Winter rolled into spring and spring into summer, and though the seasons changed Mikhail remained stagnant. Little had changed in his life in the past several months. Hell, little had changed the past several
years. Aside from receiving news that his brother Ruger (and, by proxy, himself) was no longer living in the Prairie and would now be calling the Ridge home, little was different in the blind bay's little corner of the world. He'd not even bothered to visit the Ridge since receiving word, preferring to spend his time in the more familiar Crossing while simultaneously giving the Lagoon a wide berth. The brief time he'd spent there months ago was enough to keep him away for the rest of his life.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to Rehoboam, the young stallion he'd met there. His plight reminded Mikhail of his own search for a family member he'd taken on years ago, only to fail. He'd spent so long looking for the buckskin mare he once called mother, searching every damp crevice, icy dune, and vine-covered corner of the Islands just to come up empty handed. Little did he know she was already long gone, having left him behind at the hands of his father.
And then one day, like nothing had changed, she'd showed up. But so much had changed, and time had taken its toll on her. She'd only come home to die, he quickly realized. When she passed, the only thing tying him to the Islands was gone. If it hadn't been for his blindness, he'd have been long gone. All that time looking had been for naught, and several cruel life lessons had been imparted on him that day. He thought it necessary that Rehoboam know all potential outcomes of his search, lest it end like Mikhail's had.
Heaving a sigh, Mikhail tilted his face up into the warm summer sun, enjoying the heat on his face and back. He'd spent the day lingering at the edges of the Common, not bothering to socialize with anyone else as was his usual routine. He was here to get away from others, after all, and not be near them. From somewhere to his left the sound of stampeding hooves caught his attention, one ear flicking towards the noise. They were much lighter than usual, which told him they belonged to someone young, likely a foal born this past spring. And there were several of them, by the sound of it, a group playing no doubt under the watchful eyes of their mothers. How cute.
The thought of children made Mikhail's mind turn, rather unexpectedly, to Nadine, the mare he'd had a brief affair with a couple years ago. It'd been in the thick of autumn when they'd met and had their liaison, and he always wondered what came of it. Was there another kid out there somewhere with his blood running around in their veins? The thought didn't spark much paternal instinct in him, but there was a brief spark of shame, flaring to life and then dying out in the span of a heartbeat. He didn't, shouldn't, feel ashamed at the possibility, he thought to himself resolutely. He'd made it clear to her - and to Sojourner and to Evren - that he wasn't the staying type. But still all of them had walked away with a part of him and after all these years he'd still failed to take responsibility.
Maybe it was for the better. He'd have been a terrible father even if he'd tried. It seemed to run in the blood. But Ruger and Roheryn had, in their own ways, managed to break the cycle. Perhaps one more than the other, but who was he to judge? His family was far from perfect. It was a disjointed, broken little thing with too many sharp edges and loose ends to count. He'd accepted long ago that it would never be anything better. Hell, it was a miracle his bloodline had survived at all, with all the odds that were stacked up against them.
But perhaps it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Turning his attention away from the fading sound of squealing children, Mikhail lowered his head to the grass and began to graze. Alone, as he has always been, listening to the world go by.
who knows upon what soil they fed
their hungry thirsty roots?
fifteen. georgian grande mutt. bay tobiano
of nowhere. blind. felony x zhenya. pippa.