The sun had set upon Helovia for the day, falling asleep descending past the horizon and letting the moon rise high in the sky. It was Her time to shine, covering the earth and its inhabitants with a pale, ethereal glow. It was cool night, with the slightest of breezes filtering through the trees and rippling the surface of the water along the bubbling brook of the Rotunda.

"... What a marvelous place."

Apollo's vocals, soft and reverent, echoed through the night despite the fact that he attempted to speak softly. Never before had he been here, in the Ancient Rotunda, so this was foreign territory... But it was beautiful, especially on that night. With the cool weather and the soothing melody of the bubbling brook, and the dancing fireflies that flitted to and fro, filling the area with breathtaking, blinking lights... Apollo was captivated. What a wonderful gift he could receive upon arriving to this place for the first time. Time and time again he swore that Nature was the most talented of life-weavers, and once again, he wasn't disappointed.

Standing upon the strange, stone structure and beneath the glass roof that held a beautiful myraid of colors, it seemed as though the Merciful had stepped into another world. It was so peaceful here, so beautiful... His meager worries seemed to dissappear. While not near as plagued with remouseful thoughts as he had been before being reunited with Ktulu and Lakota, soft doubts and uncertanties still nagged at him, weighing heavily upon his shoulders.

Many souls who he had known of before the terrible darkness, Apollo had not seen. Had they made it? Had they survived? Friends as they were, they would never be forgotten... And in the pit of his heart, the stallion was uncertain if their painful absence would ever heal. Still...

"I have to keep going on," he murmured, his dark lips quiet words as though he was speaking to a sleeping babe, "For them. For their memory... Right friend?" A lone firefly fluttered nearby, seeming to dance and twirl before his muzzle, and the Merciful's lips turned upwards in a smile. "You're very beautiful. You and your siblings... What a wonderful place to call home." Indeed, the Rotunda was exquisite. Beyond exquisite.

Even though he was no longer alone, for he had found Ktulu and Lakota, there was a dark pit of desolation and heartache in his breast. It was always there, hiding beneath the surface of his smiles, of his laughs... And it was the urge and yearning for companionship. For unrequitted love. For the bond that two souls shared when so desperately, intimately wound around one another... Like the bond between Ktulu and Eytan, or Lakota and Aoduan... Or Midas and Fina. From one bond-mate to the other.

"I can only wonder what it's like, my dear friend," Apollo said to the firefly once again, brown eyes watching the tiny insect's abdomen light up brilliantly before growing dim seconds later. "Mayhaps one day I'll find out..."

@[Midas]

At some point, Apollo was no longer alone, but he wasn't sure just when that fact had changed. The stag's honey-brown orbs were wholly focused on the fireflies that danced about his muzzle, occasionally brushing their illuminating bodies against his nostrils or cheeks and causing the stallion to chuckle from the tickling sensation of their tiny bodies. He was at peace here, in this beautiful place, and his shoulders felt light and carefree. He felt high with joy, with life, and it was magnificent.

'Apollo?'

The abrupt voice snapped the Merciful from his reverie, and in turn caused him to jerk his head to the left, ears snapping to attention. The quick and sudden action startled the peaceful atmosphere and caused the otherwise lazy fireflies to flutter away and to the safety of the sky, taking their dancing lights with them, but Apollo paid them no heed. His gaze was locked now on a form that he had no seen in a very long time, and unwillingly the stallion felt tears prick at his eyes and his throat clenched with un-shed emotion.

"... Midas?" Was it him? Through the encroaching darkness Apollo's eyes narrowed, making light of the body of his winged brother that he had not seen in seasons. It was him. It was! "Midas, oh! Brother!"

Like water the trepidation slid from his shoulders, and rapidly a smile was stretching wide upon his maw. He turned bodily towards his friend, his dear friend, and quickly moved to lessen the distance between them, nostrils wide as he sucked in large gulps of the other male's familiar scent. Almost instinctively Apollo's head lifted, his eyes roaming the area to spot... There. The she was; Fina, rightened in the branches of a nearby tree. 'Hello, beautiful Fina,', he wanted to say, but it seemed that his voice box seemed unable to form the words... At least for now.

