Each second that passes stretches into infinity, and with each passing moment, he is forced closer and closer to acceptance of the inevitable. That Çiçek was gone, and for now at least, not coming back to him. That she had abandoned him with Şevket without even as much of a goodbye, leaving him to mourn for the ghost of his flower girl. His conscious mind rejects the thought, arguing that he did not have enough evidence to go leaping to conclusions, but it was hard to stay hopeful with nothing to go on.

Eventually, Faolain appears and he is quick to see that she has not come off lightly this Fall either. It seems that they both had been preoccupied with fighting, and he wonders if news had yet reached the Atlantis before deciding that was a silly thought. Of course, it hadn't. Of all the islands, only Atlantis was more insular than Tinuvel, and was arguably more adept at keeping the secrets of its inhabitants. He nods to her tersely as she takes a position before him, and he has to consciously soften his tense posture to appear less threatening. He wasn't here to make problems with Faolain or her family, in fact, it was rather the opposite.

He needed her help.

As much as he hated needing anyone, much less a mare who held no obligation to him, he could not escape the truth. It was perhaps cruel of him to play on her sympathies and connection to Çiçek, but he was at his wit's end. He knew of no other place where he could turn. And once he managed to get Faolain and Rivaini looking for her, he had every intention of continuing onward to Paradise to see if Rougaru would keep an eye out for her as well.

"Faolain," he begins, his voice strained but warm. A part of him hated being here, if only because he knew that getting Faolain and Rivaini involved would only stir up the feelings they held for each other all the more. Still, he would rather another half year of separation from Çiçek than to see her gone forever.

"She was, until a few days ago." Solomon begins quickly, his tail lashing. "She left our son at home with me, but didn't tell him where she was going… and hasn't been back since. I didn't find her on the Crossing or Tinuvel." Solomon knows that Çiçek is a wanderer at heart, and that a part of their arrangement was to allow her the freedom to travel if she wished. But this seemed intrinsically different. His head shakes slightly, already knowing the answer but needing to ask it all the same. "Did she come here? Even in passing?"

Worry strains his voice and he meets her gaze frankly, seeking to mine the truth from her warm brown gaze. He had already lost so many that he knew he should be used to it by now, but the thought of losing Çiçek was more painful than the rest. There was something between them that transcended the boundaries of the relationships he had shared with any of the other mares. She meant more to him than he could properly describe and the thought of never seeing her again made him panicky and unsure.

Solomon