Time had come and gone, bringing the healing Melisma had needed and the strength Phoebe had gained to make the journey home. Still, nerves twisted inside the mare’s gut as she took her first few steps into the chilly water, wondering if she was doing this too early? What if Phoebe needed another season before making the swim? Yet, as she looked back to her fire colored child, she couldn’t help but laugh softly to herself. Rather than being afraid of the water as it was her first time to see it, Melisma watched the girl stand along the edge and stare down the waves before making a giant leap into their grasp to stand next to her mother’s side. A squeal erupted from the girl’s lips, both excited and shocked from the cold.
“Are you ready?” Melisma asked her daughter, only to get a vigorous nod. With the same anxiety churning in her stomach, the mare did her best to ignore it and eased off into the deeper water. As her mother had instructed, Phoebe stayed behind her dam. Falling into the current the mare made so that it tugged her along and the struggle wasn’t as hard. Although she had been excited at the start, Phoebe found herself to be absolutely exhausted when she pulled herself up onto the new shore. Barely able to keep her eyes open and her legs wobbly as weight returned. But what she saw was amazing. The green vegetation she had been born with was now gone; only the wide golden expanse lay out before her. “Wow” she breathed out, before finding a spot to nestle down on the sand just out of the wave’s reach. Melisma would not admit it, but the swim had also exhausted her. Perhaps her body had not been as healed as she had thought, but at least they had both made it safely back home.
After some time, when Phoebe had regained her energy, she woke Melisma with her playful snorts. The girl had gotten to her hooves and was dancing around in the sand, exploring how it felt compared to the hard ground of the Falls. “This is weird.” she giggled before tossing her head and prancing back over to Melisma who couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes it is.” she agreed, before he began to lead Phoebe further inland.
Before Melisma could find the herd, or any trace of Cain, it was a stranger’s form she spotted on one of the rises. At first the black mare stopped, her stance erects as her heart hammered in her chest. What was she supposed to do? Retreat and hide Phoebe, or confront this stranger? Although she doubted she carried the lead mare mantle any longer after her absence, Melisma found herself moving forward at a proud trot. Phoebe, sensing the difference in her mother, followed along cautiously.
When Melisma finally reached the stranger, which she realized was a young stallion now that she could see him better, anger quickly welled up inside her and her ears laced back against her poll. Another brute come to claim what was not his, she would not tolerate it again! Before, she had not wanted to risk the safety of her unborn child. But she knew now that she could protect Phoebe from this stallion and send him on his way. At least until Cain inevitably showed up, or perhaps even Harlequin.
“Get out!” she bellowed at the stallion, her command without question as he was greeted with nothing but snapping teeth and striking hooves. Melisma would drive him out with any means necessary.
|
