Nova hadn't left Salem in months. She had little reason to. The mare was determined to make herself a permanent fixture of Orhan's herd, and thus, she had little time for anything else outside of trying to charm the buckskin stallion and his herd of mares. The jury was still out on how the steel-colored mare felt about Koray, Orhan's son who was indeed the reason why she had a home in the Desert after all. He was a moody stallion and seemed to have little interest in getting to know her anyway. Technically, Nova knew she belonged to Koray and not Orhan. But she operated as if that was not the case, for the sole reason of if there was ever a conflict between the two stallions (she was learning that because of Koray's naturally sour demeanor, there often was) that she could be absorbed into Orhan's fray almost seamlessly. If Koray got himself kicked out of the Desert again, Nova wanted to make damn sure she wouldn't be getting the boot with him.
This strategy was also a natural distraction from the family drama at that lingered in the back of her mind. Nova found herself frequently thinking of Shamwari, that red stallion who showed up one day and was all buddy-buddy with Orhan. It was the first time she'd ever met her half-brother. And whatever feelings of ill will she had for him because of their past were beginning to melt away. This confused Nova completely. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to blame him for all the trouble he'd caused her and Evaline those years ago. But he had been so kind and so sincere. Perhaps Nova was growing up after all.
Nevertheless, family drama still ensued. Nova had finally gotten the courage to visit the Dunes and see her mother, years after she's abandoned her on the mainland and returned to the islands. But when she arrived, she was perplexed to find out that Evaline was missing. The stallion that was responsible for her was also gone, off looking for her, no less. And suddenly, Nova began to worry. So she slipped into the dark ocean early one morning, before the hazy heat began to set in on a warm spring day in the Desert, and begrudgingly headed toward the Crossing.
She rose onto the shoreline of the common isle with a strong feeling of dread in her bones. She loathed this place. It's where she had spent so much of her time alone, grieving what she thought was the death of Nephilim. She grieved for the fantasy life that had been ripped from her when he left. And she wandered aimlessly, totally self conscious and afraid that no one would ever love her again. That's when Koray found her.
The ashen-colored mare snorted seawater from her soft-skinned nostrils and ambled over the sand dunes and toward the rushing sounds of the falls. Her crystal blue eyes were peeled for the golden frame of her mother. She would never admit it out loud, but it was Evaline who drew her out of her recluse period on Salem. Their relationship was tumultuous at best, but she couldn't rest without knowing the palomino mare was alright.
4 | Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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