The dark mare had stayed among the scraggly trees of the oasis, seeking as much shade as she could. The heat of the sun was not always so kind to the black mare, her back beginning to turn sun faded as her time in the Crossing became a distant memory. Cain; she had failed him in her mission there, but he hardly seemed to care. Instead, his company had been a pleasant surprise, even to herself.
A call not too far away pulled Melisma from her thoughts. The smile that had been curving her lips falls away, and her head raises as her ears cup towards the sound. She did not ever recall the black and white mare to summon them like this, so it must be rather important. For a split second, as she begins to move off in the Guardian’s direction, her heart leapt into her throat. What if something had happened to Cain? Or one of the others? But then she quickly scolded herself, pushing down her nerves. With the stir of lead mare coming about among the women, Melisma thought that perhaps it was the reason for the summoning. Not something else so horrific.
As she trotted up to the cluster of desert horses, she slows as she joins the group. Her brilliant green eyes drift to each one, knowing with a sense of guilt she had not tried to know them or befriend them. Like a shadow she had been born to be, she had drifted around them silently without a voice. But the longer she had known Cain, the more she was beginning to find that voice. Never would she have thought herself to challenge another, to speak up instead of just standing back to watch what happened. But, her she was, paving new paths and hoping to find a brighter future.
“Greetings, everyone.” she said, again feeling the knot of uncertainty twist in her stomach she had experienced since she was a child, but offered them a gentle smile instead of worried eyes. Melisma didn’t say anything else though, her green gaze settling on Harlequin as she waited to see what the Guardian had to say.
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