05-01-2020, 08:08 AM
L E P I S
i turned all the mirrors around
The distance between Loess and the Pampas does not feel so far as Lepis settles in beside Noah. Her shoulder brushes the other’s companionably, and the dun mare finds herself relaxing despite the topic. This feels like old time, like happier times. Life has happened between then and now. Life and experiences that at first have her avoiding Noah’s gaze, looking north at the distant ride of Loess’ red hills. Home looks beautiful from here.
When she looks back, Noah’s eyes are still on her, and Lepis sighs.
It is a real sigh, one unsoftened by false projection or an expressionless mask. Lepis does pride herself on her honesty, and while she has not been untruthful, she caves in the green-eyed gaze of her long-time friend. “No,” she says softly, “No, I am not.”
She leans her head against Noah for just a moment, taking another deep breath the of the crisp air.
“But I will be. When this is over, when everything is put back to rights, I will be.” It would be better for Lepis, perhaps, to put herself to rights first. But she does not have time for that. Not with all else she has to do. Some of these she shares with Noah as they talk beneath the clear sky – her friend Oceane trapped in Pangea, the fight with Celina a year ago and the slow reforming of their relationship, having promised flowers to a burnt land that was probably in need of more than beauty. She does not share the story of the child that grows still-invisibly in her belly though, and she responds only that: “Castile has done a great many things I did not expect of him.”
A shadow passes overhead, a swallow swooping low over the Pampas grass. Lepis smiles, reminded of the way the Pteron and Marni would chase them. “I should probably get home before I am missed,” she tells Noah when the bird alights in a distant tree. “But let’s not let so much time pass before we see each other again. Why don’t you come visit for a while in spring? You can bring Noma and meet Oceane, and see what Loess looks like in full bloom. ”
