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Tastes Like Summer was wandering around, near the edges of the swamp, close to the borderlands as she was often want to do, but still the ground beneath her hooves was squishy and soft with the wetness of the swamp. She was to have another clutch of children and though her time with Thunder had been nice enough, she was glad to be back with Waltz. Thunder had been so kind and sweet, a gentleman, but in the end, Waltz had always been on her mind. And he had waited for her and she wasn't so sure what to say anymore. Three times, she had left, and three times he had waited for her return, and now, she didn't know if she would leave again, or if she wanted to at all. Starburst comforted herself with the knowledge that her children would be strong and Thunder and herself had parted on good terms, she wouldn't be surprised if he came to visit, but even if he didn't, Waltz would love them and care for them. If there was something that bugged her about how she had parted ways with Thunder, it was that she never got a chance to ask him what it was he was searching for either. She would be happy to help him find whatever it was that he was looking for.

Bending her head down to graze, Starburst began thinking about seeking out a legendary for a blessing on her children. It wasn't her first clutch, but legendaries always seemed to stumble upon her rather than her actually seeking one out. Perhaps it would be so again.

Starburst edged forward again, choosing this time to take a sip of water when her eye was caught by movement. It was strange, beautiful crane that had taken a few steps towards her. She paused to watch it, looking at the fins, which were quite strange, rising from its head and its- Oh. It's eyes were glowing, dark purple-black. She had been approached enough times by a legendary in their second form to recognize that it was the glow of their eyes that gave them away. Starburst immediately dipped down into a low bow. "Swamp-blessed one, it is an honor."

The crane is incredibly graceful, beautiful and in some ways both more and less imposing than the other legendaries that she has met. There is something calming about this one though, something in its elegant form that puts Starburst at ease. The hazy mirage of a form gathered behind the crane and Starburst is taken in by the mare's beautiful form.

There seems something maternal about this doe and Starburst feels comfortable speaking when otherwise, she might have deferred to the legendary, laughing softly at her inability to express her thoughts in words though she wants to speak, "Forgive me, I still find myself at a loss for words though I am not longer as young as a I once was. I- Ah-"

Again she laughed softly, remembering her interaction with the shadowy mare that she had met so long ago when she had barely been able to stutter out a greeting. She hadn't planned for what she would do should she meet a legendary today. And so she turned her mind in a different direction, seeking wisdom. "He was searching for something and I don't know what, and now I think, perhaps I have been searching, yet I do not even know what I am searching for. Do we all live in a search for something? Is that the Ache?"

Can we find it?

But once spoken, Starburst felt silly. The swamp was not such a complicated place, certainly not for many kin that she had met, or at least not as far as she or they could tell. "Apologies, I seem to be out of sorts today."

Starburst watched in rapture as the mare grew more and more solid while the crane faded. She watched the crane and mare's movements mirror each other and wondered at the immense power the swamp blessed these strange, wise kimeti with.

She listened, attentive as the mare spoke for, if asked, Starburst would say that she was ashamed of how she had only ever merely asked for blessings when that was not their purpose in the swamp, at least not how Starburst understood it. They had been blessed, ascended, for their connection to the swamp and therefore possessed wisdom that she could not begin to imagine.

She nodded, though at this moment the meaning had not quite sunken in, at least not the true depth and the most revealing meaning of the mare's words. That would come later and would change everything, but until then, until Thunder returned with his hare's foot blessing and the children were born and even further down the line when the children were grown and gone, she was just a doe, not young, not old who hadn't yet come to understand even herself.

Starburst looked down, a little bit bashful at her questions, but looked up and smile again, relaxed, her worries stilled for the time being. "I sometimes wonder if legendaries such as yourself ever get tired of knowing exactly when a doe is with child. But- Ah- Even now, when this is not my first clutch, I'm still not sure how blessings are asked for. I worry little about this clutch, their father is a good buck and the father who will raise them even better. Though perhaps the three of us lack wisdom."

She laughed, low and soft, "Their siblings have turned out well enough, very well even, so I trust in your judgement and wisdom."