Vita Nova rose from the depths of the ocean just as the day's light faded to dusk. The bright and warm glow from the cascading sun lit the Desert in a brilliant orange hue, if only for a few moments. This was Vita Nova's favorite time of day. It cast the Desert in perhaps its most flattering light. It showed off the most abstract and stunning pieces of the land. It warmed the steely grey mare's heart, and made her realize, if only for a few seconds, that she was lucky to call this exotic terrain home. But Nova was hardly in the mood to step back and enjoy the last remaining seconds of daylight on this particular day.
Nova had fled to Luthien despite Koray's stern warnings. And as she pulled her heaving, soaking frame onto the shoreline of Salem, her eyes were hard set on the dunes that lay ahead, searching them for the silhouettes of Koray and his few remaining family members that Orhan left behind. She stood on the shore for some time, salty beads dripping from the bottom most part of her barrel and into the sand, her soaking sooty-colored tail slapping the sides of her flank with a wet thwack a half-dozen times before she decided she had been undetected, at least in her return, and could safely make her way toward the oasis.
But before setting off through the towering sands, the mare dropped to her knees for a good roll, a last ditch effort to hide the smells of her brother, Shamwari, his herd and the Prairie, from her pelt. Nova was hardly afraid for Koray to find out that she had disobeyed him. Part of her almost wished he knew. But she saw no sense in openly disregarding his authority when he was quite publicly in charge of the herd. Thus her need for secrecy. Nevertheless, the trip had been worth it. Despite the urgency to return, Nova felt hard pressed to leave Luthien. Nostalgia ran rampant inside of her as she strolled casually among the tall reeds of the Prairie alongside Shamwari. She met his herd and his first child. She was flushed with memories of her father and mother, and the siblings, like Oswin, she grew up with there. Despite the recent events that nearly tore a part her family's fabric, the Prairie was strong. Shamwari's bond with his family made her ache for the sensations she'd experienced with Orhan. And as Shamwari stood among the surf on Luthien to see her off, she hesitated for a second, fleeting thoughts of abandoning Koray altogether hovering at the forefront of her mind.
So the grey mare began the trek back to the oasis with what was left of the sun at her back. She had thought seeing Shamwari would have been enough to put her mind and heart at ease. But instead it only further agitated the issues and her indecisiveness. She wasn't happy here. She wasn't happy with Koray. But Nova so feared the unknown. She would rather stick it out in the Desert with the hope of Orhan's return then setting off on her own again, or worse, settling with her family.
So when the mare spied the semi-familiar frame of Evren, Orhan's youngest daughter, Nova didn't shy away. Part of her was happy for the distraction from her more pressing thoughts. The other half knew she'd have to say something about where she came from if she hoped Evren wouldn't tell Koray about her. Nova didn't know the painted filly well -- she didn't know anyone here in the Desert very well -- but Evren seemed to have the most at stake during this transition period than anyone else. Both of her parents were gone. Nova nickered to her as she approached, not offering her a smile but seeming generally open to conversation, if the filly so desired it. Nova had noticed her trailing her movements in recent weeks. She didn't know if the girl was just bored and lonely (likely) or if Koray had given her a similar list of responsibilities as he'd given her (also likely). Either way, there was no hiding the fact that Nova had just come from somewhere else. Her coat was still damp and sticky with sand and seashells.
"Isn't it boring" Nova finally said, watching the young filly. "To wander around this place, day in, day out, all by yourself?"
4 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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