually assist. To see what might happen.

HealeR

world's edge

RUSKE

        A vague uneasiness crept through me as we waited – perhaps no one had heard me? No one would come? I did my best, however, to hide my concern. Both mare and dragon seemed, at very least, quite tolerant of my presence. Chuckling in response to the dragon’s small show of pride, I shook my head. “They are such amazing creatures…” Though I felt no envy, I did eye Adella for a moment longer. My first observations involving the beasts yielded little, but the more I watched them, the more I began to realize they held their own intelligence – perhaps equal to mine. Perhaps.

        I listened intently as Isi explained about the shadows. Her telling communicated a different sort of plague than the one infecting my own home, but a chill passed through me all the same as I thought on it. Briefly, I imagined myself arriving in a Helovia steeped in darkness, crawling along through the trees and meeting only monsters… Something in my thoughts clenched, hard, and I shook the fantasy away. “I must have arrived well after the land’s illness was cured,” I agreed with a nod. “I have never heard of such a thing, though my old home did experience… a similar plague.” One I had no intention of reliving. I turned instead toward the sound of footsteps, my eyes at last picking out Resplendence’s pale form against the green.

        Valiant arrived just before her: crimson feathers throwing his small shadow over us both. Though I had seen him before I failed to place the little dragon for a moment. Then, of course, the whole of the scenario rushed back: the healer, the others…. I nodded to her as she approached. The tension in her frame had not left since our last meeting, but she did appear recovered. I greeted her with a brief nod of my head. “Resplendence. I am much improved, thank you.” It hardly rang true as I allowed a glance back at my sunken frame, but my inner workings did at least allow for movement and cognition, when they had refused before. I would continue to improve. My attention for the moment belonged with Isi, however.

        She introduced herself and her purpose with no help from me, and I only nodded along in confirmation of her story. “I believe she would fit well here in the Edge,” I offered, speaking only from what little I knew of both the herd land and the mare. Of course, I knew little of Resplendence, as well… but I felt content in trusting my judgment, and politely waited for the Moon Doctor to provide her own.

NursE

world's edge

RES && VAL

The greeting was returned as well as the information Res sought. Acceptance into the herd, that could be done as long as she proved safe. It is the brown dragon that lands at Res's feet that has her shuffling backwards a step or two, Valiance puffing up and giving a slight guttural warning. Yes, he could do nothing really when it came to protecting me at this point - but he still had an innate desire to attempt to do so. Words of fondness passed from the painted's lips as I turned to glance at Ruske as he spoke. "Good, I'm glad," she whispered before he said he believed the paint before them would be a good fit.

A gentle breath in and a nod. "A few questions - if you don't mind." they were a herd of knowledge and care - but there had to be a desire for it. She doubted the paint would be of a threat, and that she would actually fit in well but she needed to make sure. "What is your name, hunn - I don't believe I caught it? And, other than safety why do you want to be in this herd, what do you think you can do to help us?"

Quiet vocals slide from her maw, limbs trembling still in discomfort of being around more than just one other at a time. It would be interesting to see her answer, to see how her mind worked. Valiance tugging her mane to try and give her confidence before lifting back up into the air and moving to sit on Ruske's back should he allow it - wanting a better vantage point of the area but not wanting to be too far away from Resplendence.

HealeR

world's edge