la jeune fille marquée
Pink light is edging through the mountain fog when Magnus wakes her, and for a moment, she imagines that he is an angel. A slow, sleepy smile flits across her lips. She blinks, shaking out her stiff joints and whickering softly to her herd. Her family. Felinae and Besra, and tiny Amorette. They are tired, but trusting. Min does her best to be calm, encouraging the girls with a soft touch. As they are leaving, a shadowy figure appears on the horizon. The form disappears too quickly for Minette to be sure if it is Leck, or only her guilty imagination. She bites back reproaches. For the second time in her life, the gray mare is leaving a child behind. For better or worse she has chosen adopted family over blood.
That first step over the white wolf's border feels anticlimactic. The ravens say nothing. There is no one to tell. It takes several miles down the mountain pass for Minette to realize that the tension from her body is fading. There is pain, there will always be pain, but her anxiety is lessening so that her steps are lighter and her head is higher.
The pace of the journey suits Minette. She is grateful for Magnus' consideration. During each of his forays into the air on eagle wings, the gray mare chats with Felinae and teases the girls, endeavoring to keep their spirits up. Amorette's constant questioning of their destination makes her mother hide a grin. The girl is always excited for adventure. Minette is glad that the gravity of the situation does not seem to affect the two young ones.
For several miles she had been admiring the landscape, but when Magnus announces that they have arrived, Minette finds herself surprised that this will be her home. It is too much. She feels unworthy, her soul too tainted for this loveliness.
Heaven is the perfect name for it, Minette thinks, but she is too overcome to speak. She watches with unshed tears as Amorette prances about. Great expanses of velvet grass stretch out before them, dotted with a thousand wildflowers she has never seen before. Relief floods her features. She always knew that Beqanna had to be more than the heart beating Chamber and the raven filled fog of the mountains. This place, this was a home.
Minette breathes deeply, enjoying the sun on her skin and the perfumed smell in the air. She could barely believe it. She didn't believe it. She was actually free, and this was a reward far beyond what she deserved.
“Magnus. I can never thank you enough for this... this beautiful gift. Your home, it is the loveliest place I have seen.” Impulsively she reaches up and kisses his cheek. Her lips caress his golden skin, inhaling the warmth and comfort of him. She would grow spoiled, she thinks, having him always close by.
A worried wrinkle appears on her brow and in a voice gentle but firm she adds, “Ah, we have repayed your kindness with trouble. You must rest, mon ange. The girls can explore, and I will watch over you.”
Minette nudges Amorette. “Go on, little one. Take your sister and explore your new home. Stay where you can hear us call if we want you. Papa needs his rest.”
She smiles at the buckskin stallion then, a teasing light dancing in her brown eyes. “Although I am not a warrior, there is strength enough in me to wake you if trouble finds us.”
That first step over the white wolf's border feels anticlimactic. The ravens say nothing. There is no one to tell. It takes several miles down the mountain pass for Minette to realize that the tension from her body is fading. There is pain, there will always be pain, but her anxiety is lessening so that her steps are lighter and her head is higher.
The pace of the journey suits Minette. She is grateful for Magnus' consideration. During each of his forays into the air on eagle wings, the gray mare chats with Felinae and teases the girls, endeavoring to keep their spirits up. Amorette's constant questioning of their destination makes her mother hide a grin. The girl is always excited for adventure. Minette is glad that the gravity of the situation does not seem to affect the two young ones.
For several miles she had been admiring the landscape, but when Magnus announces that they have arrived, Minette finds herself surprised that this will be her home. It is too much. She feels unworthy, her soul too tainted for this loveliness.
Heaven is the perfect name for it, Minette thinks, but she is too overcome to speak. She watches with unshed tears as Amorette prances about. Great expanses of velvet grass stretch out before them, dotted with a thousand wildflowers she has never seen before. Relief floods her features. She always knew that Beqanna had to be more than the heart beating Chamber and the raven filled fog of the mountains. This place, this was a home.
Minette breathes deeply, enjoying the sun on her skin and the perfumed smell in the air. She could barely believe it. She didn't believe it. She was actually free, and this was a reward far beyond what she deserved.
“Magnus. I can never thank you enough for this... this beautiful gift. Your home, it is the loveliest place I have seen.” Impulsively she reaches up and kisses his cheek. Her lips caress his golden skin, inhaling the warmth and comfort of him. She would grow spoiled, she thinks, having him always close by.
A worried wrinkle appears on her brow and in a voice gentle but firm she adds, “Ah, we have repayed your kindness with trouble. You must rest, mon ange. The girls can explore, and I will watch over you.”
Minette nudges Amorette. “Go on, little one. Take your sister and explore your new home. Stay where you can hear us call if we want you. Papa needs his rest.”
She smiles at the buckskin stallion then, a teasing light dancing in her brown eyes. “Although I am not a warrior, there is strength enough in me to wake you if trouble finds us.”
ooc: A thousand pardons for my inactivity. Toddlers have no mercy. :p