PERSEPHONE

Persephone watched Evren as she spoke, a quiver of stale anger running through her veins at the mention of Warsaw, Rougaru and Cullen’s names. As much as she tried not to think about the group of men that had harassed her and her loved ones for so long, they were never far from her mind. She nodded her head in solidarity with Evren’s statement, turning her gaze back to Rille.

A long moment of silent passed, but then the stallion spoke. At first, Persephone could not help but feel a little suspicious, that this man should speak the very words she wanted to hear in order to earn her trust, but as she listened and looked into Rille’s face, she could detect no trace of insincerity. He seemed to believe in what he was saying, at least.

She nodded, breathing a small sigh of relief.

“I’m glad we are in agreement, Rille. You seem like a more reasonable man than Warsaw, I think we will get along.”

Perhaps this could be the start of a strong alliance, perhaps even a friendship between them.

She was glad for the topic of conversation to move away from darker matters, however, and accepted Rille’s indication to start moving with a nod. She took up step alongside him, glancing towards Evren with a small smile, checking that she was following, and trying to gauge her impression of their new neighbour at the same time.

She let Rille wander as he pleased, and to take in the sights and smells and sounds of the Forest. At times, particularly stressful ones, sometimes Persephone forgot to enjoy the pure, natural beauty of her home, and it was nice to take a quiet moment to reflect on it herself. She looked at the mushrooms as he spoke, then back to Rille.

His words surprised her a little. She had not expected to be asked about the fantastical, and the momentary hesitation in his speech made Persephone think that he wasn’t quite sure whether such things were actually real or not.

She was reminded, somewhat painfully, of Talya and the silly conversations they would have about those kinds of things.

“Not that I have ever seen,” she replied, pausing a moment. “But some have a different way of looking at the world. It sounds like your mother was an interesting woman. Is the place much like she described?”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh