A Flame in the Dark

RIXEN i have late night conversations with the moon; "Pleased to meet you," I replied cheerfully to Rexanna, "Both of you." My verdant gaze followed suit as she turned her head to motion to the polecat that was curled up by her withers. I hadn’t noticed the creature sleeping there in the dim light, until Rexanna had pointed him out. In the land I came from, horses did not have companions. It was an entirely new concept to me, one that had been introduced here. I was not too surprised that she had one, though, after the golden mare proclaimed that she’d come to the Rift from Helovia. Kiada was from Helovia, too. The collection of tiny gears in my head were churning, trying to piece together what all of this meant. Could mean.  Speaking of relations, the colt, although a similar pale gold in appearance, did not appear to fit into the clue I was beginning to piece together, the picture, albeit still extremely fuzzy, that I was just barely able to envision. Though it would be easy to mistake him and Rexanna for family. But it seemed to me they simply knew each other, and their ties ran no deeper than that. Galahad made no mention of coming from Helovia, yet intuition told me the youngster had. These types, the former Helovians, almost had a particular look about them, if one were experienced enough to take notice of it. What were the chances I was wrong? Slim. Almost everyone I’d met in the Rift had lived in Helovia, knew its lore, its structure, the intricate ins and outs that created and bound up the world. I was one of the few who hadn’t. For me, learning all of these things was still a work in progress, however interested I was.  "Is that so? I’m sure you can tell that I am not from there myself. But I’ve encountered many others from Helovia. Learned a little bit about the place in the process. It’s a shame, what happened. I was sorry to hear of it." I shook my head slowly, my expression darkening as I remembered the stories Kiada had shared with me in the Green Labyrinth. Bits and pieces were still missing, but I’d heard about the birth of Kisamoa, how the lands were ripped back and forth between worlds, about how Helovia had been destroyed, resulting in many of its inhabitants - those who survived - winding up here. It was a sad story. A perpetual reminder that everything had to come to an end, good or bad. To start new beginnings. Yet it was only these good parts of our lives that we remembered, clung onto, and didn't want to ever end. Even when it was time to finally let go.  Rexanna shifted slightly, as if she were uncomfortable. Her countenance had momentarily grown darker at the mention of her lost loved ones. At the sharp pang of longing for them to return. I wanted to help her. I knew I could. Rather than expressing my sympathy aloud, my head merely lowered, just enough for the long strands of mane cascading from my crest to droop in the direction of my chin. "I believe I was also there, at the celebration you speak of. Although I don’t recall seeing you." That couldn’t be the reason why she seemed familiar. My gut told me so. Trust me, I’d mulled over the possibility the moment it was mentioned. Rexanna must’ve been older than me. She portrayed the appearance of someone worldly-wise, who’d perhaps been around a bit - she seemed to know how to look after herself. Was she Kiada’s aunt? Her cousin? Her mother? Could Kiada be one of the children she’d referred to?   She was speaking of a herd now. A gathering of horses, as she phrased it. But these things were more or less the same: safety in numbers. It was dangerous to stay out here at night, even more so in the winter cold. Galahad, who had been listening interestedly, nodding every now and then, chimed in that he, too, sought somewhere to shelter.   Oh. The thought to mention the herd hadn’t yet crossed my mind. Which was surprising, because whenever I’d returned to the Portal it was usually with the intention of finding stray wanderers and bringing them back to Halyven. It made me no less glad, however, that a herd was what they were looking for. Theirs was a question that I did in fact have the answer to. An odd little grin crossed my lips, "Ah, that’s right. Actually, I do know of one- there is only one. There is a herd, in Halyven. We are recently established, and the Rift’s only herd as far as I know. There are many former Helovians among our ranks." I extended the invitation eloquently, more than happy to offer them a place to stay, and perhaps a home. "You could both return there with me, if you wish. And Rexanna... I think there’s someone important you should see." Was there? Hopefully, but I didn’t know for certain. There was a connection, however small, like two ends of a severed rope waiting to be knotted together again. To be one rope, as they should be. That was all I knew.  "Talk." he tells me about the sun — and I tell him about you.

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@Rexanna @Galahad <3