Evren met Shamwari with trepidation, her heart racing and her body stiff. She had expected him to be just as tense and awkward, but, to her surprise, he seemed relatively at ease, judging by the easy smile he gave her. Her stomach flip-flopping, Evren offered him a closed smile of her own, and then they were off. The cold sea was a shock to her adrenaline-hot body, but it was a welcome distraction, and Evren felt some of her tension ebb away with the exertion of the swim.
She snorted seawater from her nostrils when Shamwari asked her about how she’d come to live with Persephone. To the best of her ability, Evren gave him a side-eye from across the waves. “Do you always pick such inopportune times to strike up conversation?” she asked sardonically, though there was a twinkle in her eye. “We were allies before I left the islands. When I came back, she… helped me with some things. The desert had too many bad memories, so she let us stay in the forest. Now it’s home.” Evren panted a few times - it was, unsurprisingly, quite exhausting to talk and swim at the same time. Thankfully Shamwari did not ask for elaboration.
Evren’s adrenaline began to soar again as the island of Tinuvel loomed into view, and now it was not because of the proximity to Shamwari. As they emerged onto the beach, shaking the water from their pelts, Evren looked upon the place with disgust. The last time she had been here was years ago, when she and Nova had been held captive by a stallion called Orkaan. Tinuvel could have been the most beautiful place on earth, but it would forever be ugly to her eyes, stained by those memories as well as the knowledge of what kind of tyrant ruled here.
A shiver ran along the length of her spine and right down to her hooves. Evren exhaled a heavy cloud of condensation into the air and exchanged a sheepish glance with Shamwari. “I hope she sees reason.” Staring off into the distance, Evren wondered where Vita Nova was now, and what she was doing. How different was she from the mare Evren had once known and cared for? And, more importantly… what did she see in Warsaw?
Evren shifted her weight and flicked her tail in anticipation. She had never seen Warsaw face-to-face, not yet. Today would be the first time, if he found them before Nova did. “What do we do if she won’t? Or if Warsaw comes instead?” Evren almost hoped Shamwari would say “beat him to a pulp”. That was what she wanted to do, more than anything.
9; mutt; bay tobiano; 15.3hh |
