I WAS KISSING STRANGERS \
I WAS CAUSING SUCH A SCENE \
OH, THE HEART \
IT HIDES SUCH UNIMAGIMNABLE THINGS \
Leonidas had appeared one dusk, and much to Lilli's chagrin, had stayed.
As the sun vanished behind the western horizon and night had started to creep along Taigan trails, Leonidas emerged not far from the grove where Lilliana kept her youngest set of twins. Oren and Roselin had been thankfully fast asleep the first time that Lilli had spied the faint glowing orb dancing between a pair of uncharred Sequoias. She had thought it might be one of those fables from her youth brought to life; a will-o'-the-whisp. And if it was, well, had Lilliana been in better (brighter) spirits, she might have laughed.
The chestnut mare had kept her distance from the eery glowing orb but night after night (so long as it was clear), there it was. Lilliana had taken to moving away from her sleeping foals so that when it did appear - whatever it was - it was kept well away from her children. On this particular evening, she has left her children with their sire, Leilan. The Freyr had been on his way back to the Isle after the Alliance and she had left the trio tucked away in the northwestern corner of Taiga. (The Dragon King had been lighting up the eyes of their son and daughter with stories about the Borealis.)
Lilliana has learned that it doesn't matter where she goes. No matter where she is, the little ball of light appears when the sun sets. Some nights it stays longer than others and some nights it only hovers, as if it was waiting for the Taigan mare to decide something. To decide what, she still wasn't sure. If it was a whisp, well, what more could happen? The legends of her ancestors said that they had enjoyed mischief and loved leading weary travelers astray. And that had been one the first thing she thought to the glowing entity: I get lost just fine on my own.
And then the remarkable happened. The ball of light beamed at her before drifting closer to the flame-marked mare.
Surely a child of Aletta knows a star when she sees one.
She had stopped and stared, stunned into silence by the thought that echoed through her mind. A voice - gentle like the summer wind rustling through leaves, calming like a babbling brook - rippled through her mind and Lilliana stared at it - at the star. "Why?" she asked in a whisper. And because this star had a sense of humor, it flickered before floating up towards the tree canopy. The spring branches - still somewhat bare - illuminated and then the star brightened, becoming a beacon in this dark forest that could be seen by other horses in the area.
"Stop," Lilliana said, her voice raising to reach it. "Stop it. Somebody will see you and-." And what? The star thought back. I am glorious. I am meant to be seen. Why should I hide in the dark when I am meant to shine? The star came down and lingered before her, coming to float directly in front of the Taigan. It's (Leonidas) brightness blinded Lilliana to what gracefully came to this part of the wood. It's the scent that hits her nostrils first - something familiar and yet unknown - that makes the slender mare crane her neck around. Peering through the darkness, she sees the shadow of a shape.
Leonidas rises a few feet above the chestnut to reveal a lovely woman dressed in all the colors and glamour that Beqanna is known for. Lilliana's blue eyes aren't unkind but she has no reason to trust strangers. And that reminds her she has no reason to trust stars, either.
But maybe Lilliana senses another hurricane heart like her own and so she goes against her better judgment that says to turn tail and leave the stranger and the star behind her. "Forgive Leonidas," the Taigan says. "It seems he thinks that he is the sun rather than just an ordinary star."
sky full of song - florence + the machine
image credit to footybandit