A Friend and A Leader

Morana sighed as she looked at the campfire flickering in the night. The fire had burned low, barely more than small flames and a mass of embers, but it was still comforting.

Sidra lay on the other side, her familiar purring from the heat of the embers. Morana glanced over her shoulder to where Shade sat in a tree, overlooking them all.

It was a peaceful night for sure, the soft sounds of night swirling with the crackling of flame and ember.

“What is on your mind?” Sidra asked, and Mor blinked, looking away from the flames.

“I don’t know,” Morana admitted. It had been a few days since the others had left, since the crazy mother had been apprehended.

“It seems so strange. I don’t feel like we really had a conclusion. The mother was still crazy, the foal… probably traumatized. They didn’t seem to be connected to that weird village, although the mother staged most of her plans from that area. There are just so many loose ends,” Mor admitted.

Sidra sighed and nodded. “I know how you feel,” she replied softly.

Mor tilted her head, looking at Sidra.

“Why did you choose to stay with me?” Mor asked suddenly.

Sidra looked over the dying fire at Morana, her pale eyes looking a bit lost.

“I don’t know. Perhaps the little group would be better off with Sulien,” Sidra said with a sigh.

“What?” Morana said, surprised. “But you were the one to earn the land, you are their leader!”

Sidra looked down at the fire again and was silent for a few moments.

“I don’t feel much like a leader. A friend, perhaps. Sulien is more of a leader. He promised our whole lives that he would follow me, be with me, a constant companion. But… something changed. He helped out more and more, and I noticed the others started going to him with their problems instead of me. Then… he changed. We used to have such an easy affection, such a camaraderie. But he started pulling away, not reaching out for me anymore, not really seeming to care,” Sidra sighed.

Morana tried to consider it impartially, but after being around Sidra and going through the past few weeks by her side, it was hard to do. Part of her was angry with Sulien and the others but…

“Have you been acting like a leader? Or have you just been keeping the status quo?” Mor asked.

Sidra shrugged. “I don’t want to lord over them. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t bring things to me, or be friendly with me. I don’t want to lose that. So I guess…. I guess I haven’t been,” she said.

Mor looked up at the night sky.

“They may have been your friends first. But… look at my mother for example. When she is in command, she is the Law. But when she is among friends, and there is nothing for her to attend to, she is just their friend. It’s about balance, and everyone understanding their place. Lullaby will lay down Eira’s law at a moment's notice, and will run the land when she is in absence. But among friends, around a campfire, she is still the same friend they always knew,” Mor replied. ”You can be both. A friend, and a leader. It just takes time and practice. If you hold yourself back from them, it won’t work. You have to be open and honest, take critique when it comes because it will come, and learn together.”

“A friend and a leader,” Sidra murmured. “I…. I think I could do that.”