The presence of the young mare was so comforting, Alysanne took a moment to reach out with a muzzle, intending to touch the spotted neck and thank her for moving closer. Physical contact between near-strangers (for were they not sharing an intimate moment in Alysanne’s life? Hardly strangers!) did not bother her and in this case, she welcomed it. Already she was so appreciative, she did not even want to think about what would have happened if she had been left on her own! Would instinct have kicked in? Would he even had made it?

She wondered what Ampere would have done, faced with a little life like this that clearly needed some help. Would she call it justice to leave it on its own or care for it and then abandon it, forsaking whatever emotional bond might have been formed? As much as she liked the blue mare and all her strength, she could not look at a pair like the one before her – dragon and horse – and think there was any sort of injustice being done. Nor did she feel that way when she looked upon the little owlet.

So many good things were coming of Nayati being there, and reminding her to pick a name was certainly one of them! She paused for a moment and contemplated before grinning as she remembered what his feathers had reminded her of. “Hemlock. It’s one of my favourite trees.” But hesitation was the theme of the day and she looked to her new friend with a crinkle of concern shadowing her face. “Or is that a silly name?” With her son she had been able to contemplate what name she would like beforehand, as she had a long pregnancy spent healing from an attack and worrying about the welfare of the child within her. Artorius had needed a strong name because he needed to be strong. A kingly name. But she had not thought she might come across a companion egg one day and so had no prior thought given to the matter.

Although she knew that they would have to build a nest – it only made sense! – it alarmed her that this young mare was offering to pull out some of her own hair. “Oh no! Your hair is too beautiful to be pulled out – it is not a matter of scent; I would very much like for him to remember who helped us out today.” This mare and her red dragon were so precious to her already, having her companion get used to their scent was not something she worried about.

“Thank you, Rathunax.” She echoed Nayati’s soft words with some of her own as he brought forth a mouse and tore it into manageable chunks. Alysanne only flinched once but quickly reminded herself that Hemlock was going to need to eat meat to survive and until he could get it on his own, he would need her help. At Nayati’s advice, she lowered her head and carefully picked up one of the small pieces of meat (feeling absolutely giant and clumsy as she did so) and stretched out to offer it to Hemlock. He still had his eyes closed, but the scent alerted him that there was food and while making impatient peeps he sniffed about until he found the food she offered before snapping at it… and missing. But with the second try he was rewarded and Alysanne was delighted. While he was consuming the piece, she took a moment to follow the other suggestion she had been given. Without hesitation, Alysanne turned her head and moved her wing forward – she barely used them anyway, it would not matter if she took as many feathers as she had so long as it would help keep Hemlock warm. As carefully as she could she ripped out feathers with her mouth and then turned to arrange them carefully around the owlet to form a little nest.

She continued to build it up – pausing after she thought she was done to check with Nayati and see if it was adequate – as questions continued to buzz around her mind. She wondered how long it would be until he was strong enough to climb onto her back. She couldn’t help but feel exposed here and felt as though they would be safer in the Edge. But she was patient, and she would not rush him. After offering him another piece of mouse meat, which he greedily swallowed without difficulty, she again realized just how much she was relying on Nayati and Rathunax. “Did you catch food for Rathunax when he was young? I’m just not sure how to do it on my own...” Did baby birds eat as often as other baby animals? Or was it more? Alysanne might have found herself a new full-time job, hunting around for mice and trying to figure out how to tear them up!



@[Nayati]