She clung to her mother's side as they left the battleground behind. Hazy with exhaustion and overwhelmed by all that had transpired - the things she had seen, what she had done. The Blackbird was blissfully silent, absorbed in her own thoughts. Erthë had expected a sermon, endless monologues about obedience, self-preservation and ones place in the scheme of things...

But it seemed as though the mare was too tired. Her stride was uneven and strained, the inky coat had been etched away by sizzling blood and if the child looked closely she could see the pink flesh beneath, reddened by beading blood.

Erthë felt guilty. Maybe if she hadn't run off, mother wouldn't have been hurt. If she had stayed beneath the shelter of a black wing, perhaps they wouldn't have been dragged along with the chaos and madness, escaped the swirling shadows and withdrawn to elsewhere.

Maybe... if they hadn't been there, the wolf wouldn't have died.

But even as the child thought that, the fear came crawling back and dragged icy claws down her spine, so that the breath caught in frail lungs and tiny cloves tripped over themselves. Simply thinking about the snarling, drooling monsters amidst the labyrinthine paths made her tremble in fright. It was as though she could still feel the searing hot, putrid breath wash over her, as though the feral growls still would rumble in her ears if she just grew quiet enough to listen.

The battle with the Bear God had left her shocked and ill at ease, but this time the child had learned what fear and hatred based on prejudice was. In the coils of her slender tail a token dangled back and forth in pace with her strides, the bronze chain jangling softly for every bounce and jerk it made.

A piece of a god. One single, jet black fang, cruel and still dangerous even though it had been parted from its original owner. The chain was long enough to fit around her neck twice over, yet even though Erthë was both happy and proud to have received such a thing from the wonderful Moon lady, she couldn't quite swallow the lump of unease in her throat.

This was the second time she had witnessed someone being butchered, and the taste of doubt was foul upon the tongue.

"We'll stop here" mother suddenly said and stopped, quite at random it seemed.

Erthë blinked and looked around, but saw nothing except a small opening in the bamboo where the narrow path met with another. There was a shallow pool of water hidden amongst the fern, and she could hear the faint murmur that suggested a stream was winding its way to or from it, as of yet unseen.

Half hidden amidst the underbrush lay the striped mare with wings on her head that had saved Erthë once. The child eyed her curiously as she made to follow her mom to the water, but as she passed the stranger whispered something, which made the filly stop.

she asked, the finely chiseled head tilting curiously. Believing it was her the lady had addressed she hovered indecisively, torn between wanting to say thank you and a reluctance at getting separated from her mother again.

Shadow saved her by pausing only a few strides away, the expression that had been lined with pain easing into a faint smile as she regarded the two.

"Well met, Maren" she said quietly. Erthë blinked and looked amazed - did mother know this person? "Please don't let my daughter bother you."

the filly objected and ruffled her downy feathers indignantly.
The pale half-blind eyes suddenly grew uncertain as she hastily checked back with this Maren - well aware that if she had been wrong, mother might actually start that telling-off she had withheld until now.

She relaxed when the Maren lady didn't dispute her half query. Not only that, but mother seemed to accept the words as well because she just shook her head and continued towards the water, and Erthë granted her co-conspirator with a dazzling innocent smile of pure gratitude.

And then, as if not being told off wasn't miracle enough, Maren spoke to her. With words like she was talking to an adult! The topic was incredibly difficult and the strange words made her head spin with the effort of trying to understand what they meant, so she could know what the actual question was and give a proper, adult like answer. Thin legs straightened into a slightly more dignified collection and the chest puffed and woolly ears flicked back and forth like reverse pendulums, and the very last thing she wanted to do was betray her own ignorance...

But before long alabaster wings drooped in defeat, and a rear hoof reached up to scratch the scabs of boils that finally had begun to dry and heal.

she asked shyly, concerned that this lack of knowledge would make her unfit as conversationalist. If Maren asked her to leave... it would be terribly embarrassing. So she made an attempt at the slightly easier part of the query instead.

Shouldn't we all be gods?


