PERSEPHONE

Persephone watched Bob carefully as he squinted back at her. She could see he was rattled, and the rage in his voice was evident as he began to speak. He seemed barely controlled, and it was unsettling to see him like this. It was a far cry from the generally calm, peaceful way in which he had conducted himself for as long as he had been in the Forest.

So it was Talya. Persephone’s ears flicked backwards momentarily as she listened to his rant. She was pregnant – that was worrying indeed, even for Persephone who was not her parent. She was so young, Persephone still thought of her as a child, and particularly when it came to Talya, as much as Persephone loved the girl, she was hardly one mature before her time mentally or emotionally.

Unlike Bob, concern came over Persephone more than anger.

It was not just concern for Talya, however. The words she had overheard when she stumbled upon Bob just a few minutes ago were unnerving – they seemed more aggressive, more violent than simply a stressed-out father, and yet at the same time she had been given no other reason to mistrust Bob.

“Well,” Persephone began, still somewhat uncertain but pressing on carefully nonetheless, still processing this information. “I guess I can understand why… She’s so young…”

She trailed off with a sigh, glancing away in thought for a moment before returning her attention to him.

“But you can’t do anything about it now. Where is she? Maybe I can talk to her, or Aurora? She might tell us something.”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh