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

Their eyes met, soulful windows of moon-white and sea-green, and a quiver rippled through the young fae, a quiver of excitement too great to fully contain. The moments that passed between her question and his reply dragged, stretched into the likeness of eons or eternities - but once his lips parted her worry turned instantly into blinding jubilation. The smile that broke out across her pale face was radiant and filled with pure, joyous happiness, almost forceful in its naive gratitude. Erthë's heart was vast and generous, and with only these few words Alune had been added to the ever growing list of individuals to whom she extended her love and loyalty.

"Thank you!" the filly breathed, positively beaming with delight. "I won't let you regret this, I promise. My name is Erthë - I am honored to be accepted as the Seer's assistant."

She bowed back, inclining her head gracefully while spreading the soft, downy wings in humble deference. Her heart raced beneath the ribs once she made to straighten herself up, mind already spinning with questions about her new station, but before she had a chance to return to Tembovu and the meeting, a bright shadow whispered over to her from across the gathered horses. Leathered wings stirred the air as Tallis hovered over her, his talons tickling as they busied themselves with something in her mane. Erthë tried to look and stand still at the same time, but couldn't see what it was he'd done until he backed away, already on his way back to Eva. Curiously the girl stretched back and searched the pale curls, her eyes widening as they landed on a feather now braided into the silky strands. It was quite large, of a vibrant lavender hue she had seen once and never been able to forget, and from the shimmering downs drifted a dark, gaseous substance, like smoke or dark mist.

Slowly she turned to look at the Moon Doctor, shock and numb disbelief combating the deepest gratitude all across her face. Erthë wanted to say something, object and protest; this was a gift too great to accept. A feather from the Goddess herself - how could Evangeline possibly give it away!? But when their eyes met the healer just smiled, and at once the hybrid lass realized that the healer wasn't going to take no for an answer. Recognizing defeat when she saw it Erthë inclined her head towards the mare in a serious little bow, words utterly failing her; accepting the gift, though she quietly swore to herself to repay the woman someday, if she ever got the chance.

Breathing deeply the young filly let her eyes sweep across the gathering, overwhelmed by these sudden turns of events. The day seemed much brighter now for some reason, as though luck had added its own light to the brilliant sunlight. It was dazzling, she had to squint as she absently studied the faces in the crowd, and as such it took her a while to register his presence. She couldn't say when he'd arrived, if he'd been there all along or just joined in with the meeting; all she knew was that seeing his face made the day turn from successful to perfect. He was too far away for quiet words and the dove didn't want to disrupt the meeting more than she already had by calling out or shove her way over to him; but she saw his mouth move in silent murmurs and smiled back at her father, happier than she could say that he was there to see her in her moment of triumph.

Would he be proud of her, now that she had been accepted as the Moon Seer's acolyte? Would he approve of her love for the Lady, of Tembovu as a leader, of her friendship with all these grown up, powerful horses? They had always been vagabonds, roamed from place to place and belonged only to one another; him, her and Shadow. Once that had been enough. Once, Erthë would have been content to always be like that; roam with the wind, answer to no one and care for none but herself. But now that she had seen what life in a herd could be like she found that she liked it, wanted to be a part of it. Would he understand that, accept that she loved not only him, but every single soul that called this misty forest home?

Erthë hoped so, and so she smiled at her father for a while longer before, finally, turning her attention back towards the King of World's Edge.

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