A sigh passed through the lips of the scholar who had just returned to the Edge after pursuing Ovidius down to the Grove. Her legs were tired, it was hard to run under the effects of the Moons potion and she got exhausted much easier with the extra effort she needed to simply maintain her balance at a faster pace. It was a good job she wans’t a warrior, she would be little use in a fight, always falling over her feet— it made her feel vulnerable. She was about to settle against a comfortable looking tree when the rumbling call caught on her ears and her heart jumped to her throat when she realised it was Tembovu who was doing the calling. 

“What have I done?” she mumbled to herself in apprehension, trying to think of what it might be and wondering if it was because she had yet to complete her mission. The Dragons Throat was all that was left, but the Moons quest was taking time and the scholar hesitated before travelling to see the King. What if he chucked her off the cliff? ”Don't be stupid” she silently berated herself as her mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion it could think of. Perhaps he had found out about the thief. It might be something trivial, a question or a niggle, but Dacianna had never been called by Tembovu and she struggled to keep stress from lining her face as she travelled. By the time she reached the King, her mind had gone through an endless list of possibilities and she rather nervously dipped her head in greeting to the mammoth monarch, "always the cliffs, you must love them dearly" she laughed jokingly at him, alluding to the fact the last herd meeting had been there.

A wet breeze splashed against her roan face as the cliff’s elements played with her thick mane that tangled around her horns and got snagged in her bracelet. “Tembovu” she addressed the buckskin elephant before shooting a quick, playful smile towards his little grey friend “Mbwene”, the scholar still thought she was rather cute.

After that, the scholar turned back to the King with a curious look “how can I help you?” she asked as her feet shuffled.

She smiles, laughs even, at his quite blunt response and curiously pondered if he ever missed seeing those things, from his old home. From plains to a forest—she wondered if he felt claustrophobic here, amongst the woodland and the mists. Did he ever wish to go back? Dacianna herself was from a mountain and she too missed the rugged life sometimes, the clean mountain waters and the closeness of the sky. Yet, she could echo his sentiment; everything changed, but the horizon. Even when miles away from home the sun still fell and rose. She threw a gentle grin towards him, hoping she hadn’t been too informal with her greeting, though Dacianna often saw him more as a friend than a King.

“I like the cliffs, the horizon… I prefer meetings here, you should invite me more often” she smiled through her words, tossing her head to the playful wind and feeling it gust against her face before turning back to see Mbwene, hearing her trumpet and she laughed, happily surrendering her head lower to have her hair detangled. "Good luck" she thought to the sweet elephant, "it never does what you want it to do" her hair was thick and often latched onto things. Trinkets, branches, horns, other horses...

Their conversation swayed in a direction Dacianna didn't expect then, her ears swivelling and her posture alert as it appeared to be a matter of business, the reason she was called here. He thanked her for her efforts and she shifted her feet more, feeling embarrassed a little by his compliments. She was happy, proud even, that her deeds were not going unnoticed, but her smile was still shy as he expressed a gratitude Daci didn't expect. "This herd helped me from a terrible place, the least I can do is give my best to serve it" she shook her head, thinking he was being overly nice, but happy that she was at least giving a little back. 

The promotion was also not expected and she blinked at him in surprise when he announced it to her. She took the title in tentatively, still believing she had not done enough to deserve it, but she dipped her head thankfully to the King "thank you, for everything you have given me, I hope I don't disappoint you" her voice was humble. Sage, it sounded rather... Old? Like the roan, at only a mere four years, shouldn't hold such a title. She would have to work harder to live up to it and seek out the Seer for guidance. Dacianna, although she had met the Moon, still knew very little about her.

Lastly, she thought about Tembovu's question, the edges of her lips curving upwards again as she raised her head to meet his blue eyes. "Kind and welcoming, even the Goddess has been generous to me. I was worried at first, being of the Rift, that I would be unwelcome... but I was wrong" the Worlds Edge was something Dacianna had never experienced before and she had always wondered if they ever held her somewhat accountable for the violence that had unfolded at the hands of the Riftian Gods. She wouldn't blame them if they had thought her an enemy too. She had little bad to say about the Edge, but she did have a question, one she maybe should have asked before visiting each herd. "The trench... The spikes, I know they're for protection, but does the Edge have many enemies? Are there things I should know about when I visit other herds to gather stories?" though she had had no problems yet, the more you knew the less likely she was to run into any in the future.