It wasn't much of an answer. Erthë felt blood rush to her face as she stuttered on, struggling to convey the sensation of trembling just from the sheer force of the divine presences and how everyone seemed drawn in and forced to think and feel and react just by a god being near them. Would the earth be able to contain the gathered forces of hundreds of unrestrained gods? If they then put restraints on themselves to prevent destroying everything, would they still be gods?

She felt that this matter was incredibly complicated. As she strained to force these impressions into thought and word the filly settled down on the ground next to Maren, the over-long tail coiling around the neatly folded legs, still clasping the glowing, black tooth in a secure grip.

It was hard to know what to do with it, because she could neither stand to wear it nor throw it away. It was the gift of a god after all. What if the Moon got angry at her too for discarding it?

It was slightly belated and absentminded, but an introduction none the less.

Oh, good. An explanation. It was embarrassing, of course, to have to ask for it, but it cleared up so much on what the question actually was. Now she had more fuel for further thought, and she made the most of it while she had the chance. Other foals might have found the question boring, pointless even, but not Erthë. She was struggling with similar issues herself, and this person seemed very wise.


Smiling at the priestess with naive affection, she made a stab at answering that first question too. What was a god? It hadn't been all that long since she had asked her father that very same question. Until she came across the Time God in the Blood Falls they had been unknown to her, their presence in the world something that had to be explained and explored further. With this second encounter the filly was growing even more confused, because the moon and the spark were very similar and at the same time, vastly different.

Thinking of the battles and the role of everyone she could remember, she eventually suggested;


There had been many who were angry at Lady Moon and the goddess had responded in anger. Erthë had admired her from afar and received a distant smile in return. Others had spoken to her, and had received replies - maybe not satisfying answers, but they had for the most part been acknowledged. And the Spark man... The Bear had been angry with him and so the swirl-marked deity had retorted in anger, which led to the battle... and those who helped out a lot had been given gifts. Horrifying gifts, granted, but tokens of appreciation none the less.

Blinking, she gazed down at the black tooth and saw it in a new light. Did that mean the Moon Goddess were happy with Erthë? That She approved of her? She had made it through the fight without a scrape, and though it had been a close call at the end she hadn't needed nearly as much protection as before.

Quiet elation bloomed like warm flowers within and the tail coiled around the Godly item with renewed confidence. It might be an awful and twisted way to thank someone, but it was the thought that counted, right? Like how mother had smiled at her even though the flowers Erthë brought had already wilted along the way.

Erthë asked once her focus returned to the conversation.

It was fun, this; like a game of riddle, only there were no definite answers to be found. Only personal truths and self discovery, and hopefully a better understanding of their place in this chaotic world.

Something was happening within the pale child as they spoke. These questions, existential and philosophical, opened up previously unknown depths within her youthful mind. Where before she had simply accepted the world the way it was, Maren's words made her begin to think, question, ask why in a completely new way. Erthë found herself thoroughly enjoying these difficult subjects, and while she couldn't completely follow everything the learned mare said, she marveled at her own ability to comprehend the bottom meaning.


She spoke eagerly, eyes shining brightly with the newfound desire to understand and know.  


It would mean that her Moon Goddess was not actually bad - because bad was something made up by people, and didn't actually exist. The Lady would only have acted according to her nature, following a law so complex and diverse that mortals was incapable of fully comprehending it even if they tried.

She felt as though a light had been kindled in her mind, illuminating a landscape previously bathed in darkness. A trembling, weak-kneed step had been taken down a long and winding road, and though she could only glimpse the beginning the filly physically quivered with desire to throw herself headlong down this path. Of learning, of questions, struggles and hardships - but oh, she also had the feeling that something wonderful and terrible awaited her, should she follow it to journey's end.

Breathing deeply, Erthë savored the sensation until it faded away. With a new sense of contentment she followed Maren's gesture towards the black claw, inwardly marveling at how much the token had changed in her own eyes by this simple new train of thought.


She studied the fang more closely, how it glowed eerily and had been fitted onto a bronze chain.


As if to seal some kind of pact the filly raised the tail and untangled the chain so that she could thread her head through the loop. It was much too big for her, she had to double up the chain for the fang to rest somewhat comfortably against her chest - and once it lay firmly against her skin she shuddered.

It really was rather gross, after all.