The sun went out, and there were shapes that moved in the darkness, but Agetta didn’t mind. Not even when her ability to make light failed, or when she noticed a cut she received from a branch didn’t heal. These things are pushed from her thoughts with utter ease and she does not worry about them for a moment. Because every time she woke, before she opened her eyes, she’d feel Garbage’s presence beside her.
She’d cried the first time, just from the sheer joy of it (and that guilt she cannot shake).
And every day after that she’s been in a constant state of never being quite sure whether she’s dreaming or not.
It doesn’t matter where they go, where they wander, it’s his presence that grounds her in a way that the Gates used to. Spring has come, the first time in a while she has not born a foal, and she finds herself missing it - and she’s hopeful for the coming year, for the promise of the family they’ve spoken between them. Holler and the twins are still young but they need her less every day. She craves a long and lasting peace, a retirement that they can both enjoy, and she is happy to let other, younger horses worry about how to bring back the light.
Without the sun, moon, or stars it is difficult to stay what part of the day it is but a strange, screeching noise snaps Agetta from her daydreaming as she grazes near him and her head snaps up. She uses a trick she learned from Mazikeen (the creativity of her daughter delighting her) - swapping her equine eyes out for that of a snow leopard as she peers into the surrounding darkness.
There is nothing that she can immediately discern, however. The meadow seems quiet - the spring grass swaying with a gentle breeze. “Did you hear that?” Despite the peace they’ve made for themselves over the last year, there’s a warrior still buried deep in the pale mare and she’s instantly on edge. Sounds have all felt amplified in the suffocating darkness but this is not something she’s ever heard of before and her concern is evident.
@[garbage]