Divine was the gift he had been given, and now it was truly a reason for the grey stallion to believe that the Gods looked upon him with kindness, and that they were something to be revered. He moved with no bruises, no fleeting aches in his older body, but the mental damage was more than apparent. He was twitchy, moving with a slower pace than he normally would. He felt as if he should be hurting, should feel the pain of his injuries, but he was healed. Aiko, my darling child, has done nothing but watch over me since my return, helping me feed and soothing me while I have been this way. I've waken up countless times through the night, panting and screaming as I remember everything but that one patch that is scattered away. What I remember most are the nightmares that the poison gave me, the melting faces and bodies of my beloved and daughter, then the repeated murdering of my parents and uncle. It was all too real, and it happened so much...I felt to close, and those memories were already too hard to remember, to close to my heart to relive, and what d'Artagnan gave to me was something that I would never want for anyone, not even him.

I stand wearily at dawn, having slept very little through the chilly night of Frostfall. Before I can make a move, Aiko is raising, stuck to me like glue. I tell her to sleep, and she refuses, shaking her chestnuts locks and giving me a gaze which forces me to give in. How is it that she is now four months old, and that she is so mature? I nod my head for her to follow, and she is beside me, rubbing my grey skin against her red. I sigh, taking in my child and nuzzling her white face. Her black eyes shine even in the early morning light. How she looks so much like her mother. I look over at the sleeping form of my mate, her breathing steady and soft. My gaze doesn't last long, as Aiko is begging me to come help her find breakfast, and I must shift my gaze away from my beauty.

We find a patch of nice grass, not too chilled over, and eat. I sit while she stands, eating some grass messily from the ground, then running around in a circle. I laugh, amused by her sudden silliness, and it has been a long time since I've done so. How did things do down hill so quickly? I stand, shakily, and look out into the horizon. The day has begun, and it's a little before noon now, for I took my time to eat and she played, easily amused by almost everything. I call for her, and she comes, ears pinned back as my voice sounds weaker. She looks worried again, and I nuzzle her.

"Aiko, everything is fine my sweet child. Tell me, what is it you and your mother have been up to in my absence? Surely you did something interesting, and I can tell your buzzing with something..."

She smiles at me, sweet and silly again, and she start spilling words, clumsy little cute words.

"Daddy, I got to meet the God! The one that is here. Um...the Sun God? He was so nice, and he gave me a quest! He told me to go meet three people that were bad and that were some other fancy word, and then find out what their really like. And no Papa, you can't come with me. It's my quest, and I'm old enough to do it on my own. But otherwise, I've been out playing, and Mama's been sitting around, waiting for you to come home...Papa, what happened to you?"

My ears flick back in the excitement. The Sun God gave her a quest? How wonderful. I smile, thinking that this is truly a blessing, and my daughter is going to be blessed with magic of some sort. Then she tells me, with a tone of voice that I've never heard from her before, how I can't come with her. I chuckle at that. She is so much like me, stubborn and doesn't want help. But then she asks what happened in the Basin...what am I supposed to say? That I got taken for some strange reason, beat and tortured, then found my way back home? I don't even understand what happened, so I have no words for my child. She looks at me again, pleading with me, but I can't do it. I won't press upon her the bad thing I saw there that Orangemoon, and that is how it is going to stay, perhaps until she is older.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. You are still too young. Let's keep your innocence for a little while longer, hm?"

I nuzzle her, feeling the comfort of her blazing through me. I have missed her so, and her mother. I would never the same without them. Then I budge her, and I ran, almost as fast as I can, and she takes after me, yelling about me cheating. We laugh together, running around the Throat in the soft sprinkling ran of the new season, and it feels good to be back home. We eventually reach the boarder, and there I see a mare of silk, fixing apart of the wall. A young colt soon joins her, and I know that this must be the other Forger. Though I have not meet her, I have seen her around, but it has been a long time. I stop, waiting for my daughter to catch up, and together we walk towards the wall.

"Greetings young ma'am. My name is Valentine, and you must be the other Forger. I welcome you the ranks as well, and it is a blessing of the Sun God to give us both his power to forge and build with metals. This wall will definitely come in handy when it is completed. I would have come met with you soon but I was...delayed, if you will. And who is it you have by your side? You're a very handsome colt, do you have a name, perhaps?" I am shoved to my left, as Aiko nudges her face underneath my jaw, reminding me that she's there, and also I can tell that she is a bit shy. I coo her, then look back to the other two. "I'm sorry, this is my lovely daughter, Aiko Darleane, or Aiko for short. Say hi darling." Instead, she rushes under me, hiding her face behind my striped legs, and I laugh. "She's being shy today, you'll have to excuse her. So, let's get to working on this wall, hm? I've been wanting to get started since I felt the power grow inside of me, and I'm more than happy to do it today. Aiko, come, help Daddy will you?"

She nods, and I pick of a piece of metal, my horn glows as I close my eyes and lift it. There is a part that is not done yet, and I start with that, working my magic into it. It is a bit difficult at first, and the more I attempt to work at it, the easier it is, and soon I have the hang of it. There are pieces of metal scattered every where, and I know we will have a long road ahead of us, and this wall needs to be completed, for the protection of all our families.


"talk talk talk"
"think think think"

Follow the trail of blood…
You'll find me at the end.