Apollo stopped short as though not to crowd his dear friend, and stretched his muzzle out towards the Pegasus for a intimate brushing, to ensure that yes, Midas was real, and that he was okay. "I was so worried, Brother, I had no idea if anyone I knew was okay... You... You are okay, yes? You and Fina?" As the words spewed from his mouth like unsavory word-vomit, Apollo's experienced eyes began roaming the paint's limbs and extremeties for any signs of injuries.

Midas was more than just a friend; he was family. He was the only family that it seemed Apollo had anymore, a brother to call his own... And being in his presence now made the stallion want to whine and cry and rub against him like a lost colt reuniting with a loved one, but he swallowed such nonsensical desires and simply stood his ground, quaking and trembling with pent up emotion.

"By Father Earth, I've missed you. I was so worried..."

Where as Apollo hesitated, Midas did not. The painted Pegasus lessened the distance between them with far more grace and poise than Apollo could ever hope to achieve, but in the end it didn't matter. Nothing mattered in that moment save the familiar warmth that was the feeling of his brother's embrace, the feeling of flesh and hard muscle upon one another, and the velvety caress of Midas' muzzle brushing against his own had the overo stallion sighing wistfully, honey-brown orbs fluttering shut in content peace.

The rich sound of his winged brother's laughter didn't go unnoticed, and it pulled a dazed, relieved smile to the Merciful's own dark-tinted lips. How wonderful that sound was, so familiar, so rich, so gentle... Goodness, he felt like a youngster again, but the feeling wasn't unwanted. He would have gladly drowned in such feelings, such bliss, such feelings of safety.

"I'm so pleased to hear that, I was just so worried." Apollo breathed out, winded from the exhilaration of pure emotion that ran rampant through his wayward body. It seemed as though he just couldn't quit trembling! Soulful brown oculars sought out Fina's form once more at the sound of her pleased chirp, and he smiled unabashedly towards the flaming Zephyr, offering her a loving nicker in return. Looking back to Midas, the overo stallion sucked in a deep breath in a pitiful attempt to collect himself.

"No, no... I've avoided that place. It reeks of death and ill-tidings. To think of all of the souls that have been lost there makes me physically ill." It was the curse of an empath, it seemed, to be so in-tuned with the things around the world. Swallowing then, Apollo's eyes averted from the Gallant's brilliant golden irises, shame creeping up the back of his neck. What would Midas think of his self-imposed isolation? A chuckle full of melancholy choked past the Merciful's lips. "Since the fall of the Foothills, I've... I've returned to the Forest." After all, there had been nothing left for the stallion to return to. His home had been destroyed, his herd scattered, their numbers lost, and everyone had gone their separate ways. The Forest had been one the only places where Apollo had felt safe, accepted, and welcome, and so it was natural that he return to the comforting embrace of the trees. "That is where I have been staying, although I have recently received an invitation to join the World's Edge." He smiled at the thought.

"What of you, brother? Is your herd safe and sound?"

In the many years that he had known the Gallant, Apollo could never recall seeing his peaceful brother so precarious, so uncertain, or cloaked with shame. Honestly, Apollo could only remember one time that Midas hadn't been happy, or at least at peace, and that had been during the Grey invasion of the Foothills, when they had fought side-by-side against the fool Tharos. That had been so long ago... But the deep-rooted conviction that had shone violently in Midas' golden orbs was void, and leaving behind in its wake a timid, unsettled thing.

One of the overo's ears flicked back with confusion, the taste of his own uncertainty bitter and sour on his tongue. Was everything well? Before the Merciful could even open his dark lips and inquire to the welfare of his winged brother, Midas went on, explaining that while he was no longer Sultan of the Dragon's Throat, he was still a lead... A Czar of the Hidden Falls.

For a solid moment, Apollo's honey-brown orbs narrowed with confusion, before they widened with realization. Wasn't that...?

"The Hidden Falls... That's where the Foothills once stood, yes?"

Is that why Midas looked so shamed, like a misbehaving colt scolded by its mother? Was he nervous that Apollo may hold some kind of distaste or bitterness towards him? Accuse him of being an usurper to the throne that was rightfully his? No. No... Never. Never could he be so cruel to his brother, especially when Midas was nothing but innocent.

A small smile began to pull at the horned stallion's lips and he chuckled, the warmth in his eyes returning once more. "Midas... Brother." So often it had been the Gallant who soothed Apollo's worries, and just this once, the Merciful hoped it could be the other way around. "I... I'm happy for you. That actually puts my mind at ease. While the earth there is shaped different and it has been dubbed a new name, the soil is still that of the land that I loved. That is still the same soil that I bled for, and that I have loved... And I am honored that it is you, Midas, who is looking after it now."

