------" Tares "------

I see a figure in the distance, and as it grows nearer I recognize it to be the Chieftess of these lands. Gossamer's name has rung through the lands and made its way to my ears several times- I've been told of her kindness and gentle ways, and I know by now what to look for. I can recognize her by sight- even before she parts her kissers and speaks to me in welcoming tones I know how to reply. I approach her with a lowered head and a respectful gaze, while upon my back the forewarned Arbutus rests peacefully, drying his tears with his, low, subdued flames. They sizzle against his feathers like tar in summer heat, leaving him feeling helpless and alone. Tares lifts a sheet of embers to cover her charge, lets them spout up from her shoulders and spatter across his features comfortingly, but it is no use. The Phoenix is inconsolable after spending so long in sadness, thinking of horrible circumstances. Of death and lost love; of moments to make the heart wrench and break. Of what could happen when the twins, the two children that Tares knew not of, the two children he already loved so deeply, were born.

But Arbutus' thoughts stay out of his lady's mind as she approaches Gossamer, and thus Tares speaks without hesitation. "The Benevolent, correct? I have been sent by the God of the Earth," I begin calmly, ignoring the slow return of the pain in the absence of Arbutus' soothing tears. The weight of the colt bears down upon my hocks, and I wonder if this is truly how heavy all mares feel at this time in their lives. I sigh and let my leonine tail flicker and flit behind me, the only free and light part of my body anymore. The locks of my tail sway in the Foothills' easy breeze, and once more I find myself longing for home, yet at the same time reveling in the coolness of this unfamiliar land.

"In order to bear my child, I was instructed that I must live within your borders for the duration of the pregnancy," I explain at last, letting my yellow gaze rest upon hers pleadingly. Should I be refused, what will happen to the child? As the elixir slid down my throat had I thought of rejection in these wooded lands? As I'd walked down from the veins had this complication even occurred to me? I can't remember now, my thoughts are drowned out by the sound of my own heart beating furiously within my chest.