"And now I wish to God that The earth would turn cold
And my heart would forget it's made of glass"

Life in the Edge was slow. Days passed one after the other without much change, sunny days following upon rainy ones, morning replaced night in a never ending cycle. It could have been boring, but somehow the young lass found herself feeling content - aside from the drawbacks of her aching leg and the gnawing, aching, ever present sorrow that remained whatever she did. Though smiling came easier with every day, though her father's presence and care kept her from feeling lonely, something came over the fae in those moments of quiet, when there were no words left to share. A distant, hollow pain ghosting through her eyes, a shadow dimming the brightness of her soul, such that heavy sighs began to heave the chest and lean legs paused in the midst of a stride. On the outside she looked fine, strong and resilient, ever vibrant and energetic; only her Vadim knew of the nightmares that plagued her and kept her from getting enough rest, and only he could notice how heavily she depended on weeping red flowers to keep going at all.

When the voice of her behemoth friend reverberated through the misty forest, Erthë raised herself clumsily from the cool shade beneath the trees and slowly picked her way towards him, dazed and slightly off kilter from the combination of heat and morphine. Though she would much rather have stayed away from the brightness of the glaring sun, to spare her pink, sensitive skin, the force and command in Tembovu's voice so unusual that she had to go see what was up. The Glazier was normally so soft spoken that hearing his raised voice summon what she suspected might be the entire herd made her intensely curious.

Several others had already arrived by the time she found them on the cliffs. Many were familiar and her svelte, icy form made detours to nudge affectionately everyone she knew; Iona, dark and unassuming as long as she kept her mouth closed, Mauja who looked so worn down and heartbroken that her own heart threatened to crack upon seeing him. And there were Tembovu - tall, sturdy, reliable like a weatherbeaten rock.

"Hi Tembu! What's going on?"

Others were gazing at him curiously, but though a smile played on cherub lips as she picked her way over to give him a hug and settle in beside him, most of the little hybrid's attention was focused on the strangers that had already arrived.

They weren't hard to spot. The mare, though pale and short and keeping to the outskirts, looked heavily scarred and kept looking around a lot. The other, a tall and dark stallion, made her think of night skies and moonlight on mist so much that she ended up staring at him for much longer than was strictly appropriate.

Erthë gave each a shy smile and murmured a quiet "Hello", before she too turned her attention on Tembovu, keen to hear what the big unicorn had to say.

"And all the pretty tulips would disappear
And never disturb me again"