Common

Fire. The simplest explanation for what she is today. Fire with a heart of ice, the queen of the Desert moved with effortly grace through the common lands, her head held high and long slender legs thrusting forward with venomoth and power. No longer did she find herself wallowing in the despair of a lost child, no longer did she allow herself to succumb to the sorrow that had at one time threatened to drag her heart into shadow and death. Her newfound title brought with it a renewed determination and that determination was evident in the lift of her chin and the high carriage of her silver white tail as it swept over her hips. Dark eyes of near black scan the ever changing landscape around her, letting her gaze roam over the gathering of horses here and there lost deep in conversations of their own. Occasionally, her fluted ears grasped hints of their conversations but always it set a sour taste upon her tongue. It was the same regardless of the different faces she saw. Always the stallion posing with muscular necks arched and beading eyes soft. Always they plastered fake smiles upon their whiskered lips and tilted their words with honeyed tones and false promises. Empty words. Bile rises in her throat as she turns away from them, stalking towards the beachfront in hopes of dismissing the sickening images with a more pleasant sight.

The ocean winds are a welcome relief. Even before she passes through the last of the maritime forest, Nyimara can feel the richness of the salt in the wind and the gulls screaming in the distance. A contented sigh escapes her lungs as the pale haired woman slides from the shadows and once more into the bright sunlight. She had left Salem in hopes of finding something or someone suitable to revive the remnants of the Desert herd. She hoped that she might come across a familiar face to haunt or even venture upon Shenzi newly freed from the Lagoon but it was a fleeting hope at that. She knew that the dark mare worked in her own time. The promise that had burned like a fierce growl into her skin was enough for her heart to believe that when the time was right, Shenzi would find her and not even the dogs of the lagoon could hold the hell fire back from the mare’s eyes. Shenzi would return to her, but for now, she must wait and patience was not one of her strongest qualities.

Thankfully though, the ocean seemed to help with that. Like the calm quiet of the desert, Nyimara felt the peace beginning to creep over her. The warm sun pressing tenderly against her mahogany back and the lulling rhythm of the ocean waves as they lapped at the shore had a way of slowing the adrenaline that pulsed through her veins. Occasionally, a great fish lept from the ocean only to return hidden in its depths with a splash and glitter of sunlight over the churning waters. Slowly she allows the authority to slip from her gait and once more finds herself meandering slowly along the shoreline merely enjoying the moment. She needed to return to Salem, even under the protective watch of Vivienne and Warduna, Nyimara worried that Faolain might discover her newest son and dispatch of him as she had done to Nycol. And yet even through that fear, through the weight of the world that she bore upon her shoulders, for the briefest of moments, the silver haired witch found herself wanting to enjoy the time alone in peace.

At least, she did have peace.

Small fluted ears disappear beneath the curls of silver white mane that fall heavily down the sides of her chocolate colored neck. Squawking. Like the grating of hooves over granite, the cries of the sea birds pierce the peace that had enveloped her tightly into her own world. Ash dusted lips peel back in the beginnings of a sneer as her sharp gaze follows the floating black shadows of the birds as they circle overhead and drift further down the beach. Almost as one, a group landed near a large dark mass further up the shoreline, continuing their squawking cries and hopping around like pesky vultures.

Curiosity drags at her mind now as small ears perk forward, eyeing the dark bundle. For a moment, she imagined it was a small whale that often found themselves beached after a fierce storm. She had seen quite a few in her years here on the islands but as far as she was aware, there had not been any hurricanes or storms to hit the islands in the last few days.

Slowly she closes the distance between her and the large mass, ignoring the birds save for the occasional snap of her long tail when one comes near. Upon closer inspection, she finds herself staring down at a mare. It was not a sea creature at all. A nomad washed ashore from the mainland maybe? Her dark gaze draws away from the still shape to the distant horizon where only hints of a land beyond can be seen in the pale blue outline of mountains far beyond the stretch of ocean. A soft moan jerks her gaze back to the poor creature and despite the regality that she tries to always maintain, Nyimara finds her brows rising in surprise. ”Alive?” she asks, speaking more to herself and the birds than the poor creature before her.

Tentatively she stretched her dark muzzle forward to inhale a deep breath of the mare’s skin. Beneath the layers of salt water, missing hairs, fresh and old scars, there is no scent of decay or death. A faint smile tugs at her lips as her new discovery demands her attention and all thoughts of returning to Salem disappear, at least for the moment. Pivoting her heels, she allows the shadow her body cast beneath the sun to shelter the dark woman’s body as best she could, waiting with as much patience as she can muster before finally stretching a forelimb forward to nudge the mare’s sand covered side. ”Awaken.” she commands, her voice filled with authority even though she herself knows that she had no such power here. ”Death does not summon you yet.”.