the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows; Any

[Natilyn]

the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows

Both mares turn at the sound of another voice – the younger buckskin her concerned gaze from her mother, and the older mare drags her attention away from the tumbling waterfall. Nairne’s body follows her head, coming full circle to face the stranger, letting a smile ease onto her face. “I am here to stay,” she tells the man with a tilt of her head, watching the flame flicker across his legs before it disappears. “Coming home, as it happens.” He is right to observe that they are at home here – they are natives, after all, and their hiatus does not change that innate familiarity. “I’m Nairne.” She brightens that smile marginally after giving her name, waiting for reciprocation.

The older mare turns in the water, and then wades from the depths with obvious reluctance. The embrace of the water is comforting and it is home, but she knows that she can return to it now as often as she likes. When she reaches dry land, the mare sheds most of the blue, letting her body fade back to its natural dappled gold, all except the water-fall blue streaks that still permeate her mane and tail. “I’m Natilyn,” she offers, though she has not heard that name in years. To her lover, she is Nat or Natty; to her children, she is mom. She’s also not staying.

Because she can’t. Not yet. “I’m just here to drop Nairne off, for now. I have other business to complete before I can return home myself.” It’s killing her – she can feel the love of home, the water, the song of the Falls beneath her hooves. But she can’t stay until she finds Meeka and introduces him to the twins. “But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rumors are true. That magic is no longer forbidden in any of the Kingdoms.” This gets them a startled glance from the younger mare – a large part of her childhood was affected by the fact that her parents couldn’t truly live whole lives in the Falls. A change in that basic rule could change everything for her family.

and that's where I'll be found

NATILYN

barret x nylee