The land had changed. She could feel it with every struggled fall of her hoof upon the path. Her mother kept close to her, offering herself as a guide through the unfamiliar terrain. Their journey was slow. Vi hadn’t realized the extent of her weakness when she’d first determined to follow Scorch off the beach, but as they pressed onward her body betrayed her. Although she could not see her reflection, she felt the sharp edges of her bone as her thin skin wrapped around her malnourished frame. Her coat felt patchy and her mane matted. Every night as they rested, Vi had leaned up against the strength of her mother as she tenderly groomed away the evidence of her turbulent past. In silence they would lay, relishing in the comfort of the other’s companionship. It was a labor of love and, very slowly, Vi was beginning to feel like the young mare she’d been before the world had lost its color.
At night she’d dream about the little foal she’d left behind. Bright eyed and abundantly beautiful her heart longed to feel Reshi’s touch once more, but the dream quickly turned to ash her mouth as reality met her each morning. Reshi would be a filly no more. No doubt she would be a grown mare – stronger having grown up without the care of a mother.
A pang of panic coursed through her as Scorch bade her weakened daughter to lie down. Hesitantly she obeyed, feeling the give of rough sea grass beneath her. For a moment she found herself repulsed by the unfamiliarity that surrounded her. “Mother,” She called out, the taste of the name oddly unfamiliar upon her tongue. “Are we not in the Jungle?”
The place of her childhood held many fond memories and she’d hoped to see it once more. There was no way she could have anticipated the change Beqanna had seen in her absence. She waits patiently as her daughter’s name is delivered upon the wind and she smiles to remember the day she and Astray had chosen it. Such love had surrounded the moment they’d first beheld the roan filly. Once again, her heart clenches as the anticipation threatens to strangle her.
VI
let the lights lead you home
@[Scorch] @[Reshi]