A memory of light

You gotta have the patience and believe you're gonna make it
Gotta hold on

She had to hand it to Volterra, he did know how to calm a mare down. Because she did, eventually, as soon as the voice had faded and the flames had quieted, merely smoldering at the tips of her hair and the rim of the feathers of each wing. It alarmed her at first, but when she found that the dripping flames did not harm her or set fire to the ground - that would have been a feat for any magician in these conditions - Erthë was able to accept it. Elemental effects had been a common occurrence in Helovia - it was just that she had never been party to something quite so dramatic before.

Closing her eyes to shut out the madness of this new world for a moment, the little mare nestled herself deeper into Volterra's embrace, permitting herself the luxury of his touch for a moment. Magic surged and pulsated around them and within her, wreaking havoc with the innate magic she possessed. The coldness of her skin grew more intense, made feral by the dark energies of this wild place; without being able to control it Erthë felt it rear a biting cold head against the stallion.

Quickly she tore herself away, hoping that the frost within her had not been able to do any harm to her friend - and lover? - and her eyes were rather wild as she added this to the ever growing list of reasons why someone ought to throttle Kisamoa. It was his fault, all of it. The death, the pain, the fear, the fire and this place - and she was sure he was to blame for the foals too, even though the dark-coated little devil had finally stopped playing at being a sprinter and collapsed in an undignified pile on the ground, panting and moaning with a soft voice that did nothing to make her care.

Poor kids, she thought. To have a mother like her.

Too tired and wrung out to object, the little mare nodded her acceptance of Volterra's offer. Company meant safety, and while she did not enjoy the thought of being part of the exiled king's harem - she was not going to be his broodmare - it was far better than spending the night alone in this forest.

"Yes... We'll come" she mumbled, and began to pick up the objects she had strewn about herself. The large purple feather from the Goddess' wing, the black fang, the now useless bow... should she leave it lie, and let the demons of this hellish place do as they wanted with it? But no. Better not... if Kaos had interest in it, then Erthë would not dare to throw it away. The little acorn gave her pause however, for the gentle glow had disappeared and instead it looked as if the charm was absorbing all the light around them, until the eerie luminescence of the trees and plants appeared to fade entirely.

She was about to leave it, but then the dark-coated colt came waddling towards her, and nosed it curiously.

"You can have it" she told him, and felt a lump begin to form in her throat as he looked up at her with big, luminous purple eyes.

Her mother's eyes.

That's right, the kids needed names. She had almost forgotten. Hastily she raffled through a few different alternatives in her mind, then turned to the boys one at a time, from oldest to youngest.

"I will call you Van" she told the boy with eyes of gemstone and those funny leathery wings, "after your father and... and mine... "

Her voice trembled, the grief in it so raw that there could be no doubt about his fate. May this child escape the shadows of death that had haunted her family for so many years.

"And you, " she turned to the pale child, so peculiarly similar to herself, "I'll name Alvah. And now, let's hurry up and leave this place before something else happens. Please!"

Without further ado she rounded up the foals and nodded to Volterra to leave the way.

I know you're tired of surviving but you gotta keep on trying
Hold on!

Erthë out :D