So focused had she been on her motion towards the heart of the oasis, on putting one hoof in front of the other in her measured marching gait, that Megaera took no note of the WildFire’s descent until he called out. Her head began to turn toward the noise before she had registered exactly what had called at her attention and the shock the rifled through her had the mare halting in her tracks. Hard black flints scraped against the dry ground, jolting her body forward with the sudden stop. The shock was plain on her face, wide eyes and expression almost fearful. In coming back, she had hoped to have a home again but had never dared to hope to find those she had known, let alone the one she had left to seek. Far and away she had gone and yet here he was, safe and home in the Throat, though changed. His wings burned, reminiscent of their patron God. “Sultan.” The word was but a whisper as it escaped her mouth. . How could he be here?

When he spoke again she nearly missed his words, but as their meaning seeped slowly passed the rushing in her ears her shock melted into confusion. Not at a herd meeting? He spoke like they had seen each other weeks before instead of months, surely over a year had passed. Her hooves shuffled as she turned her body towards the stallion and her dark head turned back towards the distant west from whence and then back to ham as she tried to marshal her confused thoughts. Doesn’t he know that I had left? But he’s here! and then suddenly the excitement was there as well.

“Gaucho!” She exclaimed, falling forward a few steps, “You’re here! But where were you?! The darkness was spreading and we found the spring in the caves but then we couldn’t find you. The herds were scattered and ther and I went west and I search but there wasn’t any sign of you and I…I…” Her words spilled in a torrent and came suddenly to an end when she reached the point of her would-be confession. Could she say it? She had expected admonitions and anger at her disappearance but to have to actually have to inform her Suntan of the extent of her cowardice? The excitement on her features faded quickly and her own shame was impossible to hide, even as she brought her gaze down toward the ground. The young soldier seemed to shrink, as if she would rather disappear than have to admit she had been too afraid to return.

@[Gaucho]

With eyes trained on the dusty ground beneath her, Meg felt the gentle press of the Stallion's wing before she fully realized that he had come up beside her. Tentatively, she raised her gaze to his face as he told his own tale and then up the where the great black snake coiled in his antlers. Meg remembered their first meeting; both had frightened her, so fierce and wild they looked, but now Mara's hiss and Gaucho's tall form was reassuring, comforting. It sounded as though he had been gone nearly as long as she, but at least he had the excuse of stolen memories to explain his absence. The Sun God had restored him, and she remembered the flames that had graced all those of Dragon's Throat, even as they lit up Gaucho now, were more of the Patron's blessings. Would that she could be in the God's favor again, and led by His light

Her mind eased at the assurance that she still had a place here, but even with that, she felt that she needed to explain herself. When she spoke again, her voice was stronger. It fell back to her lower pitch as she calmed , but still lacked the confidence that it once had, "The fountain had been found but it seemed that so many had already been infected. And when I couldn't find you or any of the others that had pledged to the W.A.R. The caves had seemed to panicked, leaderless..." It was unsettling to remember how impotent she had felt in the midst of that panic; Meg was a soldier, but she was not yet a leader. "I left. I thought that if I could find you and bring you back, or find anyone to help us in our fight that we could save Helovia." Her head turned back towards the thin strip of land that still connected the Throat, Helovia must have saved itself. It's still here, even if it is a little bruised. "I didn't find anyone. The weeks went on and I knew that I should return, that I should do what I could, with hope or without. I was a coward." Her words turned harsher then, and held bitterness that was so very foreign to her heart. She had let her fear overcome her duty and that shame would be difficult to shake "I was so sure that I would come back to nothing, that I had stayed to long. and I couldn't bring myself to face it."

Only when she reached the end of her speech did it occur to Meg that maybe she had said to much, that in laying her sins bare, his welcome might turn to rejection. She raised eyes again, meeting the stallion's steady gaze. He had mentioned that she had missed a herd meeting, so there was still a heard at Dragon's Throat, but would she still have a place there? "What is the state of the Throat since your return? Is there still a place for me here?"

”Meg came home.” Such simple words, but they meant so very much to the young soldier. It was the idea of home that had sparked when she had first come to Dragon’s Throat and discovered what is was to have a family that came from choice, so much more dear that the one that had come from blood. In the past year that spark had been smothered by fear, but now, as the stallion reached out a flaming wing, it burned bright inside her heart. A smile spread across her face and her dark eyes blazed with a fierce joy; she might still have dues to pay before her guilt fully eases, but at least she was being given the chance, and that meant the very most. Her head dipped low towards her Sultan in gratitude and respect. “I am blessed to be in Dragon’s Throat again, I only hope I can prove myself worthy.”

