Falls

mhysa

All that remained of today's sun was a tiny sliver at the edge of a horizon, like the hooded glare of a singular golden eye. The Teke had begun to notice the shortening of days; Mhaerys was feeding earlier as autumn progressed, throwing the islands into the gloom of twilight sooner. And though there was still warmth for as long as the sun burned in the sky, when darkness fell Mhysa could feel a chill nipping at her skin and seeping into her bones. Before long, an ashen layer of snow would cover the earth again, and all but the saltwater would turn to ice. Dipping her head to drink from the pool, the pale mare wondered why she had lingered here for so long.

The Crossing was beautiful, but it was not home. Her heart sang for the savage beauty of the desert - for the blazing heat of the sun on her back and the grit of sand in her grey coat.

Mhysa's ears swiveled toward the sound of shifting bodies, and her gaze soon followed. Her eyes passed over the creatures with whom she shared the Falls as if they were no more than shadows; the familiar face she sought was not amongst them. A'idah's scent still clung to the shore where they had once stood, but it was all that remained of her friend. Friend? The word had slipped unbidden into her thoughts, but somehow it rang true. Somehow, the veil of hatred that had once covered her eyes had been left in tatters, and between the frayed threads of prejudice the Teke caught glimpses of truth. That the differences that divided their peoples were not so great. That the Baas Rhaen belonged to the Arabs as much as her own tribe.

And that the war would not end until both sides willed it.

A breath of wind whispered through the trees, caressing the white silk of Mhysa's skin with cool fingers. The Teke's attention returned to the other horses, her eyes tracing every contour of their bodies - but the longer she looked, the less familiar they became. Their similarities evaporated, leaving only a sea of differences that stood between them like a vast gulf. And though Mhysa sensed that she might breach that gap - might stand beside the strangers and share the warmth of their bodies - she would never truly belong there.

Her world was the red sands of a faraway desert, and the warring tribes she was determined to unite.

mare | seven years | bloodmarked grey | akhal-teke | 16hh