When he’d first told Parvati (and Devi) he would come visit in the spring, Orphiel had intended to come as soon as he noticed the changing of the weather on Crossing Isle. He didn’t care that the conditions would be colder on Tinuvel, still stuck in the end of their rough winter, he had only wanted to see them as quickly as he could. But now that some time had passed he found himself pushing off the visit day after day, deciding to graze somewhere along Crossing Isle rather than push into the seas and swim for the northernmost island.
He hated that he hesitated. He had made a promise to Devi that he wouldn’t abandon her and Orphiel meant to keep that promise with everything he possessed. But her mother… Every time he thought of Parvati it was with such a wretched ache of pain and twist of longing, agony, and anger that he felt himself grow sick. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see her again, not after the brief glimpse he’d caught of her seasons ago, trying to raid a different stallion (yet another of her lovers) away from the Lagoon.
Still, despite his own withholdings, the one thing Orphiel could not deny was the child waiting for him. He had broken ties with his grandfather for the amount of times they’d abandoned their family here, leading to the mix-up that’d shattered his happy world to begin with. Therefore, Orphiel knew he would not follow in their steps. No matter how hard it was for him to see Parvati, he had to do it. He had to because he’d made a promise.
The dun stallion pushed through the seas with vigor, growing into himself and the muscles developing under his coat. He was beginning to look less like a boy and more like the man he’d become in a few years time. The softness was leaving his face, he was looking older. Maybe a little harder. Or maybe that was just all that he’d suffered this past year.
The cold waters rolled off his back and dappled the pebble beach as he climbed his way up the shoreline. Without wasting time he tipped his brown muzzle upward and called out loudly into the open, beckoning Devi… though he had a feeling Parvati would likely come along with her, unless she wanted to avoid him still.
He couldn’t say he blamed her if that were the case.
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