Vesper could feel eyes on her today that almost certainly did not belong to Faolain or Rivaini. Usually, she could feel whomever it was watching her, like a voice or a scent. Sometimes, unknown eyes touched her from the shadows of the Ridge, usually when she was away from her mother or Rivaini. They only ever flickered briefly over that she could tell, before moving along, or before Vesper became distracted and forgot to pay attention. Today, as she bounded ahead of her sister, she felt the eyes follow with them. Someone was very attentive. Vesper briefly wondered if her mother had sent someone after them to babysit, but dismissed the idea - Faolain would have been upfront about a chaperone.

Vesper didn’t pay much mind to the unknown gaze as she lead the chattering Selune to the beach. Her oversized baby ears were twisted back to listen to her sister, focusing more on the sounds of her movements than her voice, although Vesper picked up every word her pale-maned sibling spoke without much effort. She loved to listen to the whimsical voice, but today, she just wanted to make sure Selune kept up.

At the break in the trees, Vesper halted and turned. Selune tumbled out of the jungle behind her, and they shared a knowing grin. Vesper returned her sister’s nudge with a mischievous tug on the fluffy, silvery mane.

And then they were moving again, still pressed together as though they were joined shoulder-to-hip. Selune fell behind at the offensive screaming of gulls as a flock of them was rudely awakened, but Vesper did not mind the sound. She chased after a few of them, mimicking the cries with her own shrill voice. With Selune’s encouragement, Vesper charged a handful of times after the gulls as they scattered and regrouped, inching closer to the waves as she did so.

She had forgotten about the eyes, but as soon as a wave swelled around her tiny dark hooves, she felt their intensity, and looked up.

Past Selune, Vesper could see the dark smudge of a figure lingering in the jungle’s shadows. Was this the owner of the eyes? For a few moments, she stood very still studying the figure, and listening to Selune’s chatter. She wanted to say something to the figure, but as usual, she kept silent.