this old world has brought me pain
               but there's hope for me again

The little kitsune wriggles merrily on the ground, her paws flailing madly in the air as an unknown stallion blows air onto her belly.  When he lifts his nose away, the pup's bonded speaks sharply in her mind and apologizes for the childish behavior displayed by the many-tailed fox.  With a reproachful glare and a sigh, Alecto slinks to Persephone's hooves, flopping into the dirt to look mournfully at the playful man.  Her displeasure leaks through the bond, and the sunset mare finds herself feeling suddenly guilty.  Alecto hadn't done anything wrong; she had merely wanted to have some fun.  Helovian politics are not like those in her homeland, where such a silly blunder would have sent her down several social rungs.  She should not have reacted so harshly, and she sends an apology to her companion accordingly.

Persephone hasn't the time to respond to the young stallion before the meeting gets underway, and she almost forgets about the encounter in the moments that follow.  Her appointment to Earth Medic is a surprise and a delight, and she accepts without a moment's thought.  She is giddy with excitement, thrilled to finally have a chance to prove her worth to those who have taken her in.  Plans begin to build in her mind, memories of a half-forgotten herb garden in the forefront of her mind.  She would do well to learn the plants of this foreign land and replenish their stores.  Perhaps one of the other medics will be able to help her...

There is more talk, discussion of a temple to the Earth God, of which the sunset mare heartily approves.  The gods of Helovia are still an oddity to the mare, who fell through the Rift when the veil between worlds had been torn open by those many referred to as false gods.  Well, they had seemed plenty true to Persephone.  After all, they had been strong enough to bring her here, powerful enough that the Helovian gods had required mortal assistance to beat them.  If they were false, then what did that make Helovia's deities?  Real or not, she has never imagined any immortal being to take such an interest in those left on the earth, and so she has a healthy curiosity for everything involving the gods here.

So caught up in her thoughts and plans is she that the mare barely notices when the meeting ends and the group disbands.  It is not until she feels the tug of Alecto's excitement that she realizes that her mischievous fox has followed the playful stallion - Zero, yes, that was his name - and has been spending the past few minutes leaping and dancing about his legs, pouncing before him with her tails in the air and her front legs splayed comically before her, grinning and inviting him to play with her.  Alecto! Persephone screeches as she sets off at a quick trot, arriving within moments to witness her kitsune playfully batting at one of the stallion's front hooves.

"Oh, Gods!" the mare exclaims, a gasp falling from her lips.  "I am so very sorry, Sir Zero.  Alecto!"  Her usually calm demeanor is lost in favor of a confused look that doesn't seem know whether to be amused or disapproving.  "Alecto, leave the poor stallion alone!"  The kitsune bounds to her bonded then, leaving behind the stallion's hooves in favor of Persephone's.  The mare sighs.  "You have my sincere apologies, Sir.  As I said before, Alecto hasn't quite learned her manners.  My name is Cora, by the way.  I didn't get a chance to say before the meeting began."  The use of her alias, while normal for the mare, causes Alecto to glance up and tilt her head to the side in confusion.  Cora isn't her name.  Why does the sunset mare give a name that is not real?  I'll explain it to you later, agapi mou, Persephone promises, feeling the kitsune's question without needing words.

Persephone

The whirl of the meeting had rushed through his head once it had come to a close. Lotherarius was now a Sleuth, and that came with even further reponsibilities than that of an Illusor. His heart raced with the thoughts of what this meant for him, his paranoia hitting him like a train as he struggled for breath. It was an honour, but was he capable? Of course he was, his history of tactics and leadership in his past life gave him reason to believe so. But deep down, he felt the horrors of what it all meant for his own sanity, and that was something the winged brute felt that he had to come to terms with. For now, however, he would bask in his own pride of knowing that The Mountain That Knows had chosen him for such duties, and this was down to his (premature) seniority as Illusor. This had come with minor success.

Strolling through the dropping cold, his azure pools came across two figures within the tees, voices rasped in exasperation - a fae and a brute. With his attentions now focussed on something other than himself, his kind heart let out a physical smile through his velveteens as he saw a kitsune moreorless playing with the brute of the pair. Before moving his way through their conversation, he glanced at their appearance, taking in two of the members of the Falls that Lotherarius thought he had spotted at the meeting whilst he remained silent. His orbs first spread themselves over the width of the fae, her bodice a graduated hue of a pale red and bay, an ivory shroud over her beautiful skull as the stripes proceed back over in the other direction. The brute, young but darkly coloured of muds and gold points whilst his wings were struck with blue bolts. His pools were almost glowing, and he looked fierce with them. Yet in spite of this, Lotherarius did not feel threatened, for these were his fellow Hidden Falls herd members, and now was a better time than any to get to know them.

