I wander through the endless night, and Kali cannot help but note the drag of my feet, the exhaustion in my limbs. Often I am absent from the life of my herd, but this time is different and we both know it. Kali walks beside me, purring concernedly as I pause to catch my breath more than I should, the cold air stinging my lungs in a way I should have found pleasant once. Invigorating. Now it only burned dryly at the back of my throat.

Is this what having a foal does to you? Because if so, I have no idea how some mares manage to shove out so many.

Voices, says Kali, and I pause to hear them, dark ears straining in the lighted mist. The sounds are faint, as hesitant as I feel. Kali peers up at me with wide blue eyes; she wants to go see them, I know, even though she won't say it. All this isolation goes against her nature, her yearning for the friendliness and happiness of others. I sigh. As much as I detest the idea of peering into the business of more strangers, my little gryphon deserves a reward for looking after Tandavi, who mercifully is off trailing after her cousin.

"Alright, let's go see what they want."

I am rewarded with a joyous chirp and Kali is gone, taken off into the dark sky, a white meteor with a feline tail. I smile at her departing form, glad despite myself to have made her so happy, and set off in pursuit. Through our bond the hybrid leads me; ivory above and gold below, we traverse heaven and earth to find the mortals therein. It is not long before we reach the border, breaking through trees to find this little gathering of mares and filly. Oh, moonshine, I curse silently, and feel Kali's guilty conscience through our bond. Little brat. She descends neatly onto my flank and begins grooming innocently, but I know how excited she still is. The things I do for you.

Forward steps on golden legs; I tilt my head marginally to the strangers, taking in the familiarity of the mares' scents and the foreignness of the child. She is older than my Tandavi, a pretty, if plain thing, lacking my daughter's refined lines and striking coloration. Onyx eyes take her in, drifting from paint to paint in quiet appraisal before letting deep vocals roll into the air. "Hello," I murmur - and then what? Oh, I am rusty. "Good to see others of the Edge. Why do you linger at the border so?" Maybe not the most tactful of greetings, but I am curious to know. They do not strike me as a patrol party, this group of little doves, although who's to say these days. On my back Kali shifts, moving forward to peer over my head at the strangers, mouth stretched open in an attempt at an avian grin. I don't have the heart to tell her that she looks terrifying.