The Moon Goddess always knew how to make an entrance. A soft sigh escaped Lucius as the warm wind fell upon them, a galaxy of stars dusting his bonded and settling upon the battered body on which the zephyr rested. Mesec, for his part, actually missed the pain as it receded, even as he felt his body relax with the absence of it. Those wounds had been his penance for what he had done and now that they were gone it was just the ache in his mind that he was left with. Lucius watched the starlight seep into Mesec’s body around him - his silver and purple eyes intent on making sure that every wound was taken care of, but especially the ones that the zephyr had caused himself.

She appeared soon after, in a beam of starlight that Mesec was glad winked out quickly. Was that a smile? It seemed impossible that she could be smiling now. But, then she spoke and he understood. Of course she was proud. Mesec flinched at her words but gradually raised his head so that his eyes met hers - the same pupil-less silver that they shared, that his daughter had now too. While the Goddess’ glowed with pride and health, Mesec’s were diminished by his grief.  “I’m not.” He replied in a dull voice.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone else…” That had been the whole reason for coming here, for this quest. Mesec had never wanted to be a threat, to be the nightmare in someone’s life. And now he was. It had been terrible when Erthë had quaked in fear in his presence after the warg snapped at her in the Green Labyrinth but this - this was so much worse. “...but I wish it hadn’t been Zero.” He confessed quietly, a desire that they both knew would never be granted. Mesec wanted to believe that his guilt would be less if he had attacked someone else, someone he did not love as much as he did the boy, and while that was true to some extent it was certainly a lie as well.

Whether it was a faceless stranger making those screams or someone he knew, Mesec still would have never forgiven himself.

Mesec did not move when his mother stepped forward, when she wrapped him in a hug with her large, violet wings, except to close his eyes against her words - as though that might shut them out. He didn’t know if his mother was right all the time but she was wise, she could justify what he had done, with the mixture of condescension and love that he knew to expect from her. He willed himself not to sob into her as he accepted the embrace, believing his mother wouldn’t look kindly upon her grown son doing so. So instead he pressed his muzzle against her skin lightly - breathing in her strange, otherworldly scent, and listened to her words.

He appreciated this gesture from her - attempting to comfort him with both touch and voice. As though they were just any other parent and child.

And, of course, it made sense, what she said, and though he realized that she was right it didn’t absolve him of his crime. Mesec was glad that things hadn’t been worse - that he had been able to fight the darkness enough to win before Zero had died. That was the silver lining to this. And it was true that after this, he no longer needed to fear losing control again.

But he had still done the damage, it had been his claws and his teeth that had torn into the flesh of the younger stallion. Whether or not he had control at that time didn’t seem to matter. He hated himself for his actions and hate that there was a valid reason for them.

He couldn’t bring himself to verbally confirm that he knew she was right but it was in his eyes when she pulled back to look at him - a softening of the dull sadness in those silver eyes. “Do you… can you tell me if he’ll be okay?” Still he couldn’t bring himself to speak above a whisper, the words cautious as they came out - for he was unsure about whether his mother would tell him if she knew. He needed to ask, needed to try to find out. He wouldn’t - couldn’t - go back to the Throat after everything that had happened in the last year. Megaera’s acceptance of him would not extend to cover these transgressions, whatever their reason, and Ampere would be murderous if she ever found out.

It was good to know she was safely back in Helovia, that the news she had been missing after his previous warg attack - the news that had triggered the fight with Zero - was no longer true, but his love for her had dulled over the last year when there had been so much else for him to focus on. And now any lingering tendrils would just have to fade away because a future with her was impossible.

Mesec did not know what lay ahead, what he should do next, but he knew any foundations of a family he had started to form in the Throat had slipped away forever. There would be no going back to where only endings existed.

There was no way to know for certain what sort of response he might have received from his mother to his question - he hoped she would be kind, at least, whatever she decided to say. And she was - a small rush of air in a soft sigh escaping him when it was confirmed that Zero had been healed, that he was still living. Of course, Mesec wanted Zero to thrive, not just live, but he appreciated that he even got an answer so for now that little bit of news was enough. He got the confirmation that Gaucho and Ampere had been able to take care of the wounds Zero had suffered. At least the physical ones.

He stood quietly, listening to his mother as she spoke, but this time he did not argue when she said she was proud of him. Perhaps it was a combination of the warm rush of air, a soft caress on his neck and through his mane, and the kind words that accompanied them.

They did not erase the hurt that weighed down his heart but they did help. He needed this softness from her as much as he needed her honesty.

Mesec’s silver eyes widened at the offer of a gift - watching the sparkling, starlight key with awe as she explained what it could do. Immediately, his thoughts went to Zero - wondering if he could use the key to protect the boy from what had happened. But, then, Mesec would actually need to get close enough to do that… And what was the likelihood that he would ever be forgiven? He did not deserve to be forgiven.

But these were things to consider later. For now, he nodded at her warning to use it wisely - Lucius chortling at the idea that Mesec would do anything other than agonize and mull over the gift he had been given. Making a point of ignoring those chuckles, Mesec reached out to carefully take the key before turning and offering it to Lucius for temporary safekeeping. “Thank you, mother.” He smiled faintly at her when he turned back around - truly appreciating the gift and her words, as difficult as it was to convey any joy while still feeling this hollow.

There was a small breath of silence while Mesec tried to arrange his thoughts, tried to figure out what of the dozens of questions was the most important to say now, while she was still here. In the end it was the largest question - the one that haunted him. “What do you think I should do now?” He wanted to hear her opinion, assuming she had one, believing the Moon would be able to shed some light through the fog in his mind. He needed a nudge, a suggestion, because right now he didn't even know where to start.

He held his breath, waiting for his mother’s response as she looked to the sky. He, too, wondered which of her sides he would get an answer from. To be honest, he wasn’t sure even when he did get his answer whether it was the goddess or the mother that encouraged him towards the Edge.

The Edge.

The idea that she offered to him wasn’t without its own complications but what wasn’t complicated in Mesec’s life? He found that he wanted this chance at happiness, at something as close to a normal life as the son of the Goddess could possibly get - the chance at a family. Not a family that he was offered out of pity, that he clung to for the sake of one lightning mare, but one that was actually his. One that could be whole.

Whether Ki’irha would warm to the idea of taking the kids out of the Basin or whether young Vesper and Virga would even want to follow their father were problems that he could face but they were blessedly ordinary problems. Even if ordinary was only a temporary state, it was still welcome.

After being plagued for a year by the warg, by the mere idea that he could accidentally hurt someone (and finally - hurting one of those he cared about the most), he welcomed this chance. His heart leapt at it with such ferocity, clinging to the possibilities that his mother dangled before him, that it was almost easy to forget the rift he had felt between them after finding out his mother was responsible for her murders across Helovia. Perhaps this was a trick, perhaps he shouldn’t leap so readily, but Mesec’s hope blinded him. Even Lucius, ever his vocal conscience, found the proposition tempting.

Home.

Could that be the Edge? After all this time? Raising his own children in the herd where he had taken his own first steps in Helovia? And she enchanted him with the lure of learning from her as well. All (no, just most) of his family together.

He wondered if he had even a hope at denying her as she said please, extending her wing out to him. He took his time in mulling it over - what else could he do? - but in the end there really was only one answer.

Before confirming it vocally, he reached out for her - the faintest spark of a smile in those hollow eyes and giving some echo of warmth to his empty voice. “Yes.” He’d have time to sort out his thoughts later, to figure out whether this impulsive move was actually good idea or if he was just scrambling for any chance of hope in his grief. “I think you’re right. It’s time to go home.”