He decided to pad through with a little more noise in order not to seem as if he was creeping, and sent out a greeting to the pair with as much as volume as he could muster that allowed his polite tones to flow through the air,
"Good day to you both, quite a meeting wasn't it?" He added to the invitation to his words with a smile that spread once again across his velveteens, his incredibly handsome cranium shifting from the pair.

" . "

Lotherarius

this old world has brought me pain
               but there's hope for me again

The stallion's kind voice quickly has the kitsune in a tizzy, and at his offer of belly rubs, she immediately flops into the dirt and twists to expose her soft stomach. Little yips of poorly-contained excitement carry through the surrounding area, leading Persephone right to her wayward companion. When she arrives, the silly child is still on her back, wriggling with delight, each of her tails wagging and thumping against one another upon the ground. When Zero turns to greet the sunset mare, the kitsune returns to Persephone, where she begins to twist and bound between the unicorn's legs instead. Gods have mercy.

The stallion's gallant bow brings a smile to the mare's face. She giggles in spite of herself; she has not been greeted in such a way since her days at court. But the moment is short-lived, for she notices what appears to be a flinch of pain. Concern creases her brow, though Zero's continued good cheer smooths it again. Perhaps she was merely imagining things, looking for a reason to use her newly-given abilities. "Is that so?" The mare casts an amused glance at the kitsune. "Well, that should prove quite helpful, shouldn't it, Alecto?" The little foxling merely grinned mischievously up at her bonded before disappearing into the surrounding brush, no doubt on a mission to play hide-and-go-pounce with some unsuspecting mouse.

"I would be honored to accompany you, good Sir," the unicorn replied with a polite inclination of her horned crown and a playful wink. "Surely you can't be too much of a scoundrel; Alecto, however, we may need to watch." A yip sounds from a nearby clump of bushes, and another giggle slips from between Persephone's lips. Suddenly, she realizes that she hasn't felt this lighthearted in years. Who would have thought that a promotion and a new friend could bring such happiness to her anxious heart? Before the pair can set off on their adventure, a rustle of brush catches the mare's attention, and she turns to see the newly-named Sleuth approaching.

"Quite a meeting, indeed!" the sunset mare responds with a respectful nod. It is much the same motion that she had just given Zero, though it was perhaps lacking in the same playfulness. This was a greeting of formality, whereas Zero had made her feel quite at home in his company. "I don't believe we've officially met. My name is Cora, and somewhere in the woods is my companion, Alecto." She smiles invitingly, oddly at home with these two stallions despite her rather unfortunate history with men. Perhaps it is that she has resided in the Falls now for several months and has never felt anything but welcome and protected.

After allowing Zero a moment to introduce himself if needed, the mare speaks again. "We were just going to take a stroll about the Falls. Sir Zero has only just joined our family, you see, so we were going to take a tour. Would you care to join us?"

Persephone

The two creatures he had crashed in on seemed quite happy with their own company, and Lotherarius felt quite guilty for rushing in on their conversation. He watched as the fae seemed to react sweetly to the words of the dark brute, but he preferred not to be part of their conversation. He had no desire to feel like a third wheel when he had little obligation to do so. But it was nice to be acknowledged, and the one that called herself Cora, the beautifully striped little fae, met his words about the meeting with a nod towards him. He noticed, however, a shift from the enthusiasm she showed Zèklè, the striking winged stag. Cora and Zèklè, as Lotherarius could remember, had also been promoted during the meeting. This was total speculation but the names that rang through the air were one by one unknowingly collected by the brute's brain. These were most likely wrong, though, since Lotherarius had been so caught up in the meeting with his own promotion that much else was an entire blur.

He smiled at the pair, ready to introduce himself with some sort of confidence,
"It's my pleasure, Cora, Zèklè. Yes, I am the new Sleuth! I am quite shocked at it all, but honoured to be a part of the higher ranks of the Falls, I just wish I was ready!" he chuckled at his own humour, the brute's kindness swelling over to try and invite himself more readily into this conversation. But Cora seemed to already have that planned out for him with an invitation to join the pair touring the Falls, and he met the request with huge enthusiasm, the broad bodice almost bouncing as he replied, "I would love to! It's always good to tour the borders even when accustomed, thank you, Cora."

And then without much expectancy, the blue-marked brute spoke with a proposition that was easily accepted by the red pegasus, his lobes taking in the joys of such a request. Before he replied, however, Lotherarius decided to chew over the words, thinking about how they could go about doing something fun. In a short space of time he smiled at Zèklè, his voice kind and smooth as he replied to the interesting idea, "I think that is an excellent idea! May I ask your ranks? I'm so curious, I would love to have everybody work together!" He hesitated to allow them to offer their ranks before carrying on, "A project in my eyes that gives rewards could be an idea, something that would be beneficial to the Falls? What would you suggest?"

" . "

Lotherarius