Flying with my pace leisurely, using the gentle current to bring me higher, crimson hooves kissing the tops of clouds. With the wind howling within my ears, I feel a sense of serenity wash like waves over me, my eyes shutting as I dip below the surface of the clouds, reappearing beneath with moisture clinging to my coat. My stomach knots at the feeling of plummeting, but my lips curl into a smile to state otherwise. I feel my wings twitching with the need to tilt up and catch myself, but I keep them close, my eyes fluttering open just as my wings snap to full length, catching me, muscles clenching as I'm jerked back from the pure force of doing such a sudden feat. Beating my wings to rise again, I inhale deeply, the air crisp as I rise high above the world.

It was lonely up here all alone with only the wind to keep me company, the world below falling into silence as I make my way back to the Throat. My heart sinks at the thought of loneliness, the need for Aurelia's soft touch becomes more than just a need, but a craving, my skin crawling at the thought of embracing Aurelia again after so long. I think about what the Earth God had told me, my mind wandering deeper into the meaning of his words. Could Aurelia and I raise a child together? Were we capable of caring for a child that we ourselves had brought into this world? Would I even be able to have a family with her or had she truly left me? Cringing at the idea that Aurelia had up and abandoned me just as we had begun to grow close, I dive down towards the Throat. The Throat basks in BirdSong sunlight, the snow receding, creating puddles of mud in various locations. The Throat hadn't been rained on unlike the rest of Helovia, but that was perfectly normal. I enjoyed the warm, dry climate the Throat had to offer to me.

With crimson hooves colliding with the earth first, sparking and snapping with bloodied bolts of electricity that jump hoof to hoof as they befall the earth. I pull my wings close to my sides as my hind legs hit the earth, teetering before running forward to catch myself. Beneath the sun's rays my coat is already drying from the cloud's moisture, leaving me warm. My heart skips a beat as I look around, as I do every time I return to the Throat, expecting Aurelia to come racing up to me with her steps full of excitement, but much to my dismay today is not the day such a heavenly dream will happen. Trotting towards the heart of the Throat I try to keep tears from running loosely down my cheeks, my emotions splattered against a wall and I'm here trying to clean them all up but it's hard to differentiate which from which. Head swinging low, eyes dulled, stomach sinking ever so slowly, I try to raise my spirits again by kicking myself into a quick canter, feathered feet flying over the ground with little hesitation in my steps as sparks flicker and fly from the ground.
"Talking"

I hadn't taken notice of the shadow following close on my heels, or the thunderous beat of wings until I was flanked by a pale figure, following my strides with each step. My head turns as my name falls from the alabaster lips, my eyes widening as I stop, body lurching forward as my heels dig into the earth. Is this real? Am I dreaming? I feel the tears beginning to pool, body shaking as I try to comprehend what stood before me. Was it really Aurelia? What if I'm just dreaming, and the mare before me is not Aurelia, but a faint memory of her, proving that I've grown so attached to her as she will fade away and leave me shattered upon the floor. "Aurelia?" I let out a hushed whisper, voice strained as I try to keep the knot in my throat from leaving me drowning in my own sorrows.

My body aches and trembles as I hesitantly step forward, my lips twitching as I begin to smile, still unsteady. "It's really you?" I breathe out, my voice wispy as it dances between us. There was no anger or rage, no feelings of deep hatred that I almost expected to appear before me. It was pure relief that washed over me, bathed me in sweetest relief as a weight is pulled from my mind, no longer crushed beneath the many fears I had clung to while Aurelia had been missing. They were gone, pushed away by the tide of sweetest satisfaction. My heart sang soothingly, my eyes no longer pooling with tears of fear but tears of joy, my body no longer shaking as violently as it had been. "Oh my god Aurelia, I've missed you," I step forward in hopes she too had stopped, wanting to bury my face into the crook of her neck if she was to allow.

I smile, looking into her creamy eyes with joy bubbling within mine. "After you left I sought the Earth God..." My ears flicker back, my heart beat growing increasingly faster as I rearrange my words, hesitant to announce what I had told the Earth God. "I prayed to him and he replied..." Swallowing I shift my weight, looking down. "I— I asked him for a quest— so we could... have a family." I pause, breathing quickly in and out, trying to keep myself calm without bursting into a pure boiling ball of emotion. "So if we ever wanted to have a child... you know.. we could." I bring my eyes up hesitantly, giving a small, guilty smile towards Aurelia.
"Talking"

It's all too familiar a scene, standing before someone I hadn't seen in forever. It had happened to me a thousand times, over and over again and it was always someone different, someone I had been close to once before but had lost. I could feel the familiar feeling of joy and relief seeping through my seams, hands interwoven with overwhelming happiness and love caressing my heart with gentle satisfaction.

Just a single word falls from her lips and already I'm struck with a desire to reach out and kiss her neck, to touch her body and be able to know it is mine. I smile as look to her milky whites, almost feeling their delicate touch upon my skin. I duck my head and reach to kiss just above her left breast, feeling the heat of her body close to my nose, her scent seeping into my nostrils as I feel her play with the ivory hair that lays over my neck and withers. She smells of Birdsong, fresh and lively, with the faintest traces of familiar pines, a peculiar smell for her to wear. It takes me back to a place I have hoped to forget, my insides cringing as I wonder if it's there that she was taken, or if she had simply brushed past a pine on her way back home. "Thank the Gods, I had thought you had left me," My eyes well with tears as I pull myself from Aurelia's embrace despite my mind begging to remain where I felt safe and at ease.

Upon the mention of my visit with the Earth God, Aurelia turns her head to show me the brown feather within her creamy mane, tucked beneath locks of hair that hung down over her slender, graceful neck, hiding shimmering markings of gold that flower over her throat, crawling over her graceful curvature. "It is, but only if you too want it," I reach out to brush my nose to hers, to exchange a few deep inhales and exhales. Her response is quicker than what I anticipated, a smile playing out upon my lips as she tells me what I had been afraid I would not hear. She wanted a family, she wanted to be by my side to raise a family! My heart swells as I look deep into her eyes, my smile growing as I burn and bubble with excitement. "My quest is to make a friend and share with them my life, and for you and I to speak with a child whose parents are not present in their lives." I felt it was necessary to share with Aurelia what my quest was so she knew what I would be doing in order to give us the family we both desired.
"Talking"