The peace that Vita Nova had so craved was here, but it clearly came at a price.
Her friend, Neon, had weathered a terrible labor, but brought a healthy foal into the world. Cherokee too, a mare whose very existence on Tinuvel Vita Nova was technically responsible for, had birthed a filly, but now both Inlet mares were gone. The ashen Queen of Tinuvel couldn't place when either of them had left, or if they left together, but she surmised something was certainly amiss. Was there a predator about in the island's higher elevations? They'd found no remains, as far s Vita Nova knew, thank God. But still, the spotted mare worried deeply for the long-gone mares.
Again, Vita Nova felt like she had too much responsibility to bear. She'd helped nurse Warsaw back to health. His road to recovery had been long and slow, but she was finally beginning to see some semblance of improvement. Vita Nova, of course, had her own children to look after as well, and as Warsaw's selected Queen, she tried her best to keep her eye on everyone else Warsaw brought back to the Inlet. But she couldn't help but feel like she'd failed Neon and Cherokee, wherever they were.
The steely mare sauntered slowly away from the creek in a dense pocket of woods and made her way back toward the sloping meadow, nearer to the open mouth where the sea crept into their terrain. Her nostrils flared as she tested the brisk spring air, searching it for the familiar scents of her children - but none felt fresh enough to wash away an instant wave of disappointment that they too, were somewhere else. Tavas was getting restless - Vita Nova was certain. And she couldn't blame her girl. The move home was supposed to be temporary. She was much too old to still be living here, but much too young to be cooped up, too. Meanwhile Ironclad was nearly always out galavanting. Even Letavice, it seemed, had taken to wandering outside of the Inlet's borders lately.
She was feeling just a bit lonely when she heard the faint cry of a foal screech across the sky. One smokey ear flicked forward and then the other, and the mare's blue eyes scanned the distance. There she spotted a small, chestnut filly standing alone. Vita Nova returned the filly's call with a whinny of her own and trotted over at.a leisurely pace. She was concerned, but also curious. As she drew closer, she could see the signs of dehydration and perhaps malnourishment on her small body.
"Hi there." Vita Nova said delicately, stopping just a few feet away from her. She cocked her dished face to one side and offer the filly a friendly smile. "Where did you come from?"
Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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