As nomadic as Çiçek can be, she has found no dearth of places to lay her head at night. The dunalino smiles at Siobhan’s reassurances, flattered; day by day, she realizes, her chosen family grows larger, with more and more connections spreading across the Isles like the birds fluttering overhead. Would that she could be more like them, free to dance between homes, not a care in the world… but her actions, unlike theirs, have farther-reaching consequences. Her loved ones do not follow, as theirs do, but linger in place, watching her leave and feeling the sting of her absence. Even if she could detach herself emotionally, there is another life, now, she has to consider, one that might benefit more from firm roots in rich soil than from tossing about like puffs of dandelion seeds on the wind. “Thank you, my friend,” she says in response to the red mare’s generous offer, reverence seeping into her dulcet tones, even as she wishes she never needs to take it. I hope you’re right.

To her mild surprise, Siobhan doesn’t shy from her careful probing. Çiçek listens, her expression soft, and takes in all that the mare shares with her, giving her the space to talk about everything she wants and nothing she doesn’t. Sometimes, she knows, the best response is silence - and she keeps quiet until Sio finishes, taking a long moment to look at her before stepping forward and blowing a warm, reassuring breath over her small muzzle. “What a life you’ve lived,” she says simply, almost in awe, “with so many difficult choices.” How lucky, in a way, for them to have found each other.

Çiçek draws back at Siobhan’s next question. When would she tell them? “Not - not yet,” she replies, awkward again and uncomfortable about it. Her voice turns light, though she can’t keep all the anxiety out. “I guess I’ll have to when I start showing, huh?” It’s her turn to break eye contact, staring down at the ground, then back, determined. “I will tell them, though. Before I go, I will.” She owes her Guardians that much.

Çiçek pauses for a moment, her breath pulling from her pale lips in a soft sigh. “Now,” she says, breaking the heavy silence, “where exactly is this waterfall you spoke of earlier?” Another grin graces her features, her eyes glimmering again with lighthearted mirth. “I think both of us could use a few rainbows.”