"I know who you are." Sohalia's brows raised almost imperceptibly. The statement would have made more sense if she knew who the girl's mother was, or if they had met before. It might even have made sense if Sohalia was still a high-ranking member of the herd - if she was still a Forger, perhaps. But she was nothing and no one at the moment, little more than another face in the crowd. She had plans to approach Cera about returning to crafting, but otherwise... How would Tae have heard of her, if it wasn't from one of her parents? Somehow, she doubted that Gaucho would have discussed his first lover with another (she was the first, wasn't she?), especially his young daughter.

By the time she had recovered from her shock, passed into the spirit world, and returned to explain what a ghost really was, the moment was almost forgotten. It seemed that Vinati had inherited Sohalia's magic, though it was much stronger in the young sand princess than it was in her mother. The Transcended had to concentrate to enter the spirit world, had to seek out the ghosts that lingered nearby. Vinati seemed to just see them, constantly, as though they were still among the living. It seemed that her little-used gift would be something that would shape her daughter, for better or worse.

Tae's magic, on the other hand, was a surprise. Though she knew that the girl had gotten her phantasmal magic from somewhere, she had not expected it to be powerful enough to actually conjure a phantom. Even if - as Sohalia suspected - it was just an apparition, a fake spirit drawn of the girl's will, it was still intriguing. Not for the first time, the dove wondered who the filly's mother was, but she certainly wasn't going to ask. It almost seemed that the girl was warming to their company, and she had no desire to chase her away. After all, none of her parents' mess was her fault, and, without meaning to, the Transcended was actually enjoying the child's presence.

For the second time, Sohalia slipped into the spirit world, looking around the monochrome world as though she might find an eagle perched upon the rock. But there was nothing there. Satisfied that a spirit hadn't taken to following Tae - or, worse, possessing her (was that even possible?) - Sohalia again made her apologies to her loved ones and left. Back in the real world, Vinati was telling Tae that her ghost eagle wasn't a 'real' ghost, and Sohalia soon spoke to confirm this. "Your ghost is an apparition - it seems to be created of your imagination, of your will. It is not tied to anything otherworldly," she told the girl. "I am able to visit the spirit world. In doing so just now, I looked at the rock and at you - there are no ghosts around you just now, my dear." Though her magic was unreliable in some ways (after all, ghosts can move), she was always able to see any spirits that lingered nearby. She wondered if it was the same for Vinati - if she saw only the nearby spirits, or if she saw the embodiment of anyone that a living equine had lost, regardless of the physical location of the spirit.

"talk talk talk"

Brighter than the northern lights
Want to live to feel the daylight