"I thought this would be easier" he complained in a low voice and kicked a small stone over the edge of the cliff. Watching it fall into the crashing waves far below, the gold-backed stallion felt the little dragon stir on his back, her reply little more than a drowsy thought between dreams before she went back to sleep. Muttering under breath Lace turned and kept to his meandering along the rand, somehow enjoying the precarious balance between dense forest and open space, knowing all too well how much it would hurt to fall down the wrong way. Seeing the familiar view of watery horizon had stirred memories he'd rather forget, images of himself cackling madly as he threw himself off the ledge and crashed into the frothing sea, bones breaking and tearing through muscle and skin from the impact... He shuddered and looked away, tried to keep his focus on something, anything but the jagged rocks at the base of the white cliff. The emptiness seemed to call for him, pulled and tugged at his spirit as if daring him to jump, to see if he would survive the fall one more time...

He hadn't intended to stay in the Edge, yet somehow it wasn't as easy to leave as he had made himself believe. Seeing the faces of people he loved and cared for was wonderful and heartbreaking all at once, and saying that he wasn't coming back for good was probably the hardest thing he'd had to do. Lace hadn't been able to refuse a short stay, yet as the sun began to set he found himself withdrawing from the company of others, instead walking to stare out across the ocean and the darkening sky where stars kindled one by one; faint lights that could never truly rival the brilliance of the sun.

What were they going to do? A part of him wanted nothing more than to stay here, become one of the masses and simply follow the new leaders of the Qian. It would be easy, simple, an effortless life without duties or obligations other than to his lieges, a life spent doing nothing at all if he wasn't forced to act. But another side of him kept complaining that it would be too easy, a shirking of responsibilities. Nothing more than another flight, and hadn't he sworn to never run away again? The truth was, Lace didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore. Once he had known his place in the world and been content with it, but ever since a thoughtless act had gotten him kicked out of a herd he simply couldn't bring himself to trust his own actions anymore. Hence he had begun to wander, roving from land to land, between friends and positions and gods until he hardly knew who he was, let alone what his duties really were. How was he supposed to find himself again?

It all seemed so frustratingly pointless. The stallion heaved a deep sigh and kicked another rock off its perch, watching in grim satisfaction as it tumbled through the air and disappeared without trace in the dark waters below.


@[Faeanne]

He turned to look at the babe as she spoke, giving no indication that her sudden appearance had startled him. Perhaps it was because being in the depths of the World's Edge made him feel safe and protected, or because he'd been so deep in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed, but it wasn't until she stood there, dark-pelted and breathless with curiosity that he became aware of her presence.
Any other time he might have grown irritated - really, he was growing lax if a child could manage to sneak up on him - but Lace didn't feel like throwing a tantrum tonight. Not more than he already was at least, silently and very privately. Instead he tilted the black-masked head in quiet contemplation and experimentally knocked another rock over the edge, as if to see if it would protest against the rough treatment.

"If it does, the rock does a very good job at not showing it" he said with the usual soft, deep hum. "Maybe it has accepted the pain as something inevitable... Life is full of it, after all." He looked back down at the filly, curiously taking in the feature of the little life as he tried to figure out who her parents might be. She didn't resemble anyone he knew - but then again, had he really known any of the horses he'd called family?

"What do you think would be worse, falling or landing?" he asked in return, quite eager to take his mind off his own gloomy thoughts. Engaging in philosophy with a child might do the trick - they never ceased to amaze him with their agile minds and untainted view of the world. Just the fact that this nightly moth stopped to consider the eventual emotions of a rock.... Absolutely fascinating.

@[Faeanne]

"I think it depends on whether you're afraid of dying or not" the tall grullo chuckled, amused and quite taken aback by the the very adult logic behind her reply. He took a few steps away from the rand of the cliff, a small gesture of politeness upon seeing how uneasy his stone chucking was making the girl, and continued to walk along the rocky ledge as moonlight shone down upon them.
Was it common for barely weaned fillies to be able to follow along the thought trails adults had paved? Lace wouldn't know, the only children he spent time with had been Mirage's daughters, Israfel and later Tandavi - not that he'd payed them much attention, but at least he had spoken to them and learned their names. He wondered where they were now, how they were faring - Amaris he had seen just recently and Tavi was alright, he knew that.. but the others?

"I think I believe the fall to be worse than the impact" he eventually continued, pushing the concerned thoughts aside for now - worrying about them wouldn't make anyone feel better. "Once you're knocked off the edge the landing becomes inevitable. All that remains is to wait, because whatever you do, however much you flail and struggle you will only ever get closer to the ground. Dying is easy and what lies beyond is a mystery; fear and powerlessness are the only constants." He smiled at the sooty girl to take the edge off the grim words.

"But who knows. For all we know, rocks might not feel pain at all. Maybe they enjoy the fall instead, finally being able to fly. You should ask Father Earth sometime, if you ever come across him." A slight grin split the inky lips at the thought; Lace was quite sure that the Earth God would find it both amusing and interesting to be questioned about the emotional development of stone. No doubt he would answer too.

Swishing the tail at gnats and night flies as he went, the dragon-carrying equine moved away from the precarious drop once the path became littered with rocks and dense shrubs and turned to head back into the forest. The sound of his hooves became muffled as they sank deep into the moist earth and moss, moonlit mists swirling around the black-barred legs; he breathed in deeply, savoring the scent of fern and fungi, bark and leaf and quickly flowing water rushing down unseen creeks.

"How about the trees?" he queried and looked to see if the child had followed him into the nightly woods, eyes glittering like pale gold under half-closed lids. Long legs carried him silent as a ghost over the ground, weaving in and out between the trees with the tail a shimmering beacon for the filly to follow. "Do you think they feel? Or the water, the wind, the shadows beneath the roots? I bet no one told you that the moon is the eye of a lavender mare, beautiful as the night itself with locks drifting in the breeze... She looks over this land, and those who live within its borders. You too, little moth."