Eden's large body and steady hooves made for a peaceful journey down the mountains.

Nerluce spent most of it talking loudly with Lyana - who rode upon a chestnut mare that had eaten more sugar cubes than any other horse in the stables. At one point Aristide had dropped the pace of his own horse - and, of course, he rode the only horse as big or mean as Eden, the black mare, Lilith - just to tell them to shut up. He hadn't actually said that. He just glared at both of them until their conversation sort of dried up and then picked up his pace again.

When he was out of earshot, Nerluce scoffed. "Ass. Just because he's a Head Disciple or whatever doesn't give him a right to boss us around."

"It kind of does," Eko said.

Nerluce made a face at them. Eko was... well Nerluce had a hard time pinning down any details relating to Eko. They were quiet, a stickler for the rules, and smart. They didn't seem very interested in talking to anyone and even though they slept in the boy's half of the room, Nerluce didn't feel like he knew them any better than when he first arrived.

Not that he knew much about Corbett or Hamelin either.

"It wouldn't kill him to show a bit more humility," Corbett said from behind because Nerluce did know that he couldn't keep his nose out of a conversation. "He might be higher ranking but he isn't that much older."

"We don't know how old he is, Corbett," Eko said, their tone pulling tight as they turned their head to give Corbett a dry stare. "Magick can alter aging."

"Oh yeah!" Lyana said, brightening. "I remember Taayir telling us about that!"

"I absolutely do not," Nerluce chimed.

In front of Nerluce and Lyana, Jurine scoffed. She was riding beside Eko. They seemed friends, at least sort of? They were both smart and Eko seemed to prefer talking with Jurine if they had to talk with anyone. "Nerluce, I'm certain you've seen the effects magic has on the body. Hebikotis are known for their magic."

Nerluce hummed in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, I've seen it." A chill went down his spine. "It's creepy if you ask me."

"Creepy?" Corbett squawked. "It's the most appealing part of magick! It-"

"My father looks like he's... twenty-five?" Nerluce pressed his brows together. "That's only like... ten years older than me. That's creepy."

"You have a point," Lyana said.

"Yeah," Jurine said, turning her head. "Both of my parents practice and they still look... young. Not that young but still too young for them to have had a daughter my age." She cleared her throat and turned to look at Corbett who huffed a surrender.

Oddly enough it was Eko who spoke next, "I wonder what the Chosen Light will look like?" They seemed just as surprised as everyone else was that they'd let the comment slip out. Their face flushed and they turned away. "Well, it's generally assumed that the sooner you start practicing magic and the more powerful your magic is, the younger you'll look."

"Aw shit," Lyana said. "Do you think I'll look like I'm twelve forever?"

"You only look like you're twelve because you're short," Nerluce said.

"And you're flat-chested," Jurine added, her eyes light and teasing.

Lyana let out an offended noise but Nerluce couldn't help but laugh. Lyana snapped something back about how Jurine was really one to talk about being flat-chested and the two girls bickered between one another. Their spirits were high and they continued their banter back and forth. Nerluce didn't know if people were just in a good mood because they were finally getting to leave the mountain or how it was one of those rare warm days.

It was... good. Nerluce was with people he liked - people he was friends with even. He didn't really know how to process that. Being friends with people.

"What do you think this is about?" Lyana asked, and though she posed the question to anyone, she was looking at Nerluce. Nerluce blinked, wondering if he'd missed something when he dazed off because everyone was looking at him.

"Why would I know?" Nerluce asked, panic swelling.

Jurine shrugged. It was a loose movement that Nerluce might not have even noticed if she wasn't riding on the horse right in front of him. "Well, you are Taayir's favorite."

Eko nodded, solemnly. "Teacher's pets usually know things."

"What?" Nerluce asked, feeling vaguely scandalized. "I must be hearing things because you did not just call me a teacher's pet!"

Lyana snorted. "It's true, though," she said. "Taayir likes you. No one else goes in for extra lessons."

"Taayir does not like me," Nerluce said. "She doesn't like anyone!"

"Well you're the one that she dislikes the least," Lyana said, throwing one hand out in a dramatic gesture and almost falling off the mare in the process. Once she'd steadied herself again she turned to Nerluce, giving him a foul glare. "So did she really tell you nothing about where we're going?"

"Yes," Nerluce said, "because I'm not a teacher's pet."

Behind him, Corbett had the nerve to scoff.

Nerluce couldn't tell why this had upset him so much. But the term "teacher's pet" was meant for students like Eko and Jurine. Students who were smart and got every question right when they were called on. Not for... Nerluce. He still didn't have the nerve to answer Taayir's questions seriously unless he was absolutely certain of the answer - and that only happened every one in ten questions she asked.

Which wasn't good! Nerluce had never been a good student, though! He was bad at both academics and magics! His tutors all felt a similar loathing for him as all his masters but... well why didn't Taayir? Nerluce would admit that she was very different from any master he'd had before but... he couldn't pinpoint why.

