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PERSEPHONE

Persephone’s eyes lingered on the young chestnut with interest, watching her from where she stood in the shadows beneath the trees, just a little further downriver. She was a pretty young thing, her coat a rich copper, splashed with brilliant white, and she seemed aware that eyes followed her though she never paused to return a gaze.

Though Persephone did not know that the young mare’s anxiety was induced by the lingering eye of passing stallions, or the prospect of their approach, she would not have been surprised. This land, these Lost Islands, as the locals seemed to call them, were still very new to her, but stallions were not. Lands changed, and they had so many different customs and attitudes, but she knew that men changed little – no matter how far you travelled.

She watched as the mare reached the river, drank from it, then lifted her head and seemed to freeze, apparently lost in her own head or something like that. With that, Persephone decided that her curiosity was sufficiently piqued.

The sun was beginning to set, staining the sky with streaks of pink and orange. If she did not move now, she would not make it back to Luthien by dark, and although she had been bold enough to declare a foreign land her home, she was not yet foolish enough to attempt to navigate it in the pitch black of night when she was only just learning its quirks and features in the daylight.

And so she made her move, strolling lazily downstream towards the other mare. The gentle trickle of the rushing water beside her was soothing in the quiet of the evening, and the cool air that rose from it was refreshing in the warmth of the summer heat. With a soft snort of air from her nostrils, Persephone announced her arrival so that she did not startle the stranger if she was still lost in thoughts, before she paused beside her.

“Hello,” she began simply, tilting her head just a touch in preparation for her question. “What’s on your mind, stranger?”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan blanket, 14.3hh