i am a leaf on the wind

She can’t help but note similarities and differences around every corner. The thoughts simply slip into her mind. She keeps comparing Helovia and Morham, trying to figure out where the customs are the same and where they are different. Mostly, she finds only differences. Subtle in some places, but still, differences.

Morham, for one, only had one kingdom. There were bordering kingdoms, but if you came to Morham, you lived under her family’s rule (until the rebellion, of course). Her father always introduced himself as King and her mother as Queen. As had their parents, and their grandparents, and everyone who had come before.

But the stallion that approaches now simply introduces himself as a leader along with Elsa. And Elsa had mentioned nothing of the sort in the Threshold. Old habits kick in quickly, and she actually has to stop herself from bowing. Alysanne doesn’t, and Lyanna quickly figures that might not be how things are done here. So instead, she offers the horned stallion and nod and a smile.

Alysanna introduces her, so Lyanna simply adds, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tembovu.” Alysanna gestures them forward, and so Lyanna falls into step beside her two companions, following wherever they led her. Her attention darts between the landscape around her and the conversation at hand as they go.

Tembovu asks where she’s from, and what vocation she might want. The thought of what path to follow in a herd had never even crossed her mind, really. She was groomed to be a princess for life. She knows a bit about ruling, but that’s not where’s she’s going to start here. And really, she doesn’t even know if she’d want to. But what else can she possibly do?

“I come from a place called Morham. It’s rather small, and a good distance from here, so I suspect the name might not mean anything.” She says with a pleasant smile, not sure she needs to go into exactly why she left. She would, certainly, if asked. But she doesn’t want to bring the mood of their little conversation down with the tale of how her family was killed, and how her and her sister came to Helovia in order to save their own skins. That’s the sort of thing you save for a rainy day, or something.

“Forgive me, but I’m pretty clueless to Helovian customs. What vocations do you have here? Though I can tell you for certain you probably don’t want me in your army. My brother always told me I’d make a dreadful warrior.” She laughs slightly, keeping the sorrow from that laugh. Instead, she remembers Corbin teach her to fight. She could fight, honestly. And she didn’t mind beating up her brother. They got into a plenty good, playful spars. But at the same time, she hated it, and when instructed to spar with anyone else, Lyanna almost always lost the fight on purpose.

He’d known her heart well. Lyanna was no warrior. But there must be something she can do for this new herd of hers. Some place for her. She’ll just have to figure out what.

watch how i soar.

lyanna

i am a leaf on the wind

Both shake their head at the mention of her home, though it doesn’t surprise her. In fact, she finds it somewhat comforting. Adelene and Lyanna had stayed here, believing they’d be anonymous, believing that Helovia was so far removed for Morham that their lives wouldn’t be in danger. It seems that belief was correct. If Morham wasn’t known here, then what threat could either sister be in? There were so many strangely colored horses here anyway that the teal coloring the girls shared was no longer a marking a royalty. It was simply commonplace.

 
Still, there’s that pang of longing and sorrow that floods her, only briefly, as she realizes also that Morham will be nothing but a distant memory soon. This was her life now, and it was so different than the one she thought she’d be living.
 
She wonders what it would even be like to spar without the power of the wind behind her. Never had the thought even crossed her mind that she’d lose her power. Corbin fought with fire and she with the wind. Corbin had taken the time to teach her some basics without her powers, so she wasn’t defenseless. But still, she felt empty and naked without the wind, and she is glad that they so easily give her alternatives than fighting.
 
Alysanne makes what, Lyanna thinks, is a joke. Though it’s something between Tembovu and Alysanne. Still though, the other mare gives Lyanna a gentle nudge, and she offers a small smile in return.  “Good to know,” she says with that smile, happy to return the effort that Alysanne has shown in making her feel welcomed. The kind demeanor of the horses in the Edge had made all this a bit easier for Lyanna.
 
They continue to move through the forest. Alysanne points out her sleeping area, and then a river that winds it way through the forest. Lyanna keeps her ears perked and her attention on her surroundings, trying to learn as much as she can as quickly as she can. She doesn’t like feeling so adrift, doesn’t like feeling like she has nothing to offer. Though her parents had let her wander the forests of Morham quite often, she still knew her role and her place in that life. Here though? She simply wanted to find her new role here, and give back to those that had given her so much. Even if they didn’t know just how much they’d given her.
 
A place to sleep and a reason to hope that life wouldn’t be impossibly bleak, however, was more than she could have dreamed of in the aftermath of her family’s massacre.
 
Tembovus brings up Alysanne’s role within the herd, asking how the healer ranks are faring. He mentions crafters, sleuths and seers as well. She could perhaps craft, though she cannot image herself being particularly sneaky or devoting her life to a religion and a goddess she knows nothing about. But healing? That, perhaps, she could be good at. She waits patiently, waiting to see what Alysanne said about the ranks. When Alysanne finishes, she finally speaks up. “Could you use one more healer, then?” She asks, attention mostly on Alysanne, though she keeps her attention flicking between both horses. “I think I might not suck at that.” And, unbidden, Apollo flicks into her head, with his own gift of healing from the Earth god. She seems to be getting along with the healers in Helovia, so perhaps it’s the right path for her to follow. 

watch how i soar.

lyanna