A R I T H E N A
FOR WHEN THE SUN LEAVES, THE WORLD FEARS YOU
Aedion gave her an odd smile, one which she couldn’t seem to comprehend - and it wasn’t its appearance that made his pleased expression strange. See, smiling was something that affable horses did, or if one wanted to give the appearance that they were in fact good natured and easy to talk to. Not that she didn’t think Aedion was friendly - perhaps he was, but he didn’t strike her as the overly friendly sort. Mostly, Ari was wondering what it was exactly that he had found to smile about. She hadn’t said anything particularly funny that she could recall. And last time she’d checked, it wasn’t difficult to remember things like the words that had come from her own mouth. Strange. Yet she went along with it anyway, offering him a grin of her own, paired with the fluttering of her long white lashes. It was small, the kind where the lips are upturned ever so slightly, just enough to see her teeth. It certainly wasn’t the look you’d offer to a longtime friend. Aedion wasn’t that, so Arithena didn’t worry too much about how she came across to him.
What she was concerned with was finding out more about this Rift place. She’d need to, if she was going to be spending the remainder of her days here. Fortunately, Aedion seemed to be the perfect creature to have encountered, considering he claimed to have lived in the Rift all his life. “In that case,” Ari began, glancing aside unintentionally, though it might have given him the impression that she was carefully choosing her words, “I couldn’t imagine there would be anyone better to have bumped into. Certainly you have learned much about the Rift in all of your eight years here.” The words rolled off her tongue slowly and her eyes shifted back to land on the massive pegasus. Arithena was perfectly aware that she had almost nothing to lose being stuck here. She had everything to gain. As such, she wasn’t terribly bothered by the idea. She had this whole world to see. “I suppose I don’t mind the idea of living here. It seems like a...” She paused, trying to find the right word, “...charming place.” Right. Not that she could have seen anything that would have supported that observation, considering they were surrounded by nearly complete darkness. She hardly knew what the Rift looked like, or what lived in it, and Aedion was bound to recognize her feeble attempt to flatter him.
“Leaving wasn’t exactly on my mind.” Ari went on, “I’ve been a wanderer my whole life. So I suppose the answer to your question would be no. There’s nowhere in particular I’m headed.” She belonged to no one and no place in particular. She was free, belonging only to herself. Her hooves carried her across many lands, never remaining in one place for too long. Until now. And she might as well get used to the idea. When he asked her what sort of place she wanted to go, Arithena didn’t know where to begin, much less what she wanted to see. What did the Rift have to offer? “Somewhere a little warmer and brighter would be nice, if any of those sort of places exist here.” The pale-colored mare suggested at last, with a delicate laugh, like the existence of somewhere like that within this realm was a silly notion.
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The Portal
