[private] on laugh-silvered wings

[Lepis]

again you’re gone, off on a different path than mine i'm left behind wondering if i should follow Lepis is grazing on the golden wheat when she hears the high-pitched cry. Falling still immediately, she lets the autumn-drying meal drop away, as her quickly raised eyes and flicking ears search for the source. There – a blue shape against the bright blue sky. For a moment her heart races, but the boy is pied rather than brindle. Without pausing to assess the situation farther, Lepis takes to the sky. She does so easily, a result of nearly a year of practice: a single leap and she is airborne. Following his is no more difficult, though she refrains from catching up to him before he lands. She is coming from the west and lands a few dozen meters from the colt. The sandstone is not a gentle landing, so Lepis is slower in her landing than take off. She no longer has agile young joints, and lacks the immortality and the regenerative ability of her family. Though she’s not seen the boy before, the Cleric recognizes him in an instant. This is the son of Oceane and Castile, from his opalescent wings down to the pied blue of his coat. He is family. She loses sight of him as she descends toward the spring he’d landed beside, and pushes through a tangle of monstera and holly to reach him most directly. Alcinder looks startled, and she does not blame him. How is he here, she wonders? Surely Lepis would have been told if his location had been discovered, surely she’d have been able to fulfill her promise to Oceane. Yet here he is, entirely alone and mostly (she thinks) unharmed. Physically anyway, and having been held in captivity herself, the dun mare doesn’t rush to embrace him as she might have. Instead she hangs back, not wanting to further frighten him. “Your parents will be here soon,” she tells him, for surely both the King and the Lady had heard their son’s calls. “They’ll be so glad to see you.” And then, because he had asked and Lepis has always believed in treating even the very young with respect, adds: “I’m Lepis. I’m friends with your mom and dad.” LEPIS i’m the one who sees you home-- but now i’m lost in the woods and i don’t know what path you are on

@[Alcinder]