Common

Switch drifted the way the clouds did, never staying in one place for long. After her disastrous attempt at the Commons over a year ago, she'd found little reason to rest her head in the same place more than once. Her children were grown, her lovers were gone, and the general populace, as it turned out, was not much worth pursuing. Thick-headed stallions and Peak matrons were everywhere, always ready to espouse their opinions, whether she wanted to listen or not.

Most often not.

Switch's patience had continued to wane the longer she spent time alone, which was an impressive feat considering how little she'd had to begin with. She abandoned conversations she lost interest in, chased away dull individuals with bared teeth (and hooves, when necessary) and generally just learned how to exist alone again. For so much of her life she'd had someone always near her, whether it be a lover or one of her children. She'd forgotten how to just be. To not be beholden to anyone or anything, but to do things because she wanted to do them, regardless of what anyone else wanted.

It was as lonely as it was freeing, and as another fall passed her by without the embrace of either man she held dear, Switch felt their absences keenly. Pride kept her from returning (again) to Salem to search for them, just as it kept her from seeking out the company of any of her grown children, no matter how much her heart ached to see their faces again. She wondered if Valentina had had another child, or if Catalina had ever settled down. If Feroce was still guarding the Hills, lurking near to his sisters, or if he'd finally swallowed his fears and made for the Lagoon. If Ignacio and Regina had adjusted to life without her, or if Fuego had ever found his own kind of happiness. She missed them, but she couldn't keep living in the Hills. Not when so many memories lurked behind every shadow on Salem, threatening to draw tears from her eyes.

With a soft huff of breath - white mist pluming dragon-like from her nostrils - Switch ambled further into the Commons. Beneath the full moon, the whitecapped landscape glowed a pale blue, casting strange highlights on her raven-black figure that made her appear almost ethereal in nature. As though the world itself wasn't quite sure if this moment was real. She did not raise her head to call, nor did her eyes seek the shadows on the edge of the forest rimming the Commons. Instead, she simply waited, proud head held high, to see what would come her way this night.