To Anath, a mare had always had just as much power as a stallion. She had always had just as much power as a stallion. Things with her father had been… well, she’d live a charmed life, to make the long and short of things. She’d been spoiled rotten and she’d learned the same ways as the boys had. Her cousins, her uncle, her world had been set up for her to learn and to grow. It was the perfect storm. From the eye of that storm came the dun general, and maybe it wasn’t the best idea. She knew what she was doing though, she knew what her life was supposed to mean. She thought she knew. Sometimes Anath was wrong.
Never would she admit that, of course. There had been times she’d wanted to wipe from her history… so many times. Every experience she’d had with the faces of the Islands made her who she was. Anath respected that more than she’d let on. More than anyone would know, the mare had respect for what had come before her. She respected what made her who she was. She had respect for a lot of things, but she wouldn’t necessarily show all of it. Things were strange.
Stars had always guided her, or so she liked to think. Everyone she’d lost had somehow become a star… all of them up there. There was one with a sarcastic glimmer, staring down with a hard edge… Lothor. Now she wonders if she actually ever loved him. Another was warm and bright, but unassuming-- mom. Bandit still meant the world to her. Glimmering carefully, unsure and slick there was another, and all it brought to mind was Sanctus. He was an odd one, of course. Loud and bright, close at hand was the near cousin that she’d grown so fond of Purgatory. Brighter than all of them, warm and bright and friendly… dad. She thought of Show Time often, the man that had raised her to be what she was today.
It was with a certain warmth in Anath’s heart that she made her rounds. He’d been a good man with kind eyes. The dun mare had gotten those eyes, and it was now that she kept them peeled. It would be good to see if she could figure out which faces were new and which ones she’d never seen before. There was a shift in population, and she knew it was growing. There were scents she didn’t recognize everywhere. She didn’t know how to feel about that… she needed to not lose hold. The mare would try and see if she could figure out what was going on.
It was when she neared the very top of the Peak that she noticed a stocky mare. She was standing off on her own, simply watching. There appeared to be something akin to pain on the face of the creature, and Anath was drawn in. It’s a morbid curiosity that comes to the pit of her belly. Not that she delights in the pain of others, that would be odd and messed up. She can’t help but wonder who this creature is… there’s no foal, so she figures it’s not Arris’s friend Iolar. No. This is different. “Are you hiding up here on the mountain?” It’s a question that can’t be lost on the wind, not at this distance. Anath knows all about personal space, but she’s now close enough to have a comfortable conversation… or an awkward one, for that matter.
Anath "HEROES GET REMEMBERED LEGENDS NEVER DIE " |