Everyone wandered in and out of the Edge as they wished, but every once in a while Alysanne started to notice the absences. Especially when it came to her friends, if she didn’t at least see them wandering about the Edge every few days she started to worry. And Brisa had been absent for some time now - or maybe it just felt longer because it had been some time since they had spoken. Once it had been more than a few days, the pegasus had made a point of paying particular attention for when the beautiful white mare might once again show back up. She tried not to worry, really! It just came so naturally to her.

So it was with great joy that she spotted her on this spring day – a delighted whinny escaping her and serving as a greeting as she picked up a quick trot. A much quicker gait would have been preferred to close the distance between them, but the owlet that had talonfuls of her mane rather demanded a slower pace so that he would not fall off. Someday he would learn to fly, but she imagined he would need to be significantly less fluffy before that were to happen. “Brisa!” A she drew closer that so-familiar name slipped out and she stopped just before her dear friend – offering her muzzle to bump against Brisa’s with affection.

One thing less to worry about! And those bright green eyes just shone with happiness as she took in the sight. “It has been too long, my dear friend. How have you been?” Perhaps best to not quite bring up the fact that her absence in the Edge had been noticed – Alysanne decided it might be best if she kept her worries to herself. After all, they were far too numerous to even begin to share.

Hemlock, for his part, remained at his perch between her ears – small talons holding tight to both Alysanne’s mane and the glass headband that she wore. Quite ruffled by the trot over here, he was settling down with some small, indignant peeps, before focusing those dark eyes on this strange white mare.


[owl image by Dave Menke, USFWS as posted on Teton Raptor Center website]

Whether it was wonderful luck or whether this was just meant to be, their monochromatic trio was reunited when their patchwork queen. These two represented her first experiences in this herd, represented all that she loved about Helovia and the reasons why she had decided to stay. Hemlock greeted Kahlua with a delightful little hoot – she was one of the few that he had given his approval to already. She just wished he would just take a liking to others!

Nodding her agreement to the idea of taking a walk as they chatted, she fell into place with them, taking a spot on Brisa’s other side as she let Kahlua guide their direction. Her smile was bright as she revelled in their company. Didn’t matter where they walked, so long as they were together, right? She would be so happy to notice that the proximity of the cliffs did not hold the same horrors for Kahlua as they had before.

To answer Brisa’s question, Alysanne was afraid that she didn’t have anything all that exciting to contribute but movement between her ears reminded her of one very important thing that had happened. “I’ve been great! Found little Hemlock here and beyond that just trying to keep busy. Helovia is so beautiful in the spring!”

It wasn’t lost on Alysanne how Brisa hadn’t answered her question, but perhaps it was a simple matter of getting lost in the comings of their other friend and reuniting with each other once more! But now she had the opportunity to ask it again, eager for the answer. “And what about you? What’ve you been up to?” An innocent enough question, after all she had no way of knowing just what Brisa had been up to lately! She was still just so happy that the white mare was safe.

The quickest way into Hemlock’s heart was just what Brisa did - the little owlet just adored being cooed over. By the right horse, of course. Though he seemed to be awfully picky about who he was friendly with - Kahlua being just about the only one so far - he hooted back at Brisa before settling back down to ignore them all while he (attempted to) nap. Well, it was far better than the dark glances he had been shooting before.

Alysanne waited patiently for Brisa to answer the question, concern colouring her expression when she picked up on the hesitation. Did something happen? Luckily she kept her imagination in check, surely their friend would let them know if something big happened to her. Sure enough, though, a ‘slight problem’ was mentioned. All her attention remained on the white mare as she waited for an explanation - knowing that it would come when she was ready, and there was certainly no point in trying to coax it out of her before that.

Well, it turns out that ‘slight problem’ was quite a delightful one! Brisa was pregnant! “Oh my gosh that’d be amazing!” Was of course her first reaction - the mere idea of foals bringing such warmth to Alysanne - but she calmed herself down quickly. Maybe it wasn’t such delightful news for everyone and the fact that Brisa had labelled it a ‘problem’ was certainly a warning that she should try to tread more carefully. A glance cast towards Kahlua to gauge the painted queen’s impression of the matter before asking much more softly: “But you’re uncertain?” That concern coming back quickly, for though she didn’t seem entirely upset at the notion, it was not spoken with as much joy as Alysanne might have expected.

Whatever her thoughts were on the matter, she hoped Brisa trusted them enough to speak her mind - she could share any of her fears, any of her concerns.

Well, Alysanne took a little bit of joy out of seeing the small smile that her exuberance managed to get out of Brisa. But then they found out what the complicated part was. Sometimes she forgot that there was still a lot that she did not know about these two dear friends of her - lives that existed before she had arrived in Helovia. What else had they not yet discovered? To learn that Brisa had such tragedy in her life surrounding pregnancy! No wonder she was feeling hesitant.

She reached out to touch her muzzle to Brisa’s neck as they continued to walk, expressing her condolences in a way that words just couldn’t quite cover.

And she couldn’t help but smile a little at Kahlua’s reaction - their brilliant Queen coming to the rescue with talk of a trial. It was not such a terrible idea! If Brisa could identify the father - for Alysanne took it much the same way as Kahlua, not realizing that in fact she did not know which father it was - then perhaps there could be some justice done upon him. Motherhood was a wonderful, glorious thing but no one should be forced into it. The fact that this had happened to Brisa while she was young made Alysanne incredibly sad, and to have it happen again!

Without the power of being a Queen there was little Alysanne could do to offer for justice but she hoped that maybe, maybe she could offer some sort of comfort for the rest. “Oh sweetie I’m so sorry. You know we’re here for you, right? We’ll be with you through this - through this part and everything afterwards.” Maybe Alysanne didn’t win ‘mother of the year’ with her own son, but he was not the first foal she had cared for. The role came naturally to her and if she could help one of her best friends out in anyway, she was going to. “And we’ve got Resplendence who knows all sorts of herbs that can help you. I know it’s scary but you’re not alone in this. I have a feeling that you’ll be just fine. You and the baby.” Maybe not the best pep-talk she had ever given but she was not going to back down. She would help Brisa get through this!

It seemed like they were helping Brisa just a little bit - or maybe that was just hopefully wishing on Alysanne’s part. She so wished that either herself or Kahlua would find that magical combination of words that would make everything click - that would return a smile to that beautiful pale face. Kahlua’s offer to send the army after the offender did manage to get a giggle though!

They get a little more explanation - figuring out that she didn’t know who the father was because there were two possibilities! Oh, you go Brisa. Neither of the names were familiar (though she might recognize Note on sight) and she sounded like she did indeed care about them both. Well, she’ll find out who is the father when the foal is born! Though the fact that she did care for them really did complicate things.

Having only cared for one stallion she really didn’t know that feeling but she did feel sorry that Brisa had to be wrestling with these feelings on top of the worry about a foal. “Maybe Torleik will come around? Stallions sometimes get spooked about intimacy, right?” Sasha certainly was. Spooked hardly even covered the first time she made her feelings known! She looked to Kahlua for some sort of confirmation of this thought.

And she just wanted to see if she could make her feel a little bit better about the baby thing too. “You know, I was attacked by a mountain lion when I was pregnant with my son.” She moved the wing closest to Brisa upwards just a little, showing the scar that disfigured the joint where wing met body. The term ‘mountain lion’ tasted wrong as she spoke it, just as it always did when she thought about that time of her life. But she never dwelled on it, and certainly not now. “I honestly didn’t think he would make it. Our bodies can do such wonderful things and you have such strength in you Brisa.” And whatever strength she didn't think she had, they would be there to lend to her.