The last time he had journeyed this far north he had been reunited with his father, and it was for that bay unicorn that Mesec was searching now. Truthfully, he had no idea where d’Artagnan would have headed once they parted ways in the Green Labyrinth but it made sense to him to check here, so close to the Basin. Whether he would actually seek entrance into his former home was not yet something that Mesec considered - the memories there were not exactly happy, but they did not hold the same iron grip on him as they once had. He wished he had gotten more time with Aviya, he wondered if they would have been different now, but all he had was speculation. She rested now in the bamboo forest that his mother had brought into Helovia and a memory of her was woven into his mane, resting with the charms that shone there.

Thoughts weighed heavy on Mesec’s mind as he travelled northward, walking now after his long flight, though he was seldom in any other state lately. Lucius was off hunting - the animals here were not so shy about being out in the day. They may still need to worry about freezing at night but there was no danger of overheating for the little mice and rabbits living in the northern mountains. In the late afternoon light, the sun glinted off of the zephyr’s moon marking - a crisp crescent that would reflect the shape that would rise in the sky tonight. There seemed to be little danger of a cloudy night, not a spot marred the chilly blue that showed above the wildflower-speckled landscape.

It was refreshing to not feel the need to hide from the sun - he welcomed the cool breeze that ran through the mountains. Though it did not clear his mind completely it was a distraction and he realized he had wandered further than he had expected - into the mountains of the Steppe instead of the Basin. Mesec was halfway through a thought about how he would rest here for a bit before turning back when Lucius released a shockingly loud call of… pride? delight? through their bind that made Mesec stumble to a halt. Silver eyes cast about for his companion who he saw flying low over the stunted trees of the Steppe - something large and soft gripped tight in his talons.

Lucius had brought Mesec “gifts” when the young bird had first been learning how to fly but now that he was fully grown, they had not been expected.

With grace that never ceased to surprise the demigod (how did Lucius fly with four wings?), the zephyr landed on the ground before him and placed the mostly dead hare gently on the ground. “For you.” The voice had a mocking tone to it, or was Mesec imagining that? He stared helplessly at the broken animal, wondering whether his dear companion was seeking praise or making a jest about the monster hidden within.

They were being interrupted. Mesec was saved from having to react to Lucius’s gift because as soon as the zephyr heard that someone was approaching - he clutched at the hare with his great silver talons and took to the sky once more. Circling above, causing small droplets of blood to touch the earth here and there, he noted that it was another mare. Those frustrating, hormonal creatures that Mesec seemed all too pleased to surround himself with on a daily basis. With luck, this was one of the more tolerable ones instead of the electric blue witch that was the worst offender so far. She was a stranger to him but seemed harmless enough for now, harmless enough for Mesec to handle, so he abandoned his bonded in favour of finding somewhere to land and finish off the gift himself. The demigod would not appreciate such fine flesh as this but Lucius did not mind that he would not have to share.

As for Mesec, it took a moment to place the face speaking his name - the voice was familiar but vaguely, confusion clouding his expression as he searched his memories. It didn’t take long, though - her voice had changed slightly and she had certainly grown up but there was no mistaking who this was once he had the name in his mind. “Hotaru!” He called out to her, confirming her suspicions on his own identity - silver eyes bright with a smile.

On impulse he took a step closer to her but no more for now - bafflement and joy distracting him from greeting her with anything more than words for the moment. “I can’t believe it’s you! It’s so great to see you. You look b…” His excitement finally choked on the word that had been coming out next. Calling her beautiful seemed out of bounds, maybe even a little bit rude right on the tip of their reunion like this, but she certainly was. While he still carried some of the awkwardness of foal hood with him she had outgrown it and moved now with confidence and grace. Though he did not know what title she held now he would not be in the least bit surprised to hear her called Lady - for it suited her well.

