The mare was quickly starting to believe that she had inherited the role of the welcoming committee.
Yet, a woman falling from a portal in the sky and into the oasis pool while Eden munched contentedly on night lilies and sweet grasses was not the sort of welcome that she wanted to get used to giving. Head snapping upward and muscles tensing with the shock of what she was seeing, the golden lass' amber eyes scoured the rippling surface of the oasis pool for a heartbeat, waiting for the mare to resurface. When two heartbeats passed and nothing burst forth from the sandy depths, Eden rushed forward, golden hooves pressing semi circles into the spongy earth as she neared the lip of the pool. On the third heartbeat, the stranger's head broke the water, lips parted as she gasped for air, a horrible desperation in those ruby eyes.
"Yes, come this way, you can do it. Come," Encouraged the warrioress as the stranger fought toward the shore, not believing for one moment that the unnamed mare wouldn't lash out if Eden were to stray too close; the stranger was all things primal now, she was struggling and fighting for life, grabbing hold of the thin string that tied each creature to their existence and refusing to let go.
It was not the kind of panic that you could approach.
Brow creasing, Eden let her eyes wander over the woman, checking quickly for any life threatening injuries and finding none, the paladin let her gaze follow that of the strangers - to the shrinking portal. A plethora of questions exploded into the maiden's mind, burning at her tongue and prancing over her lips, but she knew better than to give voice to them. She would do nothing but pour salt in the wounds of a heartsick woman, and that was not what she had been placed in this world to do. Taking a few careful steps toward the gold decorated woman as she sunk to her knees, noting the agony etched into every line of her body, Eden stopped a few feet from the stranger before lowering herself to the earth as well.
The shield maiden sat there in silence with the unknown woman for some time, mourning with her and sharing in her grief - though Eden knew nothing of the soul shattering pain that brushed itself over the mare, she did her best to help shoulder some of the weight.
Eons passed, it seemed, before the golden girl found the will to speak, "Where there is life, there is hope."
@Ranjiri hi bby
