After the feeling of midsummer festivities had worn off and before old man winter could blow his icy breath across the northern territories, Cheri found herself accompanied by her sire, Yanhua, and on her way south to the borders of Loess. This plan of hers: to relocate from the redwoods and make a new home in the larger southern Kingdom, had been a decision weeks in the making. Cheri had known from a young age that she would leave Taiga someday, not permanently but certainly someday, and after the Eclipse had ended it felt like there wasn’t a better time. Amarine was home now. Her siblings were too old for games, her cousins and aunts and uncles branching out themselves now that the world was bright again. Even her father was busier than ever, helping to raise Cheri’s youngest new siblings from the previous season while adjusting to his role as Guardian. She knew she could’ve stayed in the redwoods forever if she wanted to, but somehow Cheri knew that if she didn’t take that first step toward a new future, it certainly wouldn’t come to her.

She looked back over her shoulder as her father led her past a bend in the main roadway, watching the towering evergreen crowns disappear for good, and her heart clenched with a moment’s worth of anxiety. “This is it.” She thought to herself, turning back to catch up with her sire’s lengthy walk. “I only wish Targaryen was coming too…”

But her childhood friend had gone away after the festival, and Cheri knew she couldn’t wait on him either. Not when the words of another, much darker stallion resonated inside of her.

“Are you even worthy?” He’d asked her that stormy evening in the meadow, when Cheri had been at her lowest and him at his worst. She knew better than to let the casual accusations of a nitwit rile her up, and yet they did. That phrase nettled her so deep that Cheri had taken to remembering it more often than she’d like to admit, making her question everything about herself when she did. Was she worthy? Did she really think herself so special? She hadn’t… until she discovered that she could heal the ill and mend the broken. Then Cheri had felt as tall as a king redwood in the heart of Taiga.

Maybe though, maybe he was right.
Maybe she wasn’t.

“We’re nearly there.” Yanhua spoke up, drawing her out from deep contemplation. Cheri blinked and looked up past him where the landscape was becoming more barren and diverse, noticing how the soil was changing from dirt to clay and how the jagged peaks of red rock spires loomed in the distance. It was still mid-morning, and a soupy fog clung to the air and also to Cheri’s skin. She pulled her wings close to her sides, grateful for the halo of light created by herself and her father’s aesthetic traits, but the two paused when the sound of clashing bones broke up the silence.

A pair of rutting bucks swung their sharp horns at one another and then stopped, interrupted by the traveling pair of horses. With shivering tails they waited, hesitant to start again, but her father blew a heavy snort and sent them bounding off into wilderness where they could finish their quarrel elsewhere. “Healthy boys, the both of them. That’s a good sign.” Her father commented, and Cheri rolled her eyes. Sure, sure. She was much more interested in the location they stopped at, lifting her eyes to peer as high as she could. Cheri took in her first sights with an impish grin. “What now?” She asked Yanhua, who looked at his daughter with a slow smile. Cheri readjusted and watched her father clear his throat before he whickered a casual greeting. Then Cheri joined in, her pitch a much higher tone than that of her rumbling dad, laughing afterwards while the two waited for an answer.

Whatever Cheri had expected, it certainly had not been the Oceane that greeted them. Yanhua himself had never met the Queen of the Southern Lands, preferring to distance himself as much as possible from his heritage there, but the lady in command of this region had been at the helm for years now - her name was tied to her status and well-known throughout the territories. Cheri had practiced word for word with her father, hoping to avoid looking like an unlearned imbecile when confronted with the mare in the flesh, but as the vibrantly clear response cut through the dinge of fog her tongue felt heavy and cumbersome anyways. She could feel her nerves dissolving, but her father - ever the stalwart guide - leaned a broad shoulder against Cheri’s side and sent her quiet glimpses of the crystalline flowers back home. A memory they shared; one that renewed her tepid courage.

“It’s our pleasure to be here.” Her father was first to reply, sensing Cheri’s racing pulse underneath her skin. He smiled and focused entirely on the presence of their host and her generosity. “I’m Yanhua from Taiga, and this -” He motioned with the sideways tilt of his horns, “- is one of my elder daughters, Cheri.”

Here it was: her big moment.
Cheri’s side felt suddenly bare as her father stepped away and turned his gaze down at her, expectant. It would’ve been so easy then to glance back at him for support, but fearing she would crumble from nervousness if she did, Cheri swallowed her doubt and cleared her throat.

“He - hello your highness. Lady Oceane.” She stumbled through the first part, gathering momentum as she went on. It was hard not to be awed by the other mare’s presence, astounding as it was. Oceane looked positively mythical; her skin shimmered faintly like fairy dust and blended itself seductively throughout. Hues of an evening sky, Cheri thought. Radiantly lovely. She felt awkward and garish standing in front of such a display. “It would be my honor if you would allow me an apprenticeship here, in Loess. I come from a small herdland in the north and cannot offer much but my desire to learn and grow, which I hope will prove useful to your Kingdom some day. Please,” Cheri’s tone was hopeful, “if you have an opening in your ranks - anywhere, it does not matter - I would like to fill it.”

There. She could breathe again. Adrenaline still had her pulse racing, but Cheri could smile at least and not make it look pathetic. Standing alongside her, Yanhua spoke up briefly on her behalf.

“She’s a dedicated pupil and an avid healer. Her talents exceed my ability to train, and quite frankly I think they would find better use if shared with the world.” He laughed softly, not unkind. “Taiga itself is and always has been a place freely open for travelers, strangers, and friends alike. Unfortunately, this means I cannot freely offer you exclusive treaties. However, I can freely offer you my personal aid and any power at my disposal should you need it.” Her father’s tone leveled out into a deep, assured bass. Their peace and petition over with, Cheri could only stand and wait impatiently - though what she wanted was to dance right out of her skin. “Be calm, be cool.” The young ward schooled herself, not wanting to seem like a flighty sort of creature when she’d just promised the Queen of the South that she would be the exact opposite of that. “But please, please say yes.”

Whatever her father was thinking, Yanhua hid it well behind a nod and a smile. Cheri supposed she’d never seen her sire in action and she would’ve never guessed that the tall, patient stallion would be as comfortable navigating social waters with royalty as he was proving to be. He’d always been her Pappa: a figurehead of their family unit, loving albeit stern when necessary. He used to love locking horns with Mem and Rey when they were all little foals, but as Cheri recalled those memories she was surprised to find that her father only ever really ‘goofed off’ when uncle Nash came to visit. With a flicker of his ear in her direction, Cheri blinked and focused on the present, aware that her sire had probably caught a residual echo from her and her wayward mind. “Focus.” She reminded herself.

Yanhua was quick to the point. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” He told Oceane, and just like that the topic had come back around to Cheri.

Oceane had a smile that suited her lovely features. Neither too wide nor too tense, it blossomed naturally and lifted her expression along with it. In response, Cheri’s own dark face seemed to brighten. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” She squealed, hardly believing her good luck. She turned her neck to gauge Yanhua’s reaction and found that he was already looking back, proud as ever to witness his offspring’s joy. There was, however, a subtle pull around the edges of his eyes; something akin to sadness. Whether it came from her father or not, Cheri was reminded of the first adventure they’d ever taken together - that fateful trip down the river’s pathway to the Forest, right before the Eclipse had happened.

Yanhua was watching his children grow up. Cheri was still much too young to understand that kind of love, and so she turned to look back at Oceane before a minute had passed.

“I’m ready to start whenever you’d like, Lady.” She proclaimed, a fountain of boundless energy coiled up and ready to spring. A moment ago she’d been feeling the effects of walking since before dawn, (she had her father to thank for that - he was hopelessly pitiful at flying) but now she slid her legs sideways and sashayed on lightened hooves to peck Yanhua at the base of his neck. “Love you Pappa, I’ll come visit soon! Give Saturnelle and Wit a hug for me.” She asked him breathlessly, trotting away to join Oceane on her side of the borderlands.

Her father rolled his eyes. “I’ll miss you too.” The chestnut nettled, adjusted his pale wings with a smirk. “Oceane, if she causes you any trouble say the word and I’ll yank her home again.” He teased. “Take care you two.” The Taigan Guardian wished them well, curling his head into a stiff bow. He lingered only long enough to hear any parting words from the Queen, then with a flap of one wing he waved them off and turned back for home.

It all felt so … magical. The world she’d grown up and could now see in the light of day had always been that for Cheri, just a little magical in its own way. Comforting, but different now. There was as much joy as sadness in the redwoods, now that Lilliana had gone away, and like Oceane her thoughts center on the same line of consideration when it comes to watching her father turn tail and head home: he is a busy stallion and time waits for no horse, except those who commanded it to. Besides, Cheri knew in her heart that if he stayed her courage might leave her, she might never want him to go.

It was better this way. She could always fly home during the summer if their world stayed on course without interruption.

Now she’s officially a member of Loess. It takes a dip of her father’s horns and a winged curtsy from Oceane to cement that fact, which seems about as magical a thing as any that Cheri’s witnessed since the Eclipse. “A good kind of magic though.” She thinks to herself, just before the Queen turns to address her.

“Explore and introduce myself. I think I can manage that.” She laughed with a voice as light as the wind. Cheri wanted nothing more. “I know you’re busy as well, I won’t keep you.” She ducked her head, light glinting off the crystals growing out of her skin. “Once I’ve settled in could I call on you again to discuss what I’ve discovered? And to talk a little more about my magic.” Cheri asked.