Sometimes tension was palpable, sometimes it seemed to travel across the lands at great speed, enveloping and dragging every thing down into a spiral of chaos. The art of reading shadows was one her mother, the very mare named for shadows, possessed, they seemed to whisper to her the deepest, darkest secrets of the land. Mirage possessed no such gift in the way of magic, but rather, she had a strong sense of intuition - she was sensitive to the subtlest changes, the most miniscule changes that might ripple across the land. Standing now, in the depths of her shadowy realm, the little mare's ears pricked up sharp, and her attention turned towards the borders.

The roan belle's absence had been noticed, just as the WeyrLeader notices mostly anything that occurs amongst her herdmates. The whereabouts of Kiara had concerned the mare, but the appaloosa had made herself scarce, and quickly. Mirage wondered if she was in the same situation, with the same threats looming over her mother, whether she would behave similarly.

With a small ray of hope the mare allowed herself to feel, she moved with a hint of haste in her step to the borders of her home, following the scents who had trekked the path before her, feeling her glorious golden queen guide her from above. But when Akaith's mental pull became more urgent, the mare moved swifter, almost silently, fluidly, into a ground devouring canter, weaving herself amongst the trees, taking the most direct route through the shrubbery to get herself there. Akaith circled overhead of the trio of mares, of whom Mirage recognised two, though the last one smelt mostly of the Edge - there were a few whom the mare knew Thor himself had recruited that she was yet to meet. She was sad that these were the circumstances of their first encounter.

With a warm warble the golden queen motioned herself down from the skies to land beside the strawberry maiden, standing up on her hind legs to proffer her scaly muzzle to Kiara in greeting and comfort. As the dark mare walked forth, she too offered her nose briefly to Aylin, before nodding to the unknown mare, and then allowing her full attention to fall upon Kiara.


"I am here, sweetheart. Come now, to the creek. Wash away the pain." The voice that erupted from her muzzle was deep and warm, laced with honey and gentle command. As she positioned herself alongside the appaloosa, she tilted her tiara towards the mare she was yet to meet. "I wish the circumstances were better for our first meeting; I am Mirage, and this is Akaith." The golden queen chirruped quietly as she glided before them, acting as a beacon in the darkness for the group to follow to the nearest sandy creek bed, where they could wash and rub away all the hurts that ailed them. Whickering small sounds of encouragement, the mare would not give up until the young mare was properly washed and looked after. While the mental scars were far from scabbing over, at least the physical ones could begin the healing process.