Realizing that he was staring at her with his sentence left unfinished he felt a rush of embarrassment, coughing in a not-discreet manner before picking up where he had paused. Not even his own awkwardness could cause the smile to falter on his face. “... you’re here! How have you been?” He had fond memories of the rose-coloured filly that had befriended him only to leave in a rage from the herd they shared for a time. That had been the last time they had seen each other. In all the years and all his wanderings he had sometimes wondered after her but hadn’t even known where to begin looking. Who would have thought that they would finally stumble across each other here, in the furthest northern reaches of Helovia?

Hotaru handled his stumble over that word with grace and he was thankful for it, giving him time to shake off the embarrassed look from his face. He hadn’t seen this foalhood friend in years and the first thing he managed to do was fail at a compliment. Before he had even asked how she was doing, before anything else. They were strangers now, really, the world had shaped them into adults. They did not know each other in the roles that they played now but Mesec felt as though he was nothing more than a long-legged colt who could barely get his wings to work - talking to the pretty pink filly that decided to be his friend. This conversation could have very well taken place in the past, in a greener setting (though they would have both stood out in that backdrop as well).

When her smile faltered after his question Mesec felt it - a quick tug to his heart that made him regret the question, regret anything that could have such an effect on the brilliant smile she had been wearing moments ago. But the warm expression in her bright eyes did not completely fail and he was thankful for that as she explained what was new with her. And what news it was! Silver eyes widened in a brief show of surprise - that easy smile on his face growing all the more. “Lady! Congratulations, that's wonderful.” He hoped that things hadn’t been difficult for her since taking the title - but as she did not offer up any further explanations to the experience right now he decided to leave it. It could be something to inquire about later, for now he was still riding the joy of their reunion, amazed at his own luck to have come across her again. Although there was mere feet between them now, years filled that empty space - heavy with their separate memories.

There was a brief, flicker of a thought about Ophelia and he wondered where she might have gone if she was no longer in the Basin. But those were thoughts he could chase at another time.

And then it was his turn for his smile to falter at the question, though he did his best to hide it because hers brightened at the same time. The question was a weight in his stomach, dropping it down to his hooves. He wanted to tell her that everything had been wonderful since they had last seen each other - wanted to give her more reasons to smile the way she was doing when she asked after him. All those years between them and he felt compelled to lie about it all. It seemed that more and more lately everyone in his home knew everything about him. Rumours about his mother had started practically the day he had arrived, he had turned into a monster in front of his Sultana and his friends. There were no secrets left for him there but Hotaru knew none of that - he was fairly certain at least. She could be asking how he had been because she genuinely did not know - not because she had already heard from the mouths of others.

Still, he wondered if it would have been easier if she already knew - if they already knew about whatever had happened. Then there wouldn’t be the weight of everything left unsaid. “I’ve… I’ve been alright. I’m living in the Throat now, trying to see if I have any skill at being a crafter.” A shrug but he followed through it it, using it to propel himself out of the darker thoughts that came when he tried to remember what had happened to him recently. The Throat was certainly one of the good things, and Lucius too. Happiness and appreciation echoed through his bond with the zephyr, reviving the smile on the demigod’s face. Lucius was still too busy with his feast to bother returning to them just yet. “Certainly not as prestigious as becoming Lady, though.”

He would say that he couldn’t believe it, but the title suited her so well. What else would she be, if not a Lady?

“Have you been in the Basin all this time? And who’s this?” He offered a smile to the hellhound at her side, hoping that the topic of companions was safe - hoping to find something that would keep Hotaru’s expression bright.  

There was so much that they could catch up on, a lifetime’s worth of stories crammed into a couple years. He wouldn’t have even known where to begin to tell her everything and he wondered if it was the same for her. What had she lived through, since she left the Foothills? It sounded as though it hadn’t been easy, at least not all the time. True to his nature, Mesec found himself wanting to change what he could not: to have found his friend earlier than this meeting. He couldn’t do anything about it now, of course, whatever he wished. But if things had been tricky for her in the beginning he hoped that they had eased since then, that her ascension to Lady had been without too many troubles. Mesec had no idea what she had been through since they were foals, no idea what she had become - he saw the mare before him, bashful and warm.

