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The pale blue mare seemed to blend in with the gentle silence of winter around her. She stood at the edge of a pond that had frozen over and stared down at her reflection.

Oh, how she had changed. Gentle, sloping figure turned...horse.

The mare sighed, biting her bottom lip.

What had happened to her summoner? Was she dead? Had she won the fight she was in? What of Sin? Had it been vanquished?

Shiva would never know.

The thought of this brought a single tear rolling down her cheek and into the snow. This was what she was now. Who she was now. There was nothing but this paltry existence for the formerly powerful Aeon of ice. Summon of blizzard. Queen of Winter.

No. She was stronger than this. More regal.

How many wars had she seen? How many foes had she singlehandedly defeated? How many summoners had cowed down to her, realizing they were no match for her strength? Her will? Her beauty?

Shiva stood a little straighter and tore her eyes away from the pond. She was Winter incarnate. She was power. She was the essence of the elements.

She could survive this.

As the mare turned around she was startled to see Archernar so close behind her. She had not heard him approach.

"How long have you been there?" she demanded. She would be damned if this peasant saw her cry.

Shiva's bottom lip twitched in annoyance as he spoke. Great lady indeed. She used to be even greater still. The world trembled when she was angry. Armies fell before her might. She was a thing of power and beauty and death.

The mare turned away from him and back to the frozen pond. She took a step forward and tested the thin ice with a large forehoof, knowing before her weight had settled that it would crack. The ice gave way with a light pop and in it grew a series of fractures so small and interwoven that it was as if a spider's web had somehow been encased. It was beautiful. Shiva could no longer do such a thing with the sheer power of her will but it comforted her to know that she could still weave beauty out of nature. She pulled her hoof away, knowing any more weight would ruin her creation.

Shiva had fully intended to ignore the stallion until he spoke again. Her ear twitched and flattened for a moment, her composure breaking for just that split second. An apology.

Hm. Curious.

"Ixion is about somewhere, I am sure. He would not venture too far without letting me know," they were all the other had of their old world, after all. Then, after a pause, "Your apology is accepted for now. It is impolite to sneak up on an Aeon. In my home, the consequence for insolence against me was death," she responded severely.

Shiva was curious as to how the stallion would respond.

The stallion was bold. He did not seem to flinch from the severity of her tone, nor did the concept of death for defying her stop him. He persisted and yet strained to be respectful despite her brusque manner. This made her turn away from the pond and inspect him with a disapproving look on her face. This world truly knew nothing of Spira. Knew nothing of her…There was no going back. No summoners. No Yuna.

The truth of the situation formed a lump in her throat but she repressed it, refusing to allow him to see that she was in distress. A lady of her stature was not the kind to break down in front of a stranger. Instead, she turned the feeling inward to a homesick melancholy. She was unsure what about this stallion made her want to answer him. Perhaps it was that she would feel closer to home should she tell him the story of her world and her kind. Perhaps it would relieve the pain she felt deep in her heart to the core of her spirit.

“Aeons,” she said finally, peeling her angry gaze away from his form and back to her ice creation, “are,” her words stumbled for a split second, “were, I am a spirit of great power,” she finished, regaining her strength. “We are powered by the dreams of strong individuals. Who I once was is gone. I am now Shiva, a goddess of snow and ice. Warriors named Summoners fought for my favor and only the strongest and smartest would gain my aid. I fought to protect them and they honored me in my temple. My…last summoner was brave, strong girl. She wanted to save the world. She did. We did.”

That was the simplest way she could explain it to him. How do you explain that you are…were once the essence of a blizzard? The strength of the howling winter wind? Words could not truly do justice what she once was and who she used to be. Now she was a …a mare. She was normal again. She could not remember the last time she was a mere mortal. How long had she been dead before she became Shiva? How long had she been Shiva before her world almost ended?

Shiva found herself taken aback by his kindness. She knew she had not been…pleasant to him. In fact, she had subtly threatened him many times whenever she had seen him. More than once, she had resisted the urge to use physical violence upon him for his mere presence. Yet here he was, showing nothing but kindness to her. Genuine kindness. Not the reverent kindness of a worshipper or the fear driven kindness of an enemy. This was no kindness of self-preservation as he appeared not to fear her. Even when she glared at him for so long, the stallion did not flinch under her piercing gaze. No. He held his ground. He…He reminded her of Yuna, in that way. His eyes shown with a similar, self-less light. It made her want to talk to him, even if only for a while. Perhaps that similarity was why he had felt the need to tell him anything at all.
The mare turned her gaze upon him once more, but this time, the harsh glare was replaced with a gentle, faint smile, as light as the first snowflakes of Winter. His kindness helped stave off the ache of homesick loneliness.
“There is no need for you to apologize for my fate. It was not you that caused it. In my world, dreams are things of immense power…Perhaps I merely woke up,” the thought had not occurred to her before. What if this was her true form after all?
At his compliment, her ear flicked back and her smile turned to a look of amusement, her lips turning up in a faint smirk. He was brave, wasn’t he? It had been many, many years since one had complimented her in such a way.
“I suppose it is, yes. Thank you…Archernar,” yes, she had remembered his name from their previous encounter,”That is a strong name,” she repaid the compliment in kind.

“Tell me,” she spoke again, so as to breeze past the rare compliment, “Where exactly am I?”