[private] you can't hold back time

[Nashua]

Nashua’s mood had been like weather on the Isle of late. 

The copper pegasus stared out across a gray sea, but the day was so overcast that even the foaming whitecaps escaped Nash’s notice. Everything since his return from Hyaline feels muted - like the journey to reclaim his son from Gale and Mazikeen had sapped the last of his reserves. Noel’s worry, Ciri’s anger, Leilan’s distance - these were all things that weighed heavily on him and Nash did his best to placate all of them. 

But after he had tried to alleviate Noel and appease Ciri, after finding Leilan, Nash had come out here.

The Edge of the World, as he liked to call it when he had been younger. 

It was a point past the heart-shaped lake. The ice mountains glinted in the distance and though winter hadn't creeped across the rest of Beqanna yet, the ground crunched beneath Nashua’s hooves with the sound of new-fallen snow. As a young pegasus, he’d enjoyed flying out here. The earth was flat - nothing between him and the sky. Nothing but the horizon ahead and other worlds just waiting to be explored. 

To Nash, it seemed like another life now. 

Now, his life was about his duties as a father and a leader. It was about trying to do what was right for the Northerners while still ensuring his family got what they needed. For years, Nash had split his duties between the Isle and Taiga; a feat that had felt so much easier (lighter) when he knew that Yan was there. But now, his brother was missing and as much as Nashua had wanted to head the search for him, he couldn’t. 

His twin was missing. Another brother - Gale - was afflicted with a generational Curse. And somehow, his youngest son had gotten caught in the tangle of Beqanna politics. 

With his mind trying to unweave the knots, the chiming sound of glass flowers broke his thoughts. Looking back to the source, what he finds there is a surprise.

@Cheri