Without the Dark, We'd Never See the Stars[Sid pony]

[Scorch]

WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

Lately, her time has been spent in the darker, more secretive parts of Beqanna, wherein the mare dozes and sleeps, eating and drinking as required but not wanting for much. Since her resurrection, she has found herself content to spend time with Hestoni, projecting her conscious into the after-realm and holding tightly on to the dear man with whom she had made her entire life, her entire empire, her entire family. It was a quiet existence - a far cry from the uproarious and authoritative life she used to lead, as Khaleesi of the now long-gone Jungle.

She doesn't mind, however. Even now, after rebirth, her bones are old and her will to be on top are weaker and happier to rest and relax. The once power-hungry mare finds that thickets and slow moving streams are now more to her liking; most of the time, anyway.

As the sun sets on the well-worn grasses of the meadow (the only land that seems to have not changed since she returned), Scorch winds her way out of her hiding place to stretch her legs and exercise her mind. Long hours had she just spent in commune with Hestoni, and although she revels in their time together, the mare knows well enough that her being alive again is a gift, and one that if squandered, would surely become a curse.

With a flick of an eyelid, the ugly, hairless creature sees her surroundings night vision. No great commotion disturbs the plains of the meadow tonight, so Scorch settles down to graze for some time, ears perked to the sounds of the night animals. That is, she is settling, until her eyes catch a glimpse of light that does not belong in a nighttime setting. Nostrils widening, the scarred woman focuses on the features of the young filly, and then on the light that she manipulates.

Nickering softly (a sound that anyone from Before would have been stunned to hear coming from the warrior), Scorch approaches the girl, and is just in time to hear her muttered words. Strange, thought Scorch. And yet as she drew even nearer, she found herself sympathizing with the girl - for had she herself not been disconnected from her true family? Swapped at birth and raised by the wrong mother, raised to be the Queen of the wrong kingdom? Indeed, she had been.

"Tell me your name, girl, and the name of your parents, if you know them." A tendril of soft yellow light materializes between the two figures as Scorch speaks, and she sends the tendril to wind between the legs of the dark girl, illuminating her both familiar and unfamiliar figure softly. "Though Beqanna is large, I happen to think we may have something in common."

Scorch

Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle