Salem. Avangeline climbed from the ocean, shaking saltwater from her body as the sun set and twilight struck a soft haze of colors over the world. For a moment she stilled, looking at the soft swell of sand hills and the wide, open sky above. Since the day she’d first swam to Salem, Avangeline had felt a piece of belonging. She was certain she’d never lived in a desert before, but her body recognized how it was built for these very elements. Even now, having left previously, she felt that same pull yet again.
Avangeline turned her angular neck, looking at her side to where the coal-black Al-Hattaal would be, also wet with ocean water. She smiled when their eyes met and drew from her devotion to him for her courage to move forward. No matter what she would find in the Dunes – no matter if Gabbar would be upset with her for leaving, if Valve would be disappointed in her for not taking her full potential, or if Evaline would feel abandoned - Avangeline knew this was the first start to their search if Al-Hattaal had a child or no. Avangeline was determined to not rest until they had the answer they sought.
Her smile warmed and she started forward, determined to reach the edge of the Dunes before the sun fully set. Patrolling the borders as sentry, she’d known the layout of their home well enough even to understand where the herd would be – which oasis would likely hold them nearby. If they did not answer at the first, she and Al-Hattaal could travel to the second.
Avangeline took a breath, traveling as far inland as she dared before lifting her muzzle and whinnying, beckoning whoever was in the Dunes to come and greet both herself and Al-Hattaal. She shifted her weight in the sands, moving her body so she could brush her coat against his for unspoken support as her insides tightened and nervous energy rushed throughout her.
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