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

The elephantine stallion returned the hug. It was such a simple gesture, and yet it filled her with a warm glow of happiness that spilled over in a happy giggle. Her heart ached with the sheer amount of affection she felt for him, but also with a certain kind of sadness. Slowly but steadily horses emerged from the forest and joined them in a semi-circle around Tembovu, and though she craned her neck eagerly to spot every one of them, her father's absence was all too apparent. Had he not heard the summons? Had he chosen not to heed the call - or was he truly not there, within the Edge? Erthë didn't want to think that he would leave without even telling her so, but there had to be some reason why he hadn't arrived yet. It had after all been his idea to move here.

Mixed feelings of worry, shame and unease churned like faint nausea in her gut. A soft tremor rippled through her lithe frame every once in a while, and the steadily rising heat caused beads of sweat to trickle down the slender neck. Her leg had begun aching again. A slow, gnawing, ever present pain that grated on her nerves and leeched off of her already small reserves of patience. It would be time to take another dose of pain killers again soon; already she could feel the nervous excitement at the thought, the sickly craving for scarlet red flowers and the sticky, milky liquid that oozed forth from every pungent petal. It grew harder to resist for every flower she ate, and to make matters worse Erthë had noticed that she now required even greater amounts to achieve the numbing, soothing effect that made her able to move about. It was cause for worry, she knew how dangerous it could be to overdo it. If only she could manage the journey south, to visit uncle Badger and talk to him about it.... But it was far to the Throat, much too far with two damaged leg and she couldn't fly yet either.

It gnawed on her, a constant cause of stress and anxiety that wouldn't relent. The filly kept her face free from worry however, and did her best to focus on the present. Pale eyes were keen as they gazed about the crowd, attentively watching and listening as they exchanged greetings with Tembu and one another. She made sure to take note of every name she heard, every face she saw, carefully hoarding them so that she would be able to recall them later. She loved the Edge, loved the land and the Lady that ruled them, and Erthë was determined to get to know every last soul that called the region home.

Her big friend began to speak once the crowd had become big enough, and the frost-white hybrid turned her attention back to him. The news of the dead girl came as no surprise to her as Erthë had been there when it happened, but that Sno had been part of the Edge was new. Throwing a quick glance at Mauja she swallowed thickly, sympathy burning strong and fierce within; she knew what it meant to lose a loved one, knew the weight of grief and loneliness that followed. It made her glad to see someone stand beside him, a pretty brown and white pegasus girl that, Erthë realized with a start, she actually recognized. It was the girl from the caves! What was her name again? Na..Naea.. Naerys, or something, right? She beamed at the girl, suppressing a desire to hop and jump and flap her wings to make the girl recognize her. So they lived in the same place! They had to meet up after this, just had to!

Her thoughts had strayed, but were brought back with a snap as Tembovu continued with an announcement that made her head reel. Wait. Wait just a minute. King? As in, king king? Turning from Tembu to Mauja and back the girl stared, wide eyed, as the realization dawned on her. No, they weren't joking - their faces were serious, determined - it really was true!

With a squeal of delight Erthë charged towards Tembovu and made to wrap her glittering, chilly wings around him in another hug, her voice light with a beady, silvery laughter as she expressed her approval.

"That's great, Tembu! You're the best pick!" She beamed at him, unabashed and utterly unconcerned that she was acting so familiarly with the king. He was still just Tembu, her friend and teacher and protector, after all. It was very sad about Snö, and she did feel bad for Mauja, but none of that would keep her from being happy for her friends - or indeed letting everyone else know that she was happy.

Still giddy with excitement Erthë settled down to listen to the rest of the announcements, smiling at everyone she knew and recognized but otherwise not saying anything. Not, that is, until the Moon Goddess was mentioned. This made her straighten up at once, attentiveness turning to avid interest; she followed the Elephant King's gaze and eyed the big, star-patterned stallion she'd noticed before with even more curiosity. A Seer? Him? Was that like miss Maren, someone who was wise and good with words and understood the world? Oh, it was impressive, even more so than being a glazier or healer - he would be allowed to talk to the Lady!

"I want to" she said softly, longing apparent in her voice as she responded to the offer of assisting the Seer. "I love Lady Moon too, if I can be of help I will do anything!"

Sea green eyes lingered hopefully on the newly appointed Seer, on this Alune, quietly pleading him to accept her request.

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