For some time, I wondered if anyone would come at all. My departure from Helovia had been ill-timed, and it was now that I was cursing myself more than ever for the decision. What if the Edge had fallen victim to the dark forces that plagued the living with sickness never before seen, and the friends and family that I loved so were no more?
As the thought crept into my mind, I felt Suli's nose press into the smooth, flat surface of my cheek. The dragoness had wound her talons around the thick of my mane and cooed a gentle warble, undoubtedly sensing my distress. The little green, who really wasn't so little anymore, had been the only constant in my life for well over a year now. It was sickening how accustomed I had grown to losing the ones I loved, from my mother, to Bran, Tor, my children, and possibly the entirety of the Edge; I was grateful that I could take comfort in the knowledge that Suli would never leave me.
My attention is stolen at once, urging my head to turn back and look forward. From the trees emerges the tall form of a young stud I barely knew, but I do know him, and he is very much real and alive. The last I had seen Dragomir, he had been a youngster interested in the art of crafting, studying beneath the keen eyes of the Glaziers. He stares as though I am a ghost, and perhaps in his eyes, I am. The words he speaks shake me to the core, but they remind me of the fate I could have suffered at the hands of man.
Sucking in a deep breath that rattles my barrel and causes a mild throb of pain as the action pulls the broken skin, I mull his question over for a moment. A lot had happened in the three seasons I had been away, and I would be standing here for hours if I explained every detail, even if he did deserve to hear everything.
"Dragomir," I say at first, as though trying to make myself believe that the young stud truly was there and standing right in front of me. I had intended to go on then and explain to the young crafter what had befallen me in my travels, but it's then that another painfully familiar voice catches in my ears and steals my attention. Suli's head, too, snaps up at the sound of it, and as another painted form bursts from the trees, she leaps from my neck and heads straight for him.
Luken had grown much since I'd last seen him. No longer did he stand on the wobbly legs of a colt, but rather the sturdy, strong legs of a young stallion. His frame had expanded and now packed more muscle, and if I didn't know better, I might have thought he were taller than I. Although bedraggled with small twigs, pine needles and leaves in his thick mane, there was no missing the look of absolute wonder in those warm, bister eyes. My son was no longer a boy, a notion that swelled my chest with pride.
"Luken," I breathed out, still clearly taken aback by just how much he had grown. Not wanting another second to pass without having him near, without touching him and knowing that I hadn't gone crazy in my time away, I closed the distance between us and if he allowed, I wrapped my neck about his own and tucked my muzzle into his withers. Suli had made to perch atop Luken's head, wrapping her tail about herself and giving a draconic purr as she rubbed her head against his ear.
I hoped that Dragomir wouldn't mind the display, but there was no holding myself back. Still, I knew that I needed to give an explanation to the both of them. There was no use in me trying to skirt the truth of what had happened, and with another deep inhale I went on, hesitant to pull away from my son but taking a step back nonetheless. "... I was captured by humans, not wraiths," came the beginnings of my explanation, my tone remaining solid and strong despite the look of utter sadness afflicting my eyes. "I left Helovia for my old home of Vallhea, though I hadn't intended to be gone for nearly a year... I was given to a terrible man, whom is responsible for my current condition. He was slain in battle, and only then was I able to make my escape back here."
A pause, and I looked between the two of them, as though trying to gauge what each was thinking. I wouldn't blame them if they turned their backs to me and denied my return to the Edge, and honestly, I was waiting for them to do just that. "Please," I went on after a moment, desperation managing to somehow slip into my voice as it left my throat, "Please, tell me the Edge is still safe. That everyone made it through the darkness."
"Speak."
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HP: 66.5
