The heat of the summer was dwindling and the time had come for Valve to make the trip across the border of Salem to visit Orhan, making good on her word that when the seasons turned they would see each other again. Evaline had asked to accompany her so that she might see her daughter, Vita Nova, again, and Valve had agreed to this as well. Evaline was not a hinderance to her in any way. In fact, her being a part of Valve’s small but strong herd only proved that she was a more capable and fair leader than most. This sort of impression was a good angle for Valve, especially given all that had happened in the desert in recent memory.

She walked ahead of the golden mare, keeping her head up and her dark, angular body moving steadily through the sand. The dunes grew flatter and flatter, until there were barely any to speak of, and Valve recognized that she had crossed into the edge of the desert. Sampling the wind with flared nostrils, Valve caught a few scents. There was another stallion here besides Orhan.

“Wait,” Valve said aloud to Evaline for the first time in awhile, stopping for a moment to take a more calculated look at her surroundings. There was little activity, but she was not about to venture into the heart of the desert without knowing precisely what was going on.

“That’s far enough,” she decided, flicking her tail and straightening her posture. “They will come.”

And so she waited.

VALVE
slenderman x black heart machine