PERSEPHONE

Persephone listened carefully to Vercingetorix’s words. His tone sounded honest, and his words true, but it was difficult to put her trust in them fully, as much as she wanted to. Too many times now had she been crossed or lied to, particularly by the men in her life. Psychedelic, Warsaw, Cullen, plus their numerous associates. The list seemed to grow by the day.

However, she had faithful men in her life also. Shamwari, for one, and Tarek, who had fought as hard for the Forest as any one of them. It would do no good to become so sour she could no longer trust a soul – it was a bad foundation for leadership, especially the peaceful kind.

Besides, if there was a small change that this stranger might be here with darker intentions, would it not be better to keep an eye on him here, under her nose, until he had proven his trustworthiness, rather than risk angering him or whoever he might affiliate himself with by sending him away for no reason. Persephone had always prided herself on offering the Forest as a home to those without one – to whoever might need it in their time of need.

With a small nod of her head, her decision was made.

“Then shelter you will have. We have a strong family here – they might not warm to you as quickly as they would normally, given the circumstances, but prove yourself a friend and they will have your back, I can assure you.”

There was a pause then, as Persephone weighed Vercingetorix’s question. She needed a moment to consider her words, it was a difficult question.

“War,” she began, her voice sombre. “It began with Warsaw, a stallion from Tinuvel. He believed mares shouldn’t run herds, and generally caused trouble across the islands. Over time, we amassed allies and enemies on both sides, Cullen from the Lagoon being one of Warsaw’s foremost companions, and Shamwari, from the Prairie being my closest ally. I fought many times to protect myself and my herd, but they were not to be dissuaded from their cause. It all came to a head recently, here in the Forest – all-out fighting and chaos. It was a mess.”

She sighed.

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh