The increasing warmth was heavy upon my back and I was certainly getting anxious with the approach of my first child. Something about it made want to flee the serenity of the Edge to find things of interest to distract my heavy mind. For days, I found myself scouring the Threshold, perhaps looking to busy myself with other things until I felt comfortable enough to return home to sit idly in the silence of everything that I was to experience soon. I didn’t want to show Tamira my fears because it would only worry her, not that I wasn’t prepared to make such a sacrifice. I was a devoted creature. I had no fantasies that I would somehow be able to avoid this altogether. Perhaps it was my loyalty that had once again sent my feet to treading the claiming grounds. I felt as if I owed Mirage for all her good intentions. One day or another, I would be able to repay her for all her kindness. Besides, there was something thrilling in the meeting of new residents. Even if they chose other paths, at least I could say that I’d come to know them before our parting.

This day was a pleasant one that encouraged the constant trilling of quiet bird song and I was finally relaxed as I crossed into the Threshold as many times before. The soft mud suckled around my hooves and the shadows along the tree line seemed to draw strange patterns along my spine. Though, the soft feathering of darkness was relief beneath the high sun. The soft dappling of my hide looked almost natural now as it rose to compete with the strange appearance of my wingspan. Sometimes I was almost fooled into believing that they didn’t exist of perhaps that they weren’t there at all. But alas, they remained, shifting frequently to adapt to the movement of my gait.

It wasn’t long before I had emerged myself in the new scents of the Threshold. There were many, and while I didn’t ever come to any conclusion that any one scent was more appealing than another, today, one particular musk caught in my nose. It seemed to curl my tongue back and along the roof of my mouth and perhaps that’s why I felt so compelled to find its origin.

He was a massive creature, much like myself. However, he was stockier and significantly more muscular than I. Perhaps it was the age difference that allowed him the advantage, but this was the first time in which I felt that I wasn’t the odd one out. His skin was riddled with battle scars and they seemed to peer up at me from their resting point and tell their stories, one by crucial one. I paused before him, bowing my head because age beseeched me. My eyes were full and welcoming, trying to allow him to see that I was here on friendly terms and not some powerful adversary.

“Welcome to Helovia… Is there something you seek here?”