I am the razor in the hands of your heart;
And I am the razor in the hands of God.
The palomino mare was more mindful of her steps in her old age. So as the unlikely pair scaled the downward slope of one dune and then another, she moved with small, cautious steps, taking the time to watch as the sand dribbled downward from the pressure of each hoof placement. As they strolled, the sweat began to bead along the soft, pink skin around her muzzle. It dampened the golden color of her coat at her chest and neck. Her nostrils flared and the dry, desert air stung at her lungs. It was astonishing to her, how quickly her body had acclimated to a more mild-climate terrain. It made her feel weak. And she didn't care for it.
Her mood was already souring from the conditions when Capricorn so rudely asked why she was still here. Her yellow ears instinctively flicked back to hide in a bed of mane at her poll, and she craned her head to one side to stare blatantly at the fellow before asking. "The islands or the Dunes?" She blurted quickly and harshly, giving him a second to backtrack, be he smart enough to realize he should be treading lightly. But Evaline's mind was already awhirl with feelings and memories. She'd come back and forth from the islands many times over the years, living her for short stints and sometimes longer ones. Her family was here now, and that was it. She was too old to keep trying to woo stallions with her charm and her looks. If life had taught her anything it was that you can't rely on anyone else for your own happiness or safety, anyway. "My children." She finally said with the flick of her wavy, long blonde tail. "They were born here and they chose to settle here. That's why I stay." Her answer wasn't glamorous or adventurous, as it may have been in her earlier years. But Evaline wasn't delusional. She knew her own journey was nearer to the end than it was to the start, or hell, even the apex.
The lush, green oasis grew closer with every step. And Evaline happily welcomed the shade of a palm tree as they finally neared it. She stood coolly underneath it, cocking one hip up high to rest against the trunk, and to rest a sore hind ankle for a moment. Her nostrils flared as she huffed mildly, her barrel rising and falling in short cycles. The mare tried to push the memories of this place away -- of days spent dozing in the afternoon sun while Valve watched over her, or watching her two illegitimate children, products of rape, play in the shallow, still waters of the pond. She shook her head wildly and unexpectedly, in a conscious effort to rid these thoughts from her head, and then stepped out into the sun and toward the pristine pool. There she lowered and drank for a long time. She thought about Capricorn's last words now, as she stood staring at the edge of the pool. Perhaps they weren't so different. She edged her body into the water, reveling in the cool sensation of it at her ankles, then her knees, and eventually up to her chest. She nickered for him to join her.
"Tell me about them." She said softly. "Your family."
17 | Arabian cross |14.2 | Palomino | Mother of Kasabian, Shamwari, Vita Nova, Paradiso, Ruxin & Talya | Vinyl |