“It’s nice to meet you, Septimus.” Maziel said kindly, meaning the words she spoke wholeheartedly. Though a polite thing to say, one could say the sentiment robotically and not truly care whether or not they’d met a stranger that day. Maziel instead was rather intrigued. She’d never spoken to a stallion who was not their father; though she had spoken to Samhain when they were young; by now Samhain would be a stallion (as he was their age).
Mariael considered the island Septimus had spoken of, but said nothing. Their father had been to every island spare Salem, though he’d spoken with enough horses during his year on Crossing Isle he knew well enough of the desert land. He told Mariael and Maziel in stories when they were young, but even they had never seen them before.
While Mariael seemed content to stay quiet and watchful, much akin to her “guard dog” like persona, Maziel wanted to carry on a conversation. She turned her body more toward Septimus, for though she couldn’t see him, she could scent him and hear the soft swish of his tail against the stale summer air. “We’ve never been anywhere but here and Tinuvel.” Maziel said, ears pointed forward. In spite of her lack of sight, Maziel appeared in every other sense to be an open, curious young mare. “But our father was born on an island called Luthien in a great big forest. Maybe that’s the island you’re on?”
“I’m sure other islands have forests, Maziel. Tinuvel has a forest, too.” Mariael chipped in, her voice tense. It sounded as if she were chiding her sister, but Maziel seemed to take little note. She huffed a soft breath and shook her head, ear pointed back at Mariael.
“I know that, but Luthien is the only territory known specifically for its forest.” She pointed her ears back at Septimus. “Is it lonely, being there on your own? When we left Tinuvel it was full… we just came back a little while ago and everyone seems to be gone.”
Mariael’s ears flicked back and she snorted, looking away from the pair, clearly displeased at how much Maziel seemed willing to share. Equally, she didn’t want to think of her mother being gone either.
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