”Dora! Dora, wake up!”
Her sister’s whispered hiss echoes though her sleeping brain and Nymphadora wrinkles her nose as her eyes flutter open. Her jaw works as she bares her teeth in a wide yawn. Her amber gaze finds her sister, whose identical gaze stares back at her. The blue roan blinks sleepily, nonplussed at how excited Zephyra appears.
”It’s so early, Phi,” Nymphadora protests softly, her voice croaky. She can barely see her sister’s monochrome form in the predawn light and it isn’t like Zephyra to wake so early, let alone disturb her twin.
Zephyra’s eyes flash in what might be an eye roll. ”It’s our first morning back home, Nymphadora,” she reminds her sister. ”Don’t you want to see the sunrise?”
The fog lifts as Nymphadora remembers their arrival the previous day and she scrambles to her hooves, eyes scanning the horizon, trying to find the right spot. She sees the sky lightening behind her, her sister already facing it, so she aligns her body with Zephyra’s, standing shoulder to shoulder with her twin as she has done so often in their lives.
Dawn breaks, and it’s as wonderful as expected. The sisters sigh in unison, everything in them happy to be home again. They turn their backs on the sun once it clears the horizon, agreeing without speaking to take a sedate stroll through the meadow. The crunch of the dusting of snow on the ground is satisfying to both of them; having grown up in the cove, they both enjoy colder climates, though as they’ve grown older they’ve accepted that the company they keep is more important than the environment around them.
Both mares still remember their tense time in the inlet with Orkaan, who had been stern and a little overbearing. Zephyra hadn’t liked him from the beginning, and eventually Nymphadora had been put off as well, and they’d been relieved when he disappeared.
Their silence now is peaceful, neither sister feeling the need to ask about their next move. They’ve never been apart in their eight years and they aren’t about to start now. They hadn’t discussed where they would settle when they returned to the islands, and still they aren’t in any hurry. They’ve each thought that it would be nice to meet some of the islands’ inhabitants before choosing, so for now they’re just walking without a destination. After all, it’s supposed to be about the journey.
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