The wide river bubbled along contently, its music filling the air merrily with the recent return of the Earth God. There definitely seemed to be a palpable change in the atmosphere, one releasing positivity and optimism for most creatures. Not, however, Sonya. She was in the same state of mind as she had been since she had arrived here. She did not care much for the change because there was still no sun in the sky and she was sick of the never ending darkness. If only there golden orb would reappear and perhaps everything would be okay; perhaps even her past would be illuminated.

Thistles brushed against her legs as she walked through a patch of the violet flora, aiming in the general direction of the nearest red oak tree. Snorting irritably the tense grulla mare moved a little quicker as something crunched beneath her hooves. Every so often she would shake her head violently, something that was becoming a bit of a habit. Occasionally her antics caused her front legs to leave the ground, in which case she lunged into a canter for a couple of strides before slowing back into her jittery walk. Her body language did not reflect her slight irritability. Instead it portrayed her distress. She hated feeling how she did and she was scared all the time. The permanent anxiety was taking its toll on her mind and body.

Reaching the canopy of the large oak, she let her head drop to ground as she nudged at the grass before lifting her head again. There was so much life here despite the lack of light. Everything prospered and survived one way or another. Some needed help, like the young and the elderly, and in such circumstances it was given by kin usually. Community was an important role in survival. Sonya had found a small community for herself but she didn't do anything for the other members. Maybe taking it upon herself to help them in return would make her feel worth the time and space. But how? The lass gazed at the ground as she thought in silence, running ideas through her head. She was by no means a warrior, and she lacked magic. Her ears flipped backwards slightly as a sigh freed itself from her lips. Maybe there was nothing she could do. It was as she sulked that one last notion crossed her mind. Healing. That was more suited to her and she knew she'd find it interesting. All she needed was a teacher.

There was only so much that magic could do, this was something that the grulla mare, called the Wild Rose, had learned. While excellent for mending the most serious of hurts, it quickly grew exhausting to employ when many suffered from minor to moderate injuries. This was why she had turned to herb craft, and sought to train her followers in the same fashion. But there was a downside to using herbs. Eventually, your supplies ran low. And not every herb could be found within the confines of home.

It was this reason that the Edge's Moon Doctor was to be found away from home this day. She could feel the difference in the world, the flush of new life that heralded the return of Earth. Grass turned green provided a springy base beneath her hooves, the scent of crushed greenery and determinedly blooming flowers delightful to the senses. It lent extra energy to the mare's stride, though she never accelerated the pace of her casual amble. It was partly due to the slowly healing wound that tried to put a hitch in her step each time she extended her left fore. Sheer determination to not allow injury to slow her down kept her going, though occasionally she winced from the pain.

Imagery fluttered through her mind, made strange by the dragon's eye view from which it was slanted. Moonlight gilded a stranger's figure, darkness made the occasional burst of speed and the twitchy nature surrounding the slower aspects of the other mare's movements curious. It was the span of a few heartbeats that separated knowledge and decision, the decision to investigate. Then Smoke turned, following silent instructions, and headed toward the solitary outline of a red oak upon the meadow.

Increasing nearness allowed personal observation, eyes grown accustomed to the half light picking out details about the stranger. A mare, of similar coloration and age of the Wild Rose's own elder daughter, stood beneath the tree. "Hello there!" She called out in greeting, guessing it wisest to alert a fidgety stranger to her presence before a sudden appearance out of the darkness would set off an alarmed reaction.

Remaining where she stood beneath the tree Sonya gazed around the meadow warily after a while, as the suspicion of being observed developed. It was a peculiar, unpleasant sensation for the anxious and tense lass and consequently her posture began to reflect it. Her tail whipped her sides harshly, the sound of the strands rapidly moving in an arc through the air audible some distance away. Her ears flickered at every noise and her nostrils were flared as she inhaled the scents downwind to her. As tempting as it was to allow her breathing to quicken the mare had learnt it was best to keep it slow and calm, which is what she did now. Inhaling so deeply it felt as though her lungs had expanded to their fullest capacity, she held the air inside her for a moment before exhaling the unused gases. The silver dapple mare continued to breathe in this manner until the sound of someone close by caught her attention again. Her head snapped round in the general direction the movement came from. Brown eyes scanned the area thoroughly before finding and settling on the equine.

It was a mare intruding. Sonya didn't quite know what to do with herself. The sane, less paranoid part of her mind was curious about the objects this grulla mare wore but another part of her felt exposed and vulnerable, thus putting her on edge. Unnecessarily the other mare announced her presence vocally. Sonya knew what the instinctive thing to do was, but she hadn't practised being sociable in a while and her slight reluctance to talk was visible in her expression. "Hello," she spoke warily, her head turned so that one eye was facing the stranger in order to see all of her clearly due to monocular vision. The mare hadn't met anyone besides Seele yet so she was not prepared to tarnish the chance of befriending someone else just now. Waiting to see what would happen would be best surely. "Who are you?" Cautioned syllables formed the query as her hind limb lifted for the hoof to paw at the ground anxiously, an occasional quiver running over her pelt.