Common

She leaves the ocean behind her, and she does not look back at it. Her dark eyes remain focused on what lies ahead, letting the sound of the waves against the coastline begin to fade, and willing the throbbing in her head to go with it. The injury to the side of her face, the one sustained she assumes at some point in the water, was at least no longer actively bleeding. The wound sat below her ear, and just above the flat of her cheek, though since the blood had begun to thicken and darken it more or less blended in with the rich brown of her coat. Paired with the long, tangled strands of her mane and forelock that spilled carelessly along her face and neck, the mark was mostly hidden.

What she could not hide, however, is how utterly lost she is.

Clementine hoped that the further she walked that perhaps she would find something that would unearth a forgotten memory—some kind of clue to why she would have been coming here, to this island. She tries not to think about the fact that she also does not remember where she had come from; all of her memories prior to waking up on that beach were seemingly trapped within a thick haze of fog.

They are there, though, just out of her reach.
She can make out the wavering shapes of them, feels as though she should be able to just reach out and touch them, but every time she tries the memories retreat further into her mind.
They sit there, on the back of her tongue, like a momentarily forgotten word—one that will spring into place when she least expects it.

Thankfully, trying to get her bearings in this new place was serving as a temporary distraction. She thinks the land would be lovely if it was not so entirely unfamiliar. For the first time since arriving there was fear lacing up her spine, the kind that made her want to draw further inside of herself and retreat to some place secluded. She didn’t know if this place was friendly or hostile. She didn’t know if she was putting space between herself and danger or if instead she was walking herself into it.

She can hear voices in the distance, and the sound makes her freeze.

The cool, watery sunlight of autumn cascades across her back, and she clings to the faint warmth of it, as if she could somehow pull it around her like a cloak that would keep anyone from seeing her. There is a part of her that wants to seek out the source of the voices, to see if perhaps they can help solve the mystery of where she is, at least.

But the way her heart flutters with trepidation leaves her motionless instead, staring out with a mix of wonder and uncertainty.