PERSEPHONE

Persephone was quiet as she waited for Evren’s response, the only sounds that of their footsteps and the undergrowth crunching beneath them. She never found silence uncomfortable with Evren, trusting in their patience with each other that she would speak when she was ready. She was content to wait, to enjoy the gentle rhythm of their pace and the comforting brush of skin against skin as they walked beside each other.

Her ears and eyes flicked in Evren’s direction as she began to speak. It was an answer that was somewhat indistinct, which worried Persephone more than the actual words themselves. They did not make a habit of keeping things from each other, or from hedging their words. She pushed the thought away, hoping that she was only worrying too much about Evren at the moment.

She turned her head towards her companion.

“I worry about her, too,” she replied, her voice soft. “I can’t imagine how it feels for you. But I’m sure Asyu is as strong as her mother, and her grandmother before her – she will thrive, I know it.”

She offered what she hoped was a small, comforting smile.

Then she turned her mind to Evren’s question. She thought fondly of the times a few years ago, when Sabran and Eadaz, and Arkana and Sephine were still small – of the children playing together, causing amusement and trouble in equal measure. There were times that she did miss the bustle of early parenthood, and there were times that watching Sabran and Eadaz head out on their own made her sad as well as proud, but ultimately, when she thought about this period of her life, she was satisfied. She looked forward to meeting her future grandchildren, and perhaps, if she was lucky, even future generations, but she was moving into a phase of her life now where her mind and her body were her own again – stronger in some places and weaker in others after the passage of time and the birth of two children, but her own all the same.

“It is strange,” she agreed with a bob of her head. “I’m still adjusting to letting Sabran and Eadaz go wherever and do whatever as they please, although I must admit the peace is nice most of the time.”

She gave a small chuckle, looking over to Evren for her response.

“I don’t think we have to think of it as empty – just… different. And perhaps we’ll even find some new herd members who want to fill the nest around us.”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh