i am a leaf on the wind

There are so many horses. They come out of the woods like moths to the flame, and she simply watches in a bit of amazement. Not that she’s not used to this. Of course she is. Once upon a time, she was a princess after all. Once upon a time, she stood in front of crowds like this. But still, it amazes her. She’s hardly seen most of these horses, let alone gotten to know even of a handful of them.

 
There’s more than meets the eye behind some of polite nods, but Lyanna does her best to simply stay out of it. Not her place. She does notice that Ros comes, and she tries to catch the mare’s eye and give her a small smile, feeling weirdly like she should continue extending a hand of friendship to the blue and white mare. Which doesn’t actually make much sense, because Ros has far more connections and history here than Lyanna does. But still, she persists in her perhaps foolish kindness.
 
Besides, she does really enjoy Chico.
 
More come, and she entirely gives up trying to figure out what the heck is going on. She listens, but mostly it sounds like gibberish and goes in one year and out the next. When Tembovu addresses the group again, she pricks her ears in his direction though, trying to remember it all even though some of it still sounds foreign.  She does hear Auriel’s name though, one she actually recognizes, as the mare is given a promotion. Lyanna tries to find her in the crowd to offer the girl a smile.
 
Talk turns to the healers, and Lyanna shifts some of her attention onto Alysanne as well. It’s hard not to notice the disappointment on Tembovu’s face, and Lyanna automatically assumes it’s over the disappearance of Calista. But there’s something unreadable on Alysanne’s face, and Lyanna wonders if there’s more to all this than meets the eye. Probably. And it’s probably better if she doesn’t know.
 
Alysanne speaks up to address the healers; a smile making it’s way toward Lyanna. The tri-colored mare returns the smile easily. She gives them the assignment, which doesn’t come as a surprise to Lyanna. But of course, she happened to be there when Alysanne mentioned it to Tembovu before.
 
Tilney speaks up, offering to go to Riptide Isles. She doesn’t know him yet, but figures he might be a good one to travel with on her first trip. It’s not like she knows a thing about collecting herbs, but given the stallion’s promotion, she’s guessing he can teach her. I’ll travel to Riptide Isles,” she offers. “And wherever else, if you need me to head to a second place.” Flying had it’s perks, after all. Made it relatively easy to pop into two places quickly.

watch how i soar.

lyanna