we heal with love,

As Dacianna joined them, Alysanne greeted the mare with a warm smile - happy to see her fitting in with the herd. And her smile only eased further as Naerys joined them, pressing up against her side for warmth. She uncurled her wing carefully to drape it around the growing filly, as much as to provide her daughter with a little bit of warmth as to draw comfort from her presence. It felt good to not be standing here alone, surrounded instead by friends and family. Especially as she received glances from their king - which Alysanne did her best to weather without emotion.

That was, until he looked toward her with disappointment. She could not figure out if the disappointment was in her or whether it was over Calista’s absence - but she was quick to take it personally after hearing the announcement that followed. There’s a look of surprise and hurt on Alysanne’s face that she does not bother to hide when Tembovu promoted Tilney. It wasn’t that she did not think the antlered stallion up to the task - he had shown impressive initiative and it would have been a promotion coming soon enough anyway. She resented that it was handed out without even a prior conversation with her. The bitter thoughts were quick to fester from then on - Tembovu must have been unhappy with her work or perhaps even just tired of her lately. They had not exactly been getting along. Now there was someone else in their ranks he could go to, conveniently skirting herself and Evangeline so that they did not have to get along.

If Tembovu was looking for someone to replace her he need only say, preferably not in front of the entire herd. Though he’d get a fight from her if that was the case - she had been a Moon Doctor in the Edge longer than he had been a member and she thought she had made it clear that she was not going to be bullied into following every command she did not agree with.

With great difficulty she got her expression under control and looked for the chestnut stallion to offer him a warm and sincere smile. “Congratulations, Tilney.” Her green eyes then moved to Elsa, deciding she’d rather focus on their queen while continuing to speak - it was easier to maintain her smile that way. “Evangeline left earlier this morning to go gather herbs, not knowing we would be having a meeting. I will fill her in on all that has happened.” Perhaps, in the future, it would be a good idea for their King and Queen to alert the heads of the ranks prior to a herd meeting so they would all be able to attend.

But what did Aly know.

Raising her smooth voice slightly to address the crowd now, she slipped back into the role of a leader. “But I’m glad to see so many of the healing ranks present.” Her smile softened as she looked to Lyanna, before looking to the rest of the crowd. She actually wasn’t entirely sure who else was a Nurse, so her gaze flickered among all those present (with one exception) as she spoke. With great care she maintained an easy, light and friendly voice, stuffing the internal turmoil as far down as it could go. “For those of you that don’t know I’m Alysanne, the head Moon Doctor.” Normally she didn’t care for the designation, but if Tembovu was going to micromanage then perhaps he needed a reminder. “Our herb garden has been neglected lately and when the ground freezes in Birdsong, I would like to remedy that. For now, though, we will organize groups to travel south in search of any helpful plants. Anyone else that is interested in joining us would be most welcome to. I’ll travel to the Throat with Evangeline.”

alysanne