It was strange to think that he once again had a place to call home. Since the arrival to Helovia not a full season ago events had unfolded in rapid succession, so that now the stallion found himself no longer roaming but rather resting, beneath trees in an area where the mist ruled both day and night. It was curious how his mind had changed in these quickly passing days. They had arrived with a mind set on remaining only over the winter, prepared to face the cold season in solitary confinement. A prison made up of mental blocks and guilt, where depression loomed at the edge of the consciousness, prepared to pounce at the smallest sign of weakness.

Now as they strolled beneath the barren trees with legs encased in perpetual mist, curiously roaming from border to border in this wooden cathedral, they had to agree that events had turned for the better. Mostly it had to do with the shadow mare and her golden companion, who's wide and generous hearts had enveloped them in the warmth of friendship and pulled them out of the mental bars that separated them from the rest of the world. It was because of her that he now walked here, strangely warm and comfy even though the overcast sky trapped a miserably damp cold along the ground and the thickness of the winter coat just barely managed to block it out.

There's no wind Fajira murmured in his mind, the pearly voice carrying overtones of complaint. I'm glad there isn't, or the weather would be worse he responded and lifted the hooves high as he clambered over a fallen log, gray and slimy from rot and damp. He felt strangely at home in this place, in a way he hadn't in any other place. The salty breeze from the ocean reminded him of the Tides back in Isilme, but rather than annoying sand that clung to the coat and irritated the ears, he was walking over soft moss, stepping over rocks and roots and weaving between trees similar to the ones that made up the Woodlands. A perfect combination in his mind, much like the mixture of old acquaintances and new faces in the new herd was making his life interesting.

A content sigh escaped the silver-coated stallion, and as he broke through a thicket and found himself in a wide stretched clearing filled with grass, still green from the ever moisturizing climate, he paused his wanderings and lowered the head to graze. It was a perfect opportunity to rest the aching right leg. While the pegasus healer had done a marvelous job in mending the broken bone, he still carried bruises and a deep wound across the thigh that healed only slowly. It wasn't enough to bring to the attention of a medic, but enough to slow him down and make frequent breaks a sensible thing. Besides, why stand up on a perfectly good meadow when he didn't have anything that required his immediate attention?

Fajira didn't see to mind the decision either. As he stopped to graze she sat up and unfurled the wings, stretching lazily before leaping off the broad back, flapping through the haze to perch on a high branch of a tree instead. Blue-gray eyes took to studying the grassland with alert interest, prepared to strike down on any animal her bonded managed to stir up. It was a perfect day, calm and peaceful - it was hard to remember that a war had been fought close by only days ago.

A melodic trill from the white-scaled dragon alerted him to the arrival of others. With the mouth filled with moist, green yet somewhat tasteless grass, Lace raised the head and turned to gaze at the new arrivals, chewing casually as he searched his memory for a name that would suit the black moonbeam that came walking toward him. He had seen her before on a few occasions, but they had never been formally introduced and he wasn't sure that he remembered her name correctly. Memories and notices from Fajira made him believe that she was somehow closely related to Mirage, as well as a friend of Smoke's; he had seen her at Israfel's birth, and remembered her well from the invasion. A name...

The chatter of their bonded companions filled out the silence as he chewed, stalling for time until he could find words suitable of hiding his lack of knowledge about the members of his new family. In the tree, Fajira inched away slightly from the enthusiastic gryphon, not sure whether she should approve of the boldness or be insulted by the directness with which she was approached. Blue-gray eyes as hazy as the mist regarded Kali from a well-measured distance, taking in everything from the shape of the wing feathers to the gold-tipped tail. Dragon as she was, and strangely driven by colors and the meanings she claimed that they held, the scaled female had a hard time categorizing the young fledgling. White was good, white was great, white was wonderful and automatically gave Kali a place in her good book. But she wasn't a dragon. That immediately made things more difficult, because even though Fajira was unusually curious about other species, she still held little regard for things she couldn't speak to. The birdlike chirps that ran from her sharp-toothed maw held a slight overtone of confusion, almost a bit desperate...

He rolled his eyes slightly as the feelings of his bonded reached him through their shared mind, and pushed them to the back of the mind. After swallowing, he offered the white-maned mare a slight smile and nodded in a somewhat casual greeting.
"Thank you. The healers worked wonders, I never thought I'd be up and walking already. It's good to see you're doing better as well."

Perhaps the reply was slightly on the short end, but it wasn't easy to be friendly with someone he didn't know. Lace wasn't used to being around people for very long, and he was still getting used to the idea that he once again belonged somewhere. He wasn't entirely against the idea, it was just... it took some getting used to.
He tried to figure out what to say next, but was spared the trouble as the attention of the gold-marked mare turned to something behind him, the tone of the little gryphon's and Fajira's voices changing. Puzzled Lace turned around, just in time to see the shape of some large, catlike creature leap off into the mist, instantly followed by both Kali and the white dragon. His gaze turned toward Rishima, gold eyes meeting mysterious black for a moment as they both tried to melt the peculiar turn of events. Then something urged the stallion forward, his feet moving on their own accord - slowly first, then faster until he hurried on in a slightly painful trot.

"No idea" he said and threw a glance over the shoulder at the mare, "but I think we better find out. Come on, lets try to catch up with the kids, before they do something stupid."

Largely ignoring the pull of the yet unhealed wound on the thigh the stallion chased after the disappearing creature and his bonded, part curious and part worried about the fact that such a strange creature was roaming within the borders of the Edge. Did it have ulterior motives in coming here, was it seeking food with those large claws and eerie eyes? Not on his watch, that was for sure. Lace might not hold the rank of warrior anymore but old habits died hard, and a short period of rest did nothing to diminish the practiced soldier that rested beneath the golden cloak.

He was honestly surprised to catch up so quickly, but noticed why as amber eyes fell on the predator. It had stopped, clearly annoyed by the presence of Kali, and turned his way when the grulla approached. Swallowing, he reluctantly inched closer, listening with growing puzzlement as the monster growled forth words. With a thought Fajira began to circle above the creature, as Lace studied it with narrowing eyes. For him? Why, who was offering it, what was the creature, did it belong in Helovia, what was so special about that amulet that something had to go to such great length to hand it to him? He remembered the amulets that hung around the neck of both Mirage and Rishima, but was there a relation between those and this one? So many questions, so much he didn't know. But one thing was clear, and that was the fact that he obviously wouldn't get it easily.

"As you wish" he replied and charged forward, pushing the strain on the smarting leg to the back of his mind. Heading straight for the felinesque being he dodged, appeared to go for the left and then let the head snake out and snapped after the amulet, hoping to catch it between his teeth and jerk it out of the mouth of the predator. At the same time, Fajira darted down from below, screeching and prepared to do the same should the beast attempt to turn and run off again.