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06-28-2017, 01:00 PM
It was so unusual to see Maude do anything but smile that the sight of her tears rooted Erthë to the ground more effectively than any spell of magic. A thousand horrible possibilities swept through her mind, already so prepared to believe the worst, and it seemed like forever before the girl managed to sooth them with a few quiet words. Yet the slender little mare, hardly more than a filly herself, knew all too well the feelings that must hide behind the quiet 'They're away'. She had been left behind too, by a father whose home was the entirety of the world and a mother who couldn't stop searching for the child she lost, and it was not until she put down roots in the Edge that she found solace from the loneliness.
"It's okay to not be okay" she said quietly, concern drawing premature wrinkles around the eyes as she reached over to brush away the tears from the girls golden cheeks. "I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much. They will come back for sure, and everything will be alright again."
At least, Erthë really hoped so. She had no idea why Tilney would leave his daughter behind, or where Arah could have disappeared off to. More had happened in the past season than she had counted on, and it made her wish she had been sensible enough to stick around herself.
Reading the emotions of her young friend as they flashed across Maude's face, Erthë made a small, wry grimace.
"I am sorry for disappearing" she replied, "I did not intend to be gone for so long. I wanted some peace and quiet to study, and perhaps I got a bit too much of it. Before I knew it time had passed and the days were growing short again... "
She sighed. It had been a good time, spent in her own company for the most part, and she had learned much - about the world, about herself and the way she viewed life - but now that she was home, the restless unease of the herd and Helovia in general made her feel guilty for indulging in herself like this.
"Did anything noteworthy happen in the herd while I was away? I know the Lady has left us, but not much else... How is Tembovu, and Alysanne? How is the herd?"
Raising a wing to drape it over Maude's back, Erthë found that she had to reach up quite a bit further than she had in the past. It made her feel old somehow, even though the difference in age between herself and the little cloud was less than two years.
It was enough; two years was after all two thirds of Erthë's whole lifespan, and it would take a great many more years before the gap would truly become meaningless.
Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
@Maude
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