She watched the change in Gaucho’s countenance, the fade of his smile, and it had her own demeanor automatically shifting to match. Her posture straightened, earth toned wings releasing from their tight tuck to raise slightly, ready for action; it was a soldier’s stance. Ears and eyes were forward, attentive and alert at the news of a new threat to Dragon’s Throat, or was it an old threat? Gaucho had mentioned murders, but it didn’t sound like the sickness still plagued Helovia. Either way, it seemed to weigh heavy on the Sultan. When his question came, there was no hesitation in her reply. Her low voice came was strong and sure of the answer. “As the Throat will have me, now and always.”

Murder.The thought was unsettling. Meg’s mind jumped to Africa, who had welcomed her, little Alina, who had become as dear sister. The idea that any ham would have come to them, or any of the others, grated at her. “Have any of our own been harmed? Tell me what I can do.”

The question had been asked solemnly, calmly, and perhaps it was because she had met so few of the individuals that lived here, that Megaera had not though what the answer to that question might really mean to her Sultan, or indeed to her. The larger stallion had to force the answer out, and he seemed pained to have to repeat the information. The little warrior felt a little ashamed, if truth be told. She had been afraid for those she had met, but realized that it had not occurred to her to be concerned for those beyond the Throat’s protection.

He listed the dead; one, two and three… Apparently all attributed to a single individual and the victims spanning Helovia’s herds. And further he spoke, relaying the Earth God’s missive and there at last was a call to action, something to be done and Meg seized upon it. She took a step forward, displaying her eagerness for action and she hoped the determination on her features might be reassuring to her lead. “This demon can be found, and will be! I am a fast flyer, Sultan, tell me where these souls have fallen and I will find whatever there is to be found there.”

Still concerned for the one who had given her such comfort, Meg puzzled for a moment on what she could say in this moment to give him confidence… to give herself confidence. “The Sun continues to rise, and so shall we. I do not believe this darkness shall endure.” She reached out her dark head to touch the bottom of the stallion’s muzzle with the top of hers, and pulled back quickly, a blazing look upon her features. “I have faith.” In you was the unspoken end.

Strange how reassuring a touch could be; a caress to sooth, a nudge to bolster. It wasn't an impulse that Meg had very often, she simply hadn't been raised with and modicum of affection and it rarely occurred to her to show in in a meaningful way. When she thought to reach out it always meant a great deal. To have it returned, as Gaucho had just done, was a sure way of securing Meg's loyalty. That little acknowledgement fanned the spark of love that was nestled in the warrior's heart. It wasn't romantic, Meg didn't seem to be built that way, but the churning tide of loyalty and respect and admiration that had risen with each of their encounters simply surged. In her eyes, everything she had, everything she could be, had been given to her by Gaucho. He was brave and sure and strong, was everything that she wanted to be.

A gift from the Sun God, he said, but as her Sultan stepped back and his flames erupted he was as magnificent as any deity. Meg's eyes were wide and her whole body stood at rapt attention, almost straining forward. She didn't understand what was happening, but she registered Gaucho's smile and heard his words. 'Only my best warriors..." Best! Pride and gratitude filled the places that a short time ago had been only doubt and shame and in the midst of that wave of emotion something.....shifted.

At first she might not have noticed it, and she most certainly didn't understand it. Magic it was a whisper, a gentle pulse, and tingling that started deep within her. Magic was still a mystery to Megaera. Before she had come to Helovia it had merely been the stuff of fanciful tales, nothing that be harnessed or used, if it had existed at all. Since she had crossed the Threshold that first time, Megs's view of the world's wonders had expanded dramatically; she had seen the Gods and the magic that they infused into the land. Magic to harm, to help, to heal, she had seen all and still understood so little. The prospect of having it within her was intimidating. It was exhilarating! Unable to hide her smile, the soldier bent the scarred knees and sank into a bow before her general. "I am honored, Sultan. I do pledge myself, in life and death, to Dragon's Throat and to those who dwell here." She raised herself again, excitement that she couldn't quite contain had her wings rustling and the sun-bleached bone shard in her mane rattled when she tossed her heard. She was a fighter through and through, and now she had truly found something to fight for. Beneath her, the desert was hard and dry and cracked. It was perfect. it was home.