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moondust in your lungs Posted on March 6, 2024 at 11:31:13 PM by Vervain
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The young mare lifted her head drowsily from its lowered sleeping position. Slowly, she stretched the length of her neck and moved it this way and that quietly so as not to disturb her still-sleeping mother, Daire. The last week or so Vervain had not been sleeping well; the discomfort had begun in the last few days. There were no thoughts in her naive mind about what it could mean, given the season creeping onto the islands. Her parents, mainly her mother, had not taught her of such things, but perhaps they should have. Then, perhaps, Vervain would have thought better of slipping away from her dam's side hours before dawn and heading alone toward the beach.
It took longer to reach the dunes and seagrass than before. She, her mother, and brother had been staying closer to the herds in the last handful of months. The younger mare had been quite pleased with that change, considering that before they had lingered more precariously on the edges of the Prairie. Not that Vervain knew why that was precarious exactly. All she thought was that they would finally be spending more time with the other members of their herd, not that they would be safer or easier to protect deeper in the heart of the Prairie. Daire had thought about it though and seemed to be sleeping deeper now.
The form of the drowsy maiden passed like a slinking shadow down the path, the summer night air balmy against her skin. Her dark hooves navigated deftly over the worn dirt in the low hills, even in her wakeful sleepiness. After all, she'd traced them many times the last year looking for certain visitors and hardly had to look at the ground anymore. The thought of Nephilim crossed into her mind as the maiden broke from the dirt onto sandy soil. Here on the beach, the air was full of sound. Waves rushed over the sand and rolled back in and under themselves into the deep. The maiden looked up at the sky blanketed with stars and smiled dreamily, eyelids drooping.
Lulled by the serenity of the night, Vervain thinks of Nephilim again, longer this time. Her eyes close sleepily. The memory of their most recent visit replayed: their walk and the search for Castillon. There was never enough time, it seemed. Not when she was so eager for it. Vervain's nerves droop into ignorance as her breathing evens out. It could almost be like Nephilim was here, if she let herself think about it. A long sigh leaves her dark lips in a pleasurable tone. She could practically feel his skin next to hers and the heat that came from his proximity. The thought of even the most innocent of touches stoked the seasonal heat that was beginning to course through her veins. What she thought was a breeze brushed the strands of hair that fell across her neck.
How was the poor girl to know that she'd been followed to that beach so dangerously close to the border?