It had been a long, long time since he had stepped foot in Helovia’s Threshold. The last time that he had graced this forested land had been in the throes of the winter, when Frostfall had cascaded a mass of unforgiving snow and frost upon the land. With a quiet snort the stallion stepped lightly through the woods, briefly allowing the swallowing arms of the trees pull him back to his home in the Deep Forest. Apollo had been settling in the Grey for some time now, living in the Forest and serving his Family as well as he could, given his lightness in abilities. He was no warrior, that was true, but it didn’t stop him from fighting… The events at the Endless Blue, fighting the wolves and the Kracken, were proof of that alone.

Heaving in a deep breath to rid himself of such terrible thoughts, the overo stallion tossed his head, the ebony tresses of his mane falling gracefully onto the other side of his neck. The crystalline horn protruding from his head caught a glimpse of moonlight, the light blue hues shining brilliantly for a moment before he turned his head, allowing the rays to land innocently upon the grass covered ground. Oh, yes… It had been too long since he had been here, for he hardly recognized it.

Honey-brown eyes watched the shadows play in the trees, and for once, the stag was surprised that he didn’t feel fear at the clutches of darkness. There had been two things that Apollo had feared upon stepping into Helovia for the first time; darkness and water, and since being here, he had slowly begun to overcome those fears. Most of the time, they were thanks to her… Thoughts of her, the beautiful earthly Pegasus who had stolen his heart, caused his chest to tighten and his smooth walk to falter. Did he mean anything to her? Of course he did… After all, they had kissed in the water at the Endless Blue, but then again… They had both been about to die. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment type of thing? Cursing himself for his inability to clear his mind when it came to Phaedra, the Unicorn gave another small snort, but then paused when his ears caught the sound of something scraping against the dirt.

“Hello?” He called out, pausing in his tracks and honeyed eyes scanning the dancing shadows of the trees. “Is anyone there?”

Moving forward only a few more paces, the boyish stallion paused, squinting through the shadows to see another horse standing only a few feet away. She seemed to blend seamlessly with the shadows, and Apollo allowed a soft grin to cross his handsome face before speaking, head raising and shifting his stance to hold himself with pride. “Oh, hello there. I’m terribly sorry; I didn’t see you before… Are you new to Helovia?” His voice and tone were welcoming, as he didn’t want this mare to think him rude. The shadows danced in his eyes, the honey-colored orbs he had been graced with, but they held nothing but warmth, as was Apollo’s genuine nature. “My name is Apollo.”

I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."