From the forest and out to the cliff, my legs did seem to carry me. I had thought that my travels were in no particular direction, but as fate would have it, there was always purpose in my rambling. Night had fallen over the Edge and the moon hung high above us, watching with her careful gaze to ensure our safety. At times I wondered if she would be able to protect us if we had exchanged stations with the Foothills. Would she have warned us of their ascent or barred the borders from their arrival? Somehow I thought that she owed none of this to us, owed nothing but her faithful service to those who called upon her in these twilight hours. But at times, I wished for such stability and wished for her words so tender upon my ear… However, they never came to absolve me, to comfort me; I was but a mere name amongst her loyal disciples, one that may never even pass her lips.

The soft folds of night told sorrowful stories through silent whispers and sometimes I found myself longing to indulge them. But they were hard to hear and even more difficult to understand. Perhaps it was pure destiny that I stumbled upon the Nurse that night or perhaps it was just odd luck. However, to see her peering over the edge of the cliff’s wide face was enough to spark recognition, one that reminded me of myself. Had I not faced the vastness of the sea many times before, searching for something other than mere cause? Maybe I debated my life and how I planned to live it, but no matter what I thought of, it all led me to the same resolution- I was the only one who could help myself.

I did not go to her immediately but instead settled into easy observation. Whatever pained her was something that she would have to cope with herself, but I did pity her. I pitied her the troubles she faced and I pitied her choices thus far. I had heard of her absence from the Edge and then her spontaneous return- but why? Why would she place so much strain on an otherwise healthy relationship with life? I had spoken to her but once and they were formal words that held no true meaning at best. But as she overlooked her fate beneath the moonlight, I felt a sort of sympathy for her pain, despite the fact that she had done as much to herself. However, I was not biased in her situation because it was clear that Mirage thought much of her or had at least found forgiveness in her heart to sooth the ache of betrayal.

From the dust, to the dust… Tor had never really changed. But this was her time to prove us wrong in spite of her many errors. Was not everyone blessed with second chances? I only hoped that these were not wasted.

I had though it wise to stand back and allow solitude to make introduction before I did so myself, but as all things are unpredictable, I was quickly beat to the chase. A filly, much resembling the mare in question approached from the long shadows. It pained me to see such destruction upon the face of innocence and it made me think quietly of Essetia. To lose one’s guardian was one thing, but to be left? Well, that was another. Her voice was high-pitched, geared to cover whatever emotions roiled beneath a poised surface as the filly struggled to stand her ground against the deafening silence. Her words made me cringe and they nearly forced me from my position as an unknowing bystander in favor of going to comfort her. But, I tried to remind myself that this was their battle, not my own.
However I did not expect for the Nurse to try and pass judgment on her own daughter. She was not to blame for her mother’s mistakes. If anyone were to stand trial for those errors, it would not be this girl, so tainted by choices that were not her own.

I struggled once more to adhere to my mind and not to my heart, but all composure had been ripped quite willingly from my hands. “I do not believe that regret would pertain to such emotions Tor, though perhaps you’ve mistake the term for resentment.” I could refrain no longer from the battle waged between agony and ignorance and so I moved forth. The heft of each step told of my reservations and the sound of the stone, so hollow beneath my hooves, sounded against the tender quiet like a cry in the night. I nodded to the Nurse with a bit of shame, clearly in need of explanation as well for her indecency. I had heard Mirage’s verdict on the mare and I did not plan to stand in the way of Tor’s devotions if they remained true. But my sentiments were little in compassion compared to the wide-eyed filly wondering desperately why her own mother had left her side. “Though I am curious, Nurse, how you plan to prove your loyalty to this family, to the Edge? I have heard of your return and perhaps I can recall the day I met you at the Healer’s gathering- but I do question whether or not your fervor back then had been true? What has aided your return that did not burden you upon your departure?”

I had stolen her limelight and all chances of fabricating answers for a child who would never understand. You do not leave a family when it would appear you are needed most. You defy your hardships in order to sustain your morals and your responsibilities. Life was not something you could run from forever.