Meadow

as I wandered the forest, the green leaves among, i heard a wild flower singing a song

the small pale mare is relieved when her hooves finally hit the shoreline of the meadow. the happiness at seeing her friend vita nova and the relief of talking things over had eased her troubled heart some but when vita nova mentioned the start of a war she felt sick to her stomach. she was helpless to protect those she loved. she wanted to put as much distance between herself and the grey stallion at the helm of all the chaos, warsaw. luckily her first encounter with him had been her only but she knew enough of the stories…. he was not someone she wanted to see again, especially now. she wasn’t sure what the smokey black mare saw in him but knew there must be a different side to the brute… vita nova was certainly more daring than petal would ever be but she wasn’t stupid… her heart panged with worry at the idea of vita nova caught in the middle of it all but she had to have faith her friend would keep herself safe…

she glides out of the waves into the cool air, though much more temperate than the frozen air of tinuvel, and gives a gentle shake to rid herself of some of the sea water that streams down her sides. the early afternoon sun beats down through the chill and warms her as she walks and contemplates her destination. her heart longs for her daughters…for jabari, and even though they had become so estranged, she still misses her friendship with shamwari. her departure from the prairie hadn’t intended to be entirely permanent but the circumstances had become so stifling she did what she did best and disappeared…. she wants to return, to make right with jabari and to tell him how much she missed him… and how sorry she was that she let the twins take so much of her attention away from him. she wants to see daphne and dahlia and tell them how glad she was to be their mother… her spirits soared at the idea of doing these things and she was certain, that once she had rested from the journey from tinuvel she would make her way back to the prairie… she did not know where these things would lead her, or if she could stay in the prairie under shamwari’s watch after all she had put him through…but it felt like the right path to follow for now.

once she is dry and thoroughly warm the small ivory gold mare finds a tree at the inner edge of the meadow to stand near, using it as a windbreak for the light breeze. though she knows it is unwise she still lets her ice blue eyes close, enjoying the sunny rays. small rivulets of water run down her neck, where the rusted cream tendrils of mane had frozen into icicles and melted. she still looks otherworldly, glowing in the afternoon sun, but she is more disheveled than usual….she hadn’t been taking care of herself in the time she had spent away from the prairie but she hoped speaking with jabari and the girls would ease the guilt that had stolen her appetite. the sooner she recuperated the sooner she can leave the crossing isle and go home.