“Like this?”



“Mmm that’s not it” Sacre grumbled as Inari, sat on the poll of his head, was trying to help move his unruly forelock from one of his eyes. It was partially tangled around his horn and, stubbornly, was not moving from his vision. The red fox tried again, this time pushing it the rest of it around his horn, struggling to keep the thick mass of tangles on his paw as he ushered it over before falling forwards, instinctively clinging onto Sacre’s forelock. “Owwwwwwwwww, what are you doing?!” the fox-boy winced as Inari clung to his face, pulling the hairs from his head. It was then Sacre felt something else, the feeling of being watched—seen. Inari looked up from his clinging position and into the sky where there was an owl, a familiar looking owl.

“Aly’s owl!”

“Eh?” the red-eared lad exclaimed. Alysanne? The Queen? She couldn’t see him like this, with a fox hanging from his face, “get off” he quickly shook his head and Inari, grunting, fell into the drifts of snow, scowling at his friend from the floor. Sleeping, but now disturbed, Ríona also jumped off Sacre’s back and all three then watched the owl, following it to wherever Alysanne was.

His cloven hooves sunk into the snow as the two foxes almost seemed to dance off it, lighter and lither. Weaving through the trees Sacre followed the owl until he came across the familiar monochrome paint and trotted forwards, smiling at her. "Alysanne!" he called in greeting. The Queen had gotten off to a rocky start in her new leadership and the fox-boy often wondered how she was coping, if she was coping, and worried that it might all get a little too much. Yet, remembering her from the first day he came here, when he had caused all the ruckus, she didn't seem like the type to just roll over. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering why her owl had been looking for him, whilst his two bonded sat in front of him "can I help you?" he beamed. 

Even as he asked Alysanne if he could be of help he was wondering why she would need it. The former Doctor turned Queen must have an endless list of skill sets to draw upon that Sacre was sure she wouldn’t need his help with anything. Unless it was in search of somebody to talk to her for hours on end then perhaps the Devoted had found just the horse she needed. Her admission of being quite alright warmed him and suddenly he felt mightily cheerful to be called upon by her, not realising how lonely he could get sometimes until he was accompanied by a friend. Inari and Ríona were already bounded towards the owl, playfully trying to pounce on him and kicking up the snow with whimsical sounds—it was a cute moment of peace. One that Sacre basked in until the Queen opened up the conversation and the fox-boy felt a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"Not at all, I like having company" he grinned, sometimes he wondered how on earth he had lived before the arrival of his two mischievous foxes. 

Thinking about living in the Edge he tried to formulate his feelings into words. It was in no doubt that the misty land had made him happier than he had been, he had made new friends and was learning a new discipline. "I enjoy living here, the herd has been kind and I've learnt a lot in a short space of time" he pondered more before continuing, wondering how to express himself "you know, when I was a foal I was taken prisoner by the Worlds Edge and lived here for a short time. I hated it then" perhaps it was out of the blue to mention it, but it felt like the best way to explain to Alysanne how he felt about the Worlds Edge. "I never thought there would be a day when I would not just live here, but like living here" Sacre often wondered if his hatred of the Moon's land had subsided because he had now endured much worse that holding a silly grudge from the past seemed stupid. "Thank you for being so welcoming, I may never have returned otherwise" he smiled, if he could thank everyone he had met here he would, but thanking the Queen felt as close as he could get. Besides, if Alysanne hadn't of been there the day he had arrived in the Edge, he might have fled in shame for making such a rude entrance.

The fox-boy sighed then—Roux. 

Whenever the day came when he saw his twin brother again he would sing to the heavens above and everyone would know about it. His blue eyes cast to the floor "no luck with my brother. I think he is hiding from me on purpose" he laughed, but it was tinged with sadness. "I've looked in every place I can, asked passersby, but nothing" he let the frustration colour his voice, Sacre had never been very good at holding in what he really felt "I hope he is okay" finally, his voice almost dropped to a whisper.

Feeling that perhaps he might have depressed the Devoted enough, he raised his head to regard her with his own questions bubbling to the surface of his dark lips "how are you? we haven't spoken properly since you were a Doctor. Do you like being Queen?" voicing his curious thoughts out loud as he wondered which role Alysanne would prefer if suddenly she got the choice all over again.

"I'm glad I came" he nodded, looking around at the landscape before returning to the Devoted with his boyish smiles. It was true that the old Worlds Edge he had known as a prisoner was nothing like the one he knew now. Even if he had seen the odd wild fight here at least they didn't take children captive to further their gains. Though at least that time he had known where to find Roux...

Gently, he accepted her nose against his, smiling gratefully as she did so, her company was nice and calming for him. He hoped so desperately that her words were true, that Roux would return to him soon and erase all of his worries. Every day he felt like he was carrying an extra weight by just not knowing and he begged that Roux, wherever he was, would take that burden from his shoulders, prove that he was alive and well, that Sacre hadn’t failed to protect him. Then, then, there were his eyes, his brother couldn’t see during the day, he couldn’t see the way the sun painted the land with his fiery hand or how blue the sky could be. He had promised to fix them, to ask the Gods... Roux had to come back so his good-for-nothing brother could stand by his side once again. So he hoped so fiercely that Alysanne would be right, that just like her and Iona, he and Roux would find each other. “I know” he said with a shaky sigh “I know he will come back” he has to “though I’m afraid I may never let him leave again” he laughed, releasing some of his stress.

He wondered then over her sister “Iona? The Specter?” she was the Specter, right? He seemed to remember her at a previous herd meeting. Thinking about it now, they did look alike “I had no idea you had a twin” she probably understood the pain of separation from a missing twin as much as he did, if not more so, “I’m glad you found each other” even after two years… It gave him a little more hope. "Thank you, again, Alysanne" he laughed a little shyly this time "I feel like I have a lot to thank you for" though he hoped he wasn't a burden in anyway. 

In the meantime, Ríona playfully jumped as Hemlock came in for her tail, her soft paws trying to gently bat his wing as she made little noises of joy. 

Sacre listened to Alysanne's thoughts on her Queendom, her time as a Doctor and how daunting she found it now. If anything, Sacre thought more of her rather than less of her, it made her feel more real to him that these kinds of things bothered her. Carefully, lightly, he went to move closer to her and offered the same nose bump she had offered him earlier before stepping back and shaking his head "I don't think less of you" of course he didn't. "Let them watch Alysanne, everyone makes mistakes, if we didn't then how would we grow?" he grinned, remembering the many mistakes he had already made in the past and almost cringing at them. Why should leaders be any different? It was still a trade to be learned, just like healing. "Though I think you will be a very great Queen" he nodded firmly, resolutely.

"Four years is a long time as a Doctor... Would you teach me what you know, some time?" he asked, wondering if Alysanne might spare a moment for him to let him access the wealth of her healing knowledge. He still felt like he was flailing around in the deep end.