It was twilight when Han made their move.
Crickets chirped everywhere as Han crept across the soft grass of the meadow to where their mother stood dozing in the half-light. Evren rarely slept properly these days, at least not since Persephone had returned. Her anxiety levels were so high, in fact, that Han had teased her about it one night. What happened to you? they’d said. I’m meant to be the anxious one. Han had hoped that the gentle nudge might spur their mother to self-reflect and change her behavior, but it was to no avail. Evren was not precisely a reflective creature, after all.
It was this lack of reflectiveness that had slowly but surely taken a toll on their relationship. Han had a vague idea of what had been going on the past few months, and Evren had fed them tidbits here and there when they asked, but otherwise, she seemed wholly unconcerned with involving Han in the goings-on of the herd - in fact, she seemed wholly unconcerned with spending time with her child at all. This was alarming to Han, especially when there seemed to be a growing threat that Persephone and their mother - and their neighbor, Shamwari - were plotting against. Han might be too shy and anxious to be of any real help, but it would have been nice to at least be included. They were a grown horse now, after all.
Han could not say if this was the sole source of their woes. Whatever the cause, they had been feeling more and more restless as of late, and the boundaries of the forest seemed more and more suffocating. Han craved something, needed something - and not just quality time with their mother. But what was it? What was this feeling that made them gaze out longingly across the ocean for long stretches of time?
Han and their mother had always been best friends, and Han had always felt perfectly comfortable around Evren their entire life. Yet there was a fluttering sensation in their gut as they approached their mother, and when they opened their mouth, they found it was dry.
“Ma,” they said, startling Evren out of her standing doze. “Can we talk?”
Full night had long since fallen by the time they were done. Han’s face was streaked with tears as they retreated into the shelter of the forest to be alone, their hurried hoof steps crunching leaves and snapping sticks. It almost did not matter than Evren had apologized, or that she had seemed genuinely shocked at how Han felt. Their conversation had escalated until it became apparent what exactly what bothering Han - Evren was now living a life separate to their own. Han had no place here anymore. No, it was more accurate to say they’d never had a place here at all. This was a sociable, close-knit community of horses Han did not know or care about that seemed incapable of staying out of trouble. All this combined created an environment where Han simply could not thrive.
And what was worse was that very soon Evren was apparently leaving for a “diplomatic” trip to Tinuvel to meet with the stallion that had taken Persephone prisoner. Han could guess exactly how that meeting would go. What was next? Full-out war between the islands?
Han lifted their head to the sky and gazed at the pinpricks of stars that shone through the trees. They did not know what they wanted, but this was not it.
They would leave in the morning.
3; mutt; sooty buckskin; 16.2hh
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