He had given her less than nothing when it had been his turn, a lie and a shaky one at that, but she offered him comfort anyway. Mesec smiled at her, bumping his muzzle against hers in appreciation of the sentiment - to return it in response of the pain she shared with him for a moment. And he too wondered if she would judge him if she knew everything, knew who his mother was and the lives he could have saved if he had been smart enough to know he had the means.

He was comforted by her words, by her presence, but it evaporated when she pulled back from the touch he readily accepted. Confusion quickly passed over his face, erasing the soft smile that had formed. “For what, Hotaru?” For the touch? For being his friend? Or something else he couldn’t understand?

It was easy for him to reach out to touch his muzzle to hers gently, to show her that it was okay - that she didn’t have to apologize to him. This was easy, it wasn’t bogged down by the uncertainty of his own heart like it was when he was with Ampere. That was something different - the messy denial of his love for the lightning mare caused him to stumble and second guess himself but Hotaru was his friend. He was sure of it, even after all these years, and welcomed the simple platonic nature of it.

With the change of subject, Mesec's smile returned and his silver gaze moved to Alice as Hotaru spoke of her. “She’s lovely.” He complimented the hellhound with a smile, chuckling as she played around Hotaru’s legs before streaking off. The questions about Lucius had him looking off in the distance where the roc had flown off, but even in the white world that they were in his companion didn’t stand out. “Him. Lucius - a zephyr, it’s been almost a year since I was given him. Last Orangemoon.” As he said it, he could hardly believe that a year had gone by. In some ways, it felt as though Lucius had been a part of his soul for his whole life - and in others, he still pictured that fluffy little hatchling that he worried over incessantly all through the cold Helovian months. Now, his companion was more than capable of taking care of himself and had even taken on the task of trying to take care of Mesec more often than not. “He’s not very friendly, I’m afraid, but after he’s done eating he might come investigate.” The corner of his mouth pulled up and formed a lopsided smile as he turned back to Hotaru, “He doesn’t always approve of my choices in friends.”

She pardoned herself but Mesec’s smile only grew softer and he dismissed this pardoning - watching Hotaru softly even if she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I don’t mind.” She could be presumptuous with him, he was finding that he didn’t mind, not in the slightest. He felt it too, the ease between them - the chance at reforming that bond they had when they were foals, which he wanted. He hoped there would not be another several years between their meeting, that he could get to know the kind filly that had taken him for a friend when he needed one. There was a lifetime between them now, truly, and he didn’t know her and she didn’t know him, but he looked forward to the chance to learn.

And he was happy when she didn’t move from his touch when he bridged the gap between them for a moment - that soft smile on his silver lips. No, there was no scent of deceit on her - but he thought he could smell the Foothills, underneath the Basin, underneath the scent of everything, he thought he could smell what had once been home. At least it was nice to imagine the smell was there, bringing up memories of that green land and all those they had lived with.

A chuckle then at the comparison of companions and foals, at the popping noise she made to empasize just how which it went. Lucius had grown up fast but Mesec had always wondered whether it had been because they were bonded. His own foal-hood had been short - the demigods grew up faster than they should, perhaps their companions were the same. “I’m afraid I haven’t been lucky enough to learn that about foals first-hand, but maybe some day.” Fatherhood was not something Mesec often thought of - it was a distant idea, one he hoped to reach happily. Thoughts of Ampere came with the idea, if a little muddied by the presence of Hotaru. His own thoughts, so wrapped up in them as they were, stopped him from asking after Hotaru - whether she knew the speed of a foal growing up first hand.

Although Hotaru’s comment on how she was used to being disliked certainly earned a curious look - she moved on from it smoothly enough and he was happy to keep with the lighter conversation for now. It wasn't often a smile came so easily to the demigod. And it was her next comment that he reacted to verbally. “Oh really? And what does Alice think of me?”