She found him, as expected, in the midst of piles of metal pulled from the ground, wandering to and fro as though in the middle of a project.  The dove watched for a moment, a shadow of a smile on her lips, for she could still remember when their now-renowned Forger couldn't tell iron from tin.  The colt that she had known had grown into a handsome stallion.  She was proud to know him, proud to see that he had prospered in her absence.  When she called his name, he turned to her slowly, as though half-expecting her to be nothing but an apparition, a trick of the wind in his ears - and then the hesitancy turned to eagerness, and Sohalia's grin mimicked his smile.

Their greeting was quick and natural, an easy lapse into old habits as their noses brushed against one another, exchanging familiar scents.  "You've returned," he said, and there was nothing in his tone to suggest that he was angry with her, that he blamed her for being absent, that she had hurt him by disappearing time and again.  She might have fallen into a tearful heap at his hooves, begged his forgiveness, offered what little she could by way of explanation - but she shoved it all aside, answering with only a simple, "I have."  Only the profound sadness that lingered in her eyes betrayed her myriad emotions.

"Look how you've grown!" she half-squealed, looking him up and down, pride and affection evident in her voice.  Though they were not related by blood, Sohalia had always seen Cera as family, something that made her feel all the more guilty as she realized that she had abandoned him, too.  It wasn't just her mate and children that she had harmed - it was her friends, her adopted family, her herd.  They would never know how truly sorry she was.

"I... well, Cera, I was actually hoping you could help me," she answered his query, skipping over the "how are you" in favor of something a little safer.  She was a mess, if she was being truthful - she missed her mate, she missed her children, and she had no idea how to bring them all back together.  She didn't now how to make up for all the time she had lost with them, and it was killing her on the inside.  She forced a smile, something that came much more easily in his presence than in anyone else's at the moment.  "I... I need a job.  I need to help the herd somehow, and crafting is all I really know."  She looked up at him (since when had he grown so tall?).  "So, what do you say, Cera?" she teased.  "Do you have room for an apprentice?"

"talk talk talk"

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