The shrill whinny of a youngster causes the mare's head to snap up, and she hears a feral snarl rumble free from Dominus' throat. He rises, standing protectively over his bone, tail lashing and claws ejected to caress the soil below. Nyx can't quite tell if he's trying to protect her or his precious femur, although she suspects the latter. Either way his behaviour is unfounded, as the colt that approaches them cannot be more than a couple of weeks old, certainly posing no danger to either bone or mare. He is a pegasus, scarcely old enough to leave his dam's side, and the silver soldier feels a pang of concern. Dominus, however, is less affected by the sight of a cute, lonely young foal, his icy eyes narrowing and massive frame shifting forwards as he looks at the colt hungrily. Food? he questions hopefully. Alarmed, Nyx steps forwards with her ears back, using her nose to sharply nudge Dominus backwards out of the way, much to his disgust. "No, not food. Be nice," she mentally hisses at him, before turning to the colt. "Hello there, Aakesh, it's lovely to meet you. My name is Nyx, this is Dominus. Where's your mother, little one?" She had never allowed her offspring to leave her teat when they were this young!

The second to arrive is somebody a lot more familiar. The silver soldier casts her mind back, remembering shadows in the Edge, remembering fear and all-encroaching darkness, remembering some of them standing to fight the threat. Foolishly, perhaps. Certainly so in Nyx's case, as the shadows had taken her as their own and cast her into several weeks of misery, wandering Helovia like a zombie. "Resplendence?" Had that been her name? Nyx couldn't remember her having a dragon last time, but the red creature in the sky is most certainly real, and another savage hiss leaves Dominus' jaws at the sight of something large, shiny and flying. Through their bond Nyx can feel him sizing the dragon up, determining if it is edible, deciding the best way to get it out of the sky and into his mouth. "Go ahead and try," says the mare to him. "I won't help you when it sets you on fire." Would probably serve Dominus right to have his precious mane scorched off.

The equine mare comes close, reaches out, and Nyx stands still to accept the touch. It has been so long since she has been this close to another horse...she releases a gentle whicker, so relieved to see a familiar face. "I remember," she says, a dark note to her usually cheery voice, because barely a day goes by when she doesn't remember how it felt to be trapped inside her own mind, feeling her body be used and manipulated like a sack of meat. "The darkness took me...I remember being controlled, being forced to attack anything I saw. I was trapped inside my own body for a couple of weeks until my father - you remember Nato? - and a rogue mare pushed me into some healing water and cured me." The relief when she had awoken to find herself sane! Then, as though a gift for her trauma, she had found Dominus' egg, been blessed by magic, and hadn't looked back.

Her ears flop as she looks down at the ground. She had loved her time in the Edge, had been so excited about returning there once Dominus hatched. She could be a true warrior for them, with her mighty lion by her side. But again, fate had other ideas. "Shortly after that, I was stolen by some creepy-ass outcast band called the Regime. They didn't seem to last long, though, so I left - I wanted to find my father, to thank him for healing me, but he was gone. I left Helovia to find him, without success. When I came back, I thought about heading straight to the Edge, but...I didn't think you'd want me back, after I let you all down." She should have escaped the Regime sooner and headed straight back, not disappeared on a wild goose chase to find a man who probably didn't even want to be found.

A third newcomer arrives, an equine mare. She seems in quite the hurry, and at the sight of such a charge Dominus gives another warning growl, lurking behind Nyx's foreleg to shoot ravenous eyes at the strange equine. "Dominus, behave," the soldier barks aloud to the lion, so worried he might attack the mare that she completely forgets their ability to communicate mentally. She thought she had managed to train his natural desire to eat horses out of him during their year together, but it seems predatory instinct is more ingrained in him than she likes to believe, especially when the sound of pounding hooves sets his blood to pulsing. Perhaps the sound of running prey, the smell of sweat and the thumping of a heart created some primal urge in him to devour, an urge that even his bonded's training could not alleviate. Or perhaps he was just a disobedient little shit who liked to growl at people.

The mare introduces herself as White December, and Nyx's proud skull dips in a nod. "It's good to meet you, White December. I'm Nyx, and this deadly little fluffball is Dominus." She smirks innocently at the apopletic hiss her lion gives at such a nickname, and doesn't miss the way he deliberately slams his hips against the back of her foreleg as he turns to return to his bone, tail lashing between powerful thighs in distinct irritation. December offers a home in these Hidden Falls, and Nyx nods again. "I thank you for your offer. If the World's Edge does not want me back, I might well take you up on it." She looks back to Resplendence, tail twitching anxiously - how disgraced is she within the Edge? Had they even noticed her absence?

She stifles a grin as the colt reveals he snuck from the Throat. Ah, boys. An experienced mother, the silver soldier knows how adventurous children can be, especially the males. It is a twenty-four-hour job trying to keep an eye on them, and thus she doesn't entirely judge this one's dam for her negligence. "You should get home, little one. Your mother will be worried sick." Behind her, Dominus gives the tiniest growl of approval. Go or be noms, he says mentally to his bonded, and when she looks down at him she sees that he is still staring, unapologetically hungrily, at the boy.

Bloody carnivores.

Delight flashes across the mare's features as Resplendence speaks. Family. With her father gone, her children all grown to adulthood and no longer needing her, she needs allies around her. She thrives in company, adores herd life, and hearing that the Edge still want her is a weight off her mind. "Then I would be honoured to return to the Edge with you, and serve you in any way I can." She is no leader, no spy, she is simply a soldier craving command, a warrior without a war. Before her disappearance she had managed to get the rank of Acolyte Protector, and hopes that she may prove herself enough to claim it again. She will be the Edge's most devoted member, will serve with distinction and determination. And hopefully, no bad-shadows or weird-outcast-freaks will take her away from her duties.

Of course, before she heads to the Edge, she wants to make sure Aakesh returns home safely. But that problem is quickly solved as December offers to walk the colt back to the Throat, and Nyx gives her a grateful smile. "Thank you." It is always good to see other mares with maternal instincts, and the silver soldier will be able to rest easy knowing the youngling is returned to his mother's teat. Horned skull lifts to look at Resplendence, tail flicking against her hocks with anticipation of returning home. "Would you lead the way?" she questions. She knows the way, of course, but it's a simple acknowledgement of a superior to let the other mare lead.

With a grunt the white lion behind her rises to his massive paws and stretches, jaws gaping in a ravenous yawn before he snatches hold of his bone once again. He slips between Nyx's legs, slinking against her limbs like a house-cat as he anticipates the long journey ahead.