That didn't make him a teacher's pet, though.

It didn't come up again for the rest of the ride down the mountain and into the flatlands of Lailusha. However, they did exchange some guesses as to why they were going to the Ever Forest.

"It makes sense," Corbett said, "that we're going to help some village with like... a feral fire spirit."

"Too much sense," Jurine said, narrowing her eyes. "It's not like Taayir to do something that... obvious. We're going to go help some little village with like... irrigation or flooding."

"Wouldn't students with a water affinity be better suited for that task?" Nerluce asked.

"That would be too easy for them," Jurine said, crossing her arms. "I'm certain that we're going to have to solve the problem by thinking outside of the box."

"My best guess is that it's a test of some kind," Eko said.

"A test?" Lyana asked.

Hamelin spoke then in his impossibly low voice. "That makes sense. They need to narrow down who will become Seraphs sooner or later."

"Perhaps the test has already started," Jurine said, looking around suspiciously.

"Perhaps," Corbett echoed, looking at Jurine suspiciously.

"Well," Nerluce said, clasping his hands together. "It has been a pleasure knowing you. My time at Ethera was much longer than I expected and I'm glad that I got to meet all of you." He bowed as low as he could on horseback without falling off.

Eden snorted unhappily.

They all laughed once again and Lyana was even nice enough to tell Nerluce not to worry about it. However, it seemed that Jurine's words had gotten to everyone so the rest of the ride through the flatlands was quiet until they made camp. And then everyone was so tired that they fell asleep without speaking.

___

They rose the next day - just as early as the first and with Taayir making the same, obnoxious amount of noise.

Nerluce groaned but grit his teeth and forced himself to stand and go about his morning routine. He packed quickly and readied Eden for the ride. He even managed to slip the great horse a couple of treats to put him in a better mood as well. He hadn't thrown Nerluce yet, but Nerluce didn't exactly trust Eden unless Nerluce had bought him off with treats.

It was when Nerluce was feeding Eden apple slices that Lyana approached.

"Is your horse going to kill me because everyone acts like he will," she said, approaching Eden with less caution than anyone not short on sanity Nerluce had ever seen. Eden stomped his foot and snorted in irritation but he didn't actively seek to murder Lyana which seemed a general improvement on his temperament.

Nerluce stroked Eden's side as a... reward for not murdering his friend. "He's a warhorse," Nerluce said. "He could kill you if he wanted to so... I think it's best to bribe him with apples and not touch him."

"I've missed riding," Lyana said, turning to her own mare. "I've... I've missed a lot of things about my home."

"Do you have any chores in the stables?"

Lyana hummed a confirmation. "It's different though," she said. "I guess being in the stables helps but... it doesn't help." She shook her head. "That doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"No," Nerluce said. "I get it."

She smiled at him. "If Eko is right and... this is a test, a part of me hopes that I'm going to fail," she said. "I mean, I know I won't fail, the Head Priestess won't let me fail, but... I just want to go home." She turned her head up to the skies. "Nerluce, if you had all the power in the world what would you want to do with it?"

Nerluce frowned, trying to seriously think about her question. What would he, realistically do with Lyana's power? Not make Lord Father feel ashamed to even look at him. Be seen as an equal to Coam. Make people shut up about how it was his mother's dirty blood that made him so poor at magic or academics or whatever they wanted him to do this time around.

However, even with all of that, the answer seemed obvious. "I would sit in a tree and eat apples," Nerluce said. "I wouldn't wake up until the sun is in the center of the sky and I'd lay around forever."

Lyana smiled, wistfully. "We have a lot in common, I think."

"Yeah," Nerluce said, looking her up and down. "Lyana... why are you here? Did your... did your family force you to come too or..."

The unspoken words seemed louder than anything actually spoken between the two.

And slowly, Lyana nodded. "Yeah," she said. "The Head Priestess... rescued me from poverty and savagery." She turned her head, looking at the rising sun and the lovely colors it turned the sky. Were the pastels the same here as the ones that painted her homeland? "It sounds pretty, don't it?"

"How far do you think we'd get if we hopped on our horses and ran?" Nerluce asked.

Lyana let out a burst of laughter. "You might manage it but me?" She shook her head as if freedom were a fantasy. "We wouldn't even make it to the nearest river before Aristide came and pulled us back by the ears."

"Has he done that before?" Nerluce asked. Whispered.

For a long time, Lyana didn't answer, which was an answer in itself. "I was in Ethera for... 'bout a year, I suppose before they threw me to train with the fire affinity kids." She gave him a small, sad smile. "You never thought someone from the horse tribes could be outpaced on horseback but... that monster is something else."

"Yeah," Nerluce said. "He is."

"I was talking about the mare."

"I know." Nerluce turned to look at Lyana. "But Lilith isn't the monster you should be scared of."