Han regards Persephone quietly with red-rimmed eyes, and manages a small smile in response to her words. Yet they say nothing, and their gaze quickly drops to the ground, then back to their mother. Now that the initial shock of the reunion has washed over Han, they have become more aware of their situation and the fact that this stranger has been privy to an incredibly raw and vulnerable moment, one that Han would never have willingly shown had they any choice in the matter. Why had their mother brought this stranger along? Their cheeks burn with shame and the smallest touch of anger, but Evren seems oblivious to their meaningful stare. She is all smiles, looking back and forth between the two of them with the glaze of emotion still to her eyes.
When it’s clear that Han has nothing to say, Evren takes the reins of the conversation. “Is it… just you here?” she asks Han, her expression sobering.
“Yes,” Han says, and their voice is low, too low. They glance back at Persephone and notice just how small she is, smaller even than their mother by a few inches. Han feels like a giant. Slowly, so as not to seem too deliberate, Han rests one hind leg and lowers their head so they will seem as small and slumped as possible. They are so hyperfocused on their own posture that they don’t notice the desolation on their mother’s face. When they speak again, their voice is a little lighter, their breath high in the back of their mouth instead of low in their throat.
“I didn’t really look around, but I don’t think anyone’s been here in a long time.”
There is a pause as Evren considers this. “I figured,” she says in a soft voice, then reaches out to gently bump her nose against Han’s shoulder. “What do you want to do? Should we stay? Look around some more?”
It’s late in the day; the last rays of the sun are disappearing quickly, leaving the sands in a dusky lavender light. While Han is grateful for the cooler air, their stomach churns uncomfortably at the idea of staying here overnight, even if it is their mother’s homeland: the place she has been so excited to show them for months. Before, Han had been unable to reconcile with the fact that Evren had suddenly changed her mind about coming here, but now they think they understand, in their own way.
“No,” Han says, and feels their throat tighten with more unshed tears. Exhaustion weighs down on their shoulders; they just want to curl up and sleep for three days. “I mean… I don’t know.”
They feel their mother’s eyes on them, and in their peripheral vision see her head turn to look at Persephone. “We should figure it out soon, or it’ll be too dark to swim back. What do you think, Sephy? If you want to get back to your herd, we’ll understand. We can stay here just until we figure out what we’re going to do.”
1; mutt; sooty buckskin; 16.2hh wfg
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