The canine and his Beloved trailed silently behind their guide like inquisitive tourists whose wide eyes seemed to give away their nostalgia in regards to Helovia. If one were to look closely they might recognize sureness in the mare’s step and the way she flowed easily across the swells like an elegant dancer in the midst of performance. However, Romul had other ideas as he flitted about behind them, weaving to and fro with his snout to the ground as if seeking something that he was utterly certain he would find. He wouldn’t of course because it was mere curiosity that set the wolf to task but he was momentarily deterred as Elsa, the queer white mare as he had come to know her, approached a shadowy cave that presumably led into the Falls. Both Essetia and her bonded paused nervously at its entrance debating whether or not to pass beneath the small stream of icy trickle that fell over the rocky crags of the cave’s demure face.

After what felt like an eternity Romul stepped forward to fall into step with Elsa and her little pet but when his mare didn’t follow, he turned to fix an encouraging gaze on her in hopes that a bit of nudge would set her to motion. With a small sigh, the badger-faced lady hopped across the threshold with a clatter of hooves against the rocky floor. Though she had missed most of the cold spray, she shuddered as a reflex from the ghostly presence of water upon her skin. Chuckling softly at Elsa, Essetia nodded enthusiastically before turning to glance at Romul with an assuring look. At least we’ll stay cool in the summer? The canine bristled slightly before ignoring his mare altogether. At times he could be such a pain…


“It’s lovely Elsa…” Essetia tried to pretend delight, but of course the land laid out before her had been one she’d imagined many times before along with the Edge and the Throat. She’d never truly been invited to the Foothills as she’d once known it, but she’d bordered it a few times. It seemed just as much a home to her as her home in the Edge and that was enough to sustain her. Romul had moved on to bigger and better things, including tailing Edgar as the little bird-like creature hopped along the frost-covered grass. The agile beast, with his nose to the ground, let little escape his curious eye and with Edgar as a figurative escort the wolf was quick to make himself at home. It’s nice.

The canine’s opinion of their new abode was something that set Essetia’s heart at ease and she smiled warmly to herself. However, Elsa was quick to talk business concerning her placement in the Falls… at least she was efficient. Looking around slowly in hopes of settling her nerves Essetia once again turned to Romul for help. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, wasn’t sure where she wanted to be… However, her companion was little more than a paperweight now as he danced along the icy dunes, again forgetting his mare and her troubles in favor of more interesting activities. Somehow, in her heart, Essetia knew that she wanted to serve and she wanted to earn her name through something more viable than crafting or healing…

So… she would fight. She would learn the trade and become something greater than her father. With a devious look, she glanced back to Elsa in her quiet way, after all she had been everything but conversational, and bobbed her dished face slowly. “I’d like to become a warrior.” Whatever reaction followed would be one forgotten because the big bay had begun to lose herself to her memories. This was her future and she planned to work as hard as she could to make a name for herself… one that her father would hear.

With Romul effectively distracted, Essetia took the time to calm her electric nerves. So much had happened over the past few years that she could hardly contain her thoughts as they raced from one side of her emotional spectrum to the next. One minute was she intensely happy and a moment later she was vastly lost or confused. However, Elsa had done a good job of ignoring her spastic mood swings and Essetia made a note to thank her for her kindness one day, even if she couldn’t decide on any such pretenses now.

Her decision to become a warrior was perhaps a rushed one now that she thought about it, but there was something alluring about defying her natural instincts. With the idea of lying low in order to avoid her father’s attentions, becoming a solider probably wouldn’t keep her from his ear for too long. In fact, there was a good chance that he would hear of her return within the month, but at least she wouldn’t have to face him… unless at some point she wanted to. But her reverie was interrupted upon sighting a large, bumbling stallion set on impeding her company. He appeared lucid enough but there was a heavily glazed look in his eyes that made the mare’s insides turn. For a moment, Essetia longed to abandon her mission to separate herself from her father and return to the Edge and to the familiar faces that awaited her there, but her steadfast resolve kept her in place.

She didn’t appreciate the unfamiliar and she was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute, but with the distance between she and this horrific stud closing quickly, she gathered her wits and stood tall. His voice was gruff and tainted with a foreign lilt that Essetia could not identify and though he had yet to turn those hazy eyes her way, she feared what she might find in them once he did. Much like the male he appeared to be, his greeting was swift and nonchalant but Elsa didn’t appear to mind. She must’ve been closely acquainted to the brute for she reacted little to his entrance or the way he presented himself. However, in all the time that Essetia had spent with her tongue tied behind her lips, she couldn’t help the embarrassed gasp that slipped past her teeth after learning that this was the creature she would serve under.

