In the few quiet moments after Persephone answers Evren’s question, there is something heavy hanging in the air between them. Evren can feel it, as she looks back at Persephone and then back down to the filly, who is a near-perfect miniature of Persephone, just as Arkana is of Evren. Evren’s chest feels like it could burst with warmth and affection and pride then, and her heart is hammering in her chest from the excitement of it all.
One brown ear turns in Persephone’s direction to catch the filly’s name, and a soft smile spread on Evren’s face. She stares back into the tiny pools of the filly’s eyes, transfixed and already in love. “I’m so happy to finally meet you, Sabran,” she tells the filly in a gentle voice, knowing she most likely cannot understand her, but meaning every word of it anyway. She lowers her nose to Sabran’s level to let the filly exchange breaths with her. Sabran has that new-filly smell, mixed with the tang of afterbirth, and it brings Evren back to her own birth a few weeks prior, the scent-memory so strong it evokes all the same complicated emotions she had experienced that day. In that moment, Evren feels strangely as much Sabran’s mother as she is Arkana’s.
Her dark eyes are shining with unshed tears when she turns back to Persephone. For a moment she just looks at her companion, then steps forward to lean against her in a silent embrace. She remains there for some time, soaking in Persephone’s warm and channelling all the feelings she cannot express. Finally, while her face is still pressed against Persephone’s shoulder, she says, “She looks just like you. I can’t wait for her to meet her sister.”
Though Evren could stay there forever, it’s then she pulls away, just as the scent of moisture in the air begins to coalesce into actual rain, gently drumming upon the shelter of the surrounding trees and foliage all around them. She allows herself another long glance at Sabran, her expression soft with adoration, while her head struggles to make sense of what her heart is experiencing. “Sephy, I --”
The words lodge in her throat. She can feel herself trembling when she finds Persephone’s eyes again, so dark and lustrous in the shadows of the evening. It’s then Evren knows, and she is amazed it has taken her this long to realize it. But it feels like it should be wrong somehow, as if it shouldn’t be allowed. Why should she ruin their perfect friendship? She feels doubt creeping under her skin, and averts her gaze, her gut tense with anxiety and her cheeks blazing.
“--I’m... so proud of you.”
10; mutt; bay tobiano; 15.3hh |
