These past days had been one long nightmare of fear, anxiety and anger. For a second time her child had disappeared on her and Shadow had been unable to sleep when faced with the prospect of not being able to find either of them again. It was the last thing she needed right now. While Lena and Enna had worked wonders with their healing powers the black pegasus was still tired and weak, not in any state to move far from the northern stronghold. As it was unclear whether they actually were welcome within the herd or not she spent most of the time outside the herd land itself, close enough to run for cover if needed but otherwise out of their way. There were enough foraging to find even on the barren steppe, if you knew where to look, and it was quite possible to get by - if perhaps not as comfortable as it would have been within the shelter of the secret valley.

Now that she stood under the light of the spring moon and watched her lover and their child come back to her, her emotions were a torrent, a raging storm almost too strong to contain. It was all she could do to remain still and passive until they joined her in the sheltered depression of the tundra floor, hide her relief and love and wait.

It was much harder to withhold the mounting horror as her daughter came into view. The babe looked terrible! Dirty and tired and much too thin around the gut, with sunken eyes that seemed to have aged years in the two-three days she had been gone. She was stained with blood too, and there were horrible burns on her neck and face, and the eye, the weak, unseeing left eye! It was red and swollen and almost completely closed, and something transparent and foul leaked wet and glistening down the cheek that wasn't tears. It spoke volumes of the damage that had been done, and Shadow had a nagging suspicion that even if she went to Lena with the child, even the skilled mender wouldn't be able to save Erthë's sight.

She looked at the small, quivering girl and her heart bled for her. As the daughter began to cry, she felt tears rise in her own eyes and without a word the mare leaned in and scooped the hybrid into a tight embrace. Erthë winced as Shadow pressed her hard against the broad chest, but while the shadow mare eased the grip a little she still held her close, savoring the feel of the small frame, the icy cold skin, the heart that fluttered so feebly within the chest.

"You horrible child, don't ever do that again!" she whispered, voice breaking as the dam of emotions burst, flooding her eyes and spilling over down dark cheeks. "Do you have any ideas how worried I was? Look at you! Where have you been, what happened to you!?"