Her sputtering continued when the stallion, now known as Rostislav, turned his placid expression in her direction. She wasn’t sure how to introduce herself or claim that she of all creatures wanted to study his profession and so she cried out for the only source of solace she’d known since she was a small filly. Romul! Their bond stretched and quivered under her stress and she could practically feel the moment her words found his eager thoughts. However, the wolf seemed preoccupied with something else… he too was dealing with some vicarious ordeal that kept him from her immediate vicinity… or at least from what Essetia could tell.

----- Romul's POV
My beloved was distracted; I could tell in the way her emotions ranged from blue to green to red. But she had missed the foolish animal that came with that other male (the one with ugly horns atop his ugly head). She had missed the ugly hound and her glowing green eyes just as she had missed my pleas to remove us from this godforsaken place. Now here I was, dealing with these queer animals and their incessant need to bother me and keep me from my task. I snorted and snarled at the unfamiliar devil-dog, warning her to keep her distance from me and of course Essetia. But I am even more alert when my beloved’s voice reaches across our bond, sending shivers of fear down my spine. But I cannot help myself in reminding her that it serves her right for ignoring my advice… that silly mare. The Edge was our home- not this fucking paradise in hell.

With my lips still pulled away from my fine set of glistening teeth, I try to ward off the attention of the hound and sidestep her in order to get back to Essetia. But as most unintelligent beings in this place, she races around me, thinking this is still some game. I am uncomfortable, I am frustrated, and I am utterly and wholehearted pissed at Essetia for this. But even so andwWith as much grace as I can muster, I dart away from Elsa’s “pigeon” and evade the stallion’s bitch and race headlong back to my beloved, back to where I belong.
-----
“I am Essetia…” She proffered weakly, still awaiting Romul’s arrival from the dunes. Elsa had all but left her dangling on a line before Rostislav (whom she now considered “the lion”), and without the support of her companion and only friend she was hesitant to say much else. However as the time ticked on with the canine nowhere in sight, the mare gently shifted forward before peering nervously back at the stud. “I do seek to serve as a warrior or at least for the time being…” She wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by such a vague statement, but ultimately, she wasn’t sure about much of anything anymore. So long ago she was often considered a strong-willed mare, but without anyone other than Romul to rely on, she now felt all too weak.

Here Ess. I’m Here. The wolf’s quiet words within her head eased her significantly as he trotted up alongside her with wide, amber eyes taking in everything around them. Though she looked to confirm his safety, her gaze was quickly returned to Rostislav as he considered her fragile request to learn from him. Everything was new and strange, but Essetia tried to will herself to hang onto the small shred of hope that still hung from her shattered resolve.

Essetia’s quiet eyes do little other than shift nervously from each animal to the next before retreating happily back to Romul in an attempt to calm her nerves. The wolf, still perched at her shoulder, rumbles softly to soothe her but the mare is distracted by the massive Legatus and the ice-colored Mason. Their words seem to drift in one ear and out the other but she is attentive enough to appear compliant. However, when her name rolls gently from the giant’s heavy tongue, her face is turned ever so slightly toward him with wide, gold-speckled eyes. Kind enough… Romul muses across their bond. Essetia smiles indignantly to herself in response to her companion’s walls finally giving way beneath the pressure of her tender prodding and flicks an ear toward him in approval.

At once, her shoulders relax and her grin stretches full and bright along her thin lips. With the consent from Romul that she’d needed to start settling more comfortably into the Falls now in her grasp, she was desperate to get things moving. “It is good to meet you too, both of you.” The mare nods both to the Mason and the Legatus in turn. They would become good friends to her one day for all of their help; they had taken a leap of faith for her and that would not go unrewarded.

With his bonded finally freed of worry and doubt, Romul had decided to rest more easily at her side while contemplating the hell dog positioned at the hooves of their new Legatus. His golden eyes shined with a new curiosity and vigor now that he was left to his own devices and that made him lively. The canine whimpered at the female before Essetia nudged him into silence because her own attentions were drawn to Elsa as she related her plans to depart. “Of course Elsa! We’ll be seeing you soon. And thank you…”

However, with the idea of rest nettling at the back of her hazy mind, Essetia smiled warmly to the Legatus before repeating Elsa’s sentiments back to him again. “I am glad to be a part of your ranks Rostislav and I assure you I will do my best to serve you and the Falls. But, Romul and I are in need of respite… We will be sure to find you when we are strong enough to train. Good day my liege.” With that the badger-faced mare bowed gracefully before turning on her heel to leave, a devoted Romul trailing diligently behind.