Having collected a rather extensive - to her - collection of items lately, it was liberating to leave some of them in the care of Hemlock near her nest so that she could move for a time unaccompanied by the clinking of delicate glass trinkets. Not that Alysanne did not appreciate the gifts she had accumulated, of course, but it seemed a shame to interrupt the new dawn with any noise beyond the muffled sound of her hooves against grass and fallen needles.

Though it was still early in the day, the air was growing heavy and promised to be sticky with humidity before long. This Tallsun, she had discovered what it felt like to sweat beneath her wings and it was not a sensation that she looked forward to experiencing as this heat wave continued. Alysanne wondered if she should travel North - perhaps she could go visit Lena again, use the excuse of seeing her friend as a reason to escape the heat for a day.

For now, though, the peaceful morning seemed like the perfect opportunity to re-visit the violet canopy where the herd meeting had taken place. She had not been here since.

The doubts spoken against her still echoed through her mind - bothering her because she worried they existed in everyone’s mind. Nyx had apologized before running off and, truthfully, Alysanne was more concerned about whether the mare had safely delivered her children or not. Without her healing magic, she was almost useless to help. It wasn’t the voice of the pale unicorn that echoed in her mind now but a swelling combination of everyone’s - with her own shouting the loudest.

Could she do this?

With a snort and a shake of her head - as if those actions alone could clear away the doubts - Alysanne turned away from the canopy and moved instead toward the small lake that was nearby where she stopped once the water swelled gently around her hooves.

Movement drew Alysanne quickly out of her thoughts, snapping her back to the present with unrelenting force. Her green eyes quickly cast around for who it was and the figure is instantly recognized. The same face that she had been hoping to cross paths with every day since the meeting - Nyx. A small, sad smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she turned to properly face the General. “Hello Nyx.” Although she appreciated the sign of respect, nodding her head in acknowledgement of it, being addressed as queen still felt strange. She hadn’t made it a habit of being addressed as Doctor Alysanne and she did not plan on changing her habits now that her rank was different. “Just Aly is fine, please.”  

The manner of Nyx wasn’t one of abrasiveness as it had been at the meeting, and Alysanne felt herself relaxing from the tension as her hooves shifted in the shallow water - but the look of concern did not fade. Nyx’s words had dredged up her own fears, ones that she relayed to Tembovu as soon as they had a moment together after the meeting. She hated seeking validation from him - it still made her skin crawl - but he had seemed certain. And, for now, Alysanne wasn’t ready to give up on this chance she had been given. The chance to do something good for her herd, the herd she loved with so much of her heart.

“I’ve been hoping to speak with you as well.” Alysanne responded in a soft whisper but her apologies and questions were stifled for now and instead she started off with what, she hoped, was a fairly neutral topic first. Whatever else they would talk about next, the concern she felt over the once-pregnant mare was genuine. “Did the birth go smoothly?” Her gaze shifted around, searching the shores for the sign of a foal but perhaps it was still asleep this early in the morning.

For this brief moment, they were just two mares, standing in the lake discussing everyday matters.

Alysanne’s green eyes are clouded with worry, unsure for a moment whether Nyx would expand and explain what she meant, but the worry did not dissipate when the explanation did come. Having nearly lost Naerys the day she was born, losing a child is not a fate she would wish on any parent. “I’m a twin but I have yet to experiencing birthing a set of my own - I can’t imagine it’d be pleasant even in the best circumstances. But I’m glad there was a healer present.” Alysanne wasn’t in the mood to linger on the irony, her concern easily outshadowed any other reactions she might have had. She caught the slight edge of sarcasm in Nyx’s words but was not in the mind to entertain it herself. She was just happy the foal had been saved.

After that subject was settled, she waited with no ending of patience, listening intently to what Nyx had to say. She had hoped for the chance to smooth things over with the General, of course, but she had expected to be the one to see out the silver mare - not the other way around. Could Nyx appreciate just how much that meant to her? “Thank you.” Were the first words out of her, needing to get that out right away. “I appreciate your apologies, Nyx. The meeting was… well, it got out of hand very quickly. No one was expecting Tembovu to make the decision he did… or not as quickly.” The timing had certainly not been great - just moments on the heels of Elsa stepping down, Tembovu offered a new name. If it hadn’t been her own, Alysanne still would have been concerned. “I certainly wasn’t.” Of course Nyx words had hurt, had needled at the insecurities that had hardly dissipated since then, but there was no point in saying all of that to the General - Alysanne had no intention of making her feel worse when it meant absolutely everything that she was taking this chance to apologize.

“But you did bring up some good points.” Maybe they weren’t brought up constructively but they had been good points. “While I may balance out Tembovu and his mind for war, I don’t intend on being completely unschooled.” The few, scattered spars that Alysanne had attempted had been rather unsuccessful but there was a chance all she needed was a different teacher. “Perhaps, sometime, you could instruct me? It would be an honour to learn from our General.” A small, hopeful smile brightened her expression then as she waited to see Nyx’s reaction.

Typically, throughout her stay in the Edge Alysanne hadn’t mingled overly much with the warriors and she wanted to change that - and she did not think Nyx would have risen to the position she was at without knowing a thing or two and Alysanne would be a fool to not trying to learn something.  

Alysanne honestly did not think she had told anyone to stuff anything where the sun didn’t shine, though that was likely more due to the fact that anger was only a new development for her in the last few years and she was still trying to wrestle with how to control it - so she had not learned the finesse of insults yet. She had only even cursed out loud once!

But that wasn’t really the point of what Nyx was saying, so she did not elaborate on that. At the comment of how she was a good woman, Aly ducked her head in thanks before returning the sentiment. “As are you, Nyx.” Aly replied with complete honesty - her green eyes soft and warm with a smile - for she truly believed that Nyx was a good woman. She knew how much courage it took to approach someone and apologize, to admit when you were in the wrong. That was a lesson that Aly was still learning for herself but one that was coming easier with age - and one she was sure she would have to learn quickly now that she was a queen.

She felt delighted when Nyx agreed to teach her a little bit of fighting, though she kept her reaction to a bright smile instead of a small dance of her hooves. “Excellent! I’m sure we can find the time. I’ve tried learning before but… things did not end well. I want to learn, I want to be able to defend my family and my home, but I can never seem to get past the block in my mind screaming at me that I’m a healer and I shouldn’t be causing wounds.” Alysanne hoped that with the right teacher (someone who wasn’t Tembovu, someone who wasn’t the same age as her son) she could push through that block. Or be pushed through it, as she suspected (and hoped) Nyx’s teaching style might be as strong as the mare herself.

And then… well, Aly couldn’t help it - as Nyx trailed off with her question and she realized what she was suggesting, the painted mare laughed. She tried not to, tried to get the burst of laughter under control enough for her to shake her head and utter a few breathless “No”s as she regained her composure. “We most certainly aren’t and I can guarantee that will never be the case.” After hearing how Tembovu and Elsa had engaged in some extracurricular activities together, Alysanne wasn’t surprised about the question - and she wondered if Nyx had known. Alysanne had only suspected - ever since Tembovu had arrived there had been no shortage of horses who looked as though they had just walked off a savannah, foals included.

It took a moment for Alysanne to realize that her laughter could have been offensive and that thought made the mirth die from her expression in an instant. “Sorry. That was rude of me, but Tembovu… well he just isn’t my type.” That seemed to be the most polite way of summing up her relationship with the Elephant King - she did not want to speak ill of him to a friend accidentally, and she was not sure what Nyx’s opinion or relationship was with Tembovu. It would hardly be very polite of her to just go around talking about how much she personally disliked the one who had just picked her to be queen by his side.