We're volcanoes in the night
Glowing in the dark like meteorites

✞✞✞

Alune departed and she had made way to follow after him, slower pace to keep an eye on Dagger and the fading form of the white child ahead. She had agreed to follow the moon-follower to the Edge and she could not be more grateful that her partner had done so as well. Surely she could not depart from her side, but Dagger was free to do as she wished--and Cloak knew given her nature perhaps having her close by to keep an eye on was for the best.

She didn't stray too far behind the two who went to greet them; fresh from the Threshold she didn't know a thing about the layout of the land. It was much larger than her home village, the quaint space large enough to hold many but held at close quarters. Helovia was much different, and it was refreshing to her to have it sprawled out as such. The cooling air kept her company along the long walk, the distance between where she came and where they were headed quite large. She kept watch at all that she passed, storing most to memory for future reference. The meadow welcomed her with its brilliant flowers full of color, but she hardly spared a glance for them as she took time passing through.
At some point or another the glinting of reflected light caught her sight and she moved beneath trees to face a once-grand wall of pure glass. It had clearly faced quite a battle over time as it shattered in various places and gaping holes marred its face.

Still, her melted-body moved forward virtually unimpressed, wandering into the Edge's arms and hugging the shadows tightly.

.

Ears flicked forward as he waited at the border. For what, he did not know. But his mindless patience was rewarded, as a woman arrived— not too long after Alune had come and past him into the Edge’s borders. Was this a new herd member, lagging behind after the length of the journey from the Threshold? He had made the trek many times and knew how long and arduous the journey could be— especially to those who had already travelled so far to come to Helovia. The Edge was so far West…. it was the Edge of the World.

He studied the woman, seeing her unimpressed glance at the shattered glass and how she clung to the shadows. It seemed as though she fit with the moon, ever hovering on the edge of darkness. But the stark white of her forelegs and face forever giving her away, just as the Moon’s brightness did.

He shifted, coming out of the mists to approach the ebony and ivory mare, so much smaller than himself. Her slight frame was disregarded for the necklace and pendant hanging over her chest. “Welcome to the Edge. That’s a unique pendant you wear, does it have a story?” The deep reverberation of his voice cut through the shadows she so favored.

“I am Tembovu, King here. You are joining us?” His dark eyes studied the woman, questioning her apparent solitude at the borders. He would gladly welcome her into the herd, but curiosity had piqued in his great skull, wanting to know more of this darkness-adhering mare.

Tembovu

The Elephant King

Glimmer in the moonlight

Only shadows go where we are

We're volcanoes in the night
Glowing in the dark like meteorites

✞✞✞

She hadn't found her journey through the unfamiliar land to be much of an inconvenience; she rather enjoyed the spare moments alone without the watchful eye of any upon her, save of course for Dagger. Alune needn't have worried about marching ahead on his return to his land, for she was quite apt at keeping up and observing from a distance. Had he disappeared from view at all she would have known how to follow him all the same.
Dagger had taken her time where Cloak didn't set a pace, just let her legs carry her at any speed they wished. There was no concern for her horned partner either, for she was better alone than even Cloak and didn't need anyone to care after her. So the blackened mare spared any glances behind her as she approached the glittering glass, feeling at ease in the darkest coverage and swirling mists that seemed to claim the land. First impressions told her that the Edge really was everything she had heard of in Vestiomel, the perfect watching-place for the Goddess that they served. And it was, in turn, the perfect place for her to be.

She tried to keep herself as out of sight as possible and let the dull wisps of fog that rolled through stick against her sides. But she knew no matter the effort on her part her white would give her away, bright against the bleakness of the background. Skull-face upon her crown motioned to view the one approaching, a rather large figure that, while perhaps intimidating to others, she cared little for. He crept out of the thick darkness swirling with the grey weight of the mist, his voice the first thing to reach her clearly. It was as haunting as the atmosphere around them, in its own way. It rumbled through her body and would have raised a brow if possible, the first sign of any emotion to cross her features. His honing in on her necklace above all else was quite curious. She let the question sit between them to prompt him to speak further, introducing himself--as king? Well, how peculiar the situation was indeed, as everything seemed to fall straight into her lap without so much as a lift of her finger. Perhaps it would be easier than she thought, getting what she wanted.
The moon-boy appeared to save her from speaking, answering the question for her and including the mention of Dagger. Vaguely, she wondered where the unicorn might be but focused once again on Alune's words. His claim of the two would have brought a sly smile slithering across her lips, if she had been roused enough to do so. None like them? How interesting, with the number of masses that surely lived in the great realm.

She couldn't figure their strange interest in her simple adornment; of course it had meaning, else she wouldn't have accepted the responsibility of wearing it. But she couldn't figure a way to explain it to them in a condensed manner they would understand--read: didn't put in the effort to do so--so gazed at them as she stood in between with her hooded expression and merely shook her head in one slow, soft motion. It held no significance to them.

Empty eyes rested steadily on the 'King,' flicking to and fro across him, perhaps sizing him up or simply drinking him in.

.

Navy eyes shift to the suddenly appeared Alune, ears perking to hear the answers to his questions. Head cocks slightly at the mention of another, great head swinging to scan the darkness. Another was coming? It seemed that they fell further behind than even Cloak had. A sense of unease wormed into his barrel— for one who joined the Edge and was lost in Helovia deserved both the protection and guidance on the King. An ear flicked towards the Seer as he lamented over his quick pace. Indeed, the quick pace of tall men such as themselves must be checked for those smaller and slighter of frame. The smallest of frowns crept onto the edges of his thick lips as he returned his attention to the indigo coated stallion. “Indeed, your legs and strides are much longer than those of Cloak,” words were rumbled quietly, the rebuke buried beneath their bass.

He could not help to mimic the smile that Alune had as he revealed that they, too, worshipped the Lady Moon. Though his lopsided grin was not as jovial as Alune’s. Retuning his masked attention to the monochrome woman, he found her silence surprising. Though, in hindsight, he shouldn’t have. She clung to the shadows and hid in the mist, clearly not wanting to draw attention to herself. In a way, she reminded him of Kiuaji, living in the shade of shadows. Though his childhood friend was quick to sharpen his tongue and wit on any unsuspecting individual.

But this mare… her impassive face and hooded eyes flickered between the two large studs as she gently shook her head, black and ivory tresses swaying through the mists. Brows raised as her gaze then unabashedly roved over his body, and he resists the urge to do the same of her own feminine form. in compromise, he allowed his cobalt eyes to trace groove of her neck to the pendant in question at her chest. “Does it hold your voice?” The question was part jest, part reproach for not answering her King, and perhaps partly husky— though that could be the mirage of the mist.

Swinging his head to motion behind him, further into the herdlands, he continued, “You will want to take care of the cliffs, as they are often hidden by the Moon’s mists. You’ve already met Alune, our Seer, and he can point you towards others who are so inclined to follow the path of our patron goddess. Do you have any questions?” He half-expected to get another, simple shake of her petite, skull-marked head rather than a true answer.

Tembovu

The Elephant King