Apollo's grin grew and there were no doubts in his mind that Midas would take good care of the land that had once been his home. "If you should ever need anything, brother, please don't hesitate to send Fina to find me." A threat of an attack, a need of a healer, or perhaps just for a chat... All Midas had to do was call, and Apollo would come.

That's what brothers were for, right?

Apollo's genuine smile slowly faltered as Midas, in turn, pledged his allegiance to him, and surprise worked itself within the stallion's honey-brown oculars. What had he ever done to achieve such unending loyalty from someone of Midas' caliber? Such devotion? Such brotherhood? Fate had thrown them together, woven their lives around each other in such an intimate fashion, and Apollo, well... If he were honest with himself, not even he and Andreas had ever been so close, and they were blood family.

Life, it seemed, was full of oddities.

"Midas..." The overo stallion's voice was choked with a myriad of feelings, with affection, empathy, and humbleness, but he swallowed thickly and did his best to clear the ball of emotion from his throat. "I'm honored to hear such words from you. I fear that I'll never be able to repay the kindness in which you have shown me over the years."

The previously abandoned smile that had once crossed Apollo's lips once more worked itself into place, and he dipped his crowned head forward in a nod of agreement. "I should hope for the same... The herds have been unsteady for far too long. I think an alliance would serve them well." Especially during such a tender, tumultuous time. "I'm... Not sure. I'll join them, but I fear they may have no need of my services as a medic." A rueful grin crossed the stallion's lips and he chuckled, ebony ears tipping back, albeit slightly. "I'm afraid I make a poor soldier, and I have no desire to draw any more bloodshed, so... Perhaps I'll do solitary work, should their medical fields be full. I plan to venture to the Edge after I've visited Father Earth upon his shrine... He has granted me a quest to be bestowed with a companion, like yourself and Fina."

Ah, speaking of...

The Merciful's warm eyes sought out the said phoenix before focusing on the golden orbs of the Gallant. "Brother? Will you tell me what it is like? To be so intimately bound with another soul?" Because Apollo needed to know what it was like, to hear the thoughts of another, to see through the eyes of another, to feel what they felt. Ktulu had said that Eytan had been able to feel her emotions; her anger, her happiness, her pleasure... Was this a common thing? Did every bonded pair share such an intimate connection?

Throughout his venture of fulfilling the quest that the Earth God had bestowed upon him, Apollo had realized that from different individuals, he received different answers. All answers, however, had one thing in common... That the gift of two bonded souls was something precious, something incapable of explaining, but out of everyone that he had asked, Midas seemed to sum it up perfectly.

As his golden-eyed brother spoke of the precious linkage between he and Fina, Apollo listened with rapt attention, the soft orbs of his own oculars darting between Midas himself and the tree in which Fina had perched. He couldn't even fathom such an intimate feeling... To be so personally and wholly wrapped and linked between another soul. Apollo knew he could always wonder what it was like, and perhaps one day assume that he knew what it would feel like... But unless it was something that he experienced, the Merciful knew he would never truly understand.

"I... I can't even imagine," he murmured, a thoughtful look crossing the overo's boyish features. Slowly his gaze ventured from the gentle gaze of his winged brother and instead focused back on the fiery dots of lightning bugs that flitted around in the distance, the reflections of their illuminated thorax posteriors echoing in the stream that flowed through the Rotunda. The sight was captivating, but Apollo's rambling thoughts were more consuming. "Such a thing must be far more precious than the mind could comprehend..."

But, Apollo wouldn't lie; since seeking out others to gain information on the bonded soul, he had learnt many a new things.

"Especially a mind like my own." Here, the overo's head jerked back to Midas and a jovial grin pulled the stallion's lips upwards, the honey-brown depths of his eyes shining in genuine happiness. It had been a long, long time since such pleasure, such relief and love had wormed itself into Apollo's heart, and he found that honestly, he wasn't ready to part ways from Midas just yet. They had been away from each other for so long...

"Midas? One more question. Would you honor me and accompany me to the Veins to seek out our Father Earth? I think that... I think that I finally understand now, what it is that He had instructed me to learn." Or, at least, as well as he could...