It was, indeed, a silly question for me to ask. My daughter's back and shoulders were already stained pink and purple and gold from the flowers she'd been rolling in, their petals bleeding into the white-freckles that dotted her shoulders and dying them fresh colors. She looked like the epitome of spring - young and lively and carefree, her mane and tail bedecked in various flowers (some crushed, some intact, others completely unrecognizable). It made me ache inside for how beautiful it was.

"I see," I murmured warmly around a chuckle as I obediently directed my gaze toward the patch of earth Hael had been using for her celebration of the season. Stems and leaves and flower petals littered the ground in the immediate vicinity, much of which was also cast in a faint golden powder from the sheer amount of pollen being thrown around. Furrows left behind by my daughter's hooves showed the rich soil beneath, but I knew the marks would not last. The Prairie's ability to recover, to thrive even, after things had been "ruined," was one of my favorite things; it was a large part of why I had been able to return here, return to Zevulun, even though I blamed myself for our son's loss. By tomorrow the ground would already show the fresh sprouts of eager new plants to cover that which had been inadvertently harmed, just as my own life had begun to show me bits of joy again as soon as I returned.

The Cove would always be special to me, but it was the Prairie that had become my home.

Hael dropped to the ground again, eager to show me her new and improved flower bath protocol and I smiled warmly as she did, my heart full to bursting with love for her. It still seemed unfathomable to me that a little girl this perfect had come from me, but I knew it had to be the Zevulun in her. It was his playful light and laughter I sensed in her every time I heard her giggle, just the same way that she smelled almost like him, just softer, and sweeter, her scent always intertwined with flowers in some way.

"I am, I am," I chorused, dropping my freckled muzzle down so that I could try and tickle at her neck as she rolled, only to inadvertently put my mane within her reach. "Okay, okay," I say through another laugh, although the thought of laying down came with benefits and risk. To take the weight off of my feet would be heavenly, but rising again had grown harder as the size of my belly had grown larger.

But how many more chances did I have like this? Chances to play with and snuggle my oldest daughter before she grew too big and too independent for such affection?

Decision made, I lowered myself to the ground as gracefully as I could, landing with a soft thump that sent the grass closest to me - not yet trampled by Hael's exuberance - to waving. The child I carried protested and I felt my whole midsection cramp as he shifted, forcing me to grimace and bury my muzzle against the damp earth until it passed. I wasn't sure what to make of it - I hadn't thought that I was that close to delivering but that inner twist had awakened something in me that I had felt twice before. Fear shot my heart into overdrive, and I took two long breaths in, scented with rich Praire soil, before the sound of Hael's giggles was able to ground me.

It would be okay.

At her insistence, I gingerly rolled over, letting the scent of crushed grass and wildflowers scent my skin and hair, making the air around us burst with fragrance once more. I paused without going all the way over, testing the waters for further complaints from Hael's little sibling, and when none were forthcoming, allowed myself to enjoy the moment, pushing the worries aside. The rolling felt right and necessary, and I found that even after I rolled once, the urge to keep doing so did not abate until I was almost dizzy and nearly as flower stained as my daughter. Breathless, I propped my pale forelegs up without fully rising and turned to peer at her with a grin, my eyes lidded with love for her.

I could feel an errant stem tangled in my forelock at a jaunty angle, the slender stalk bobbing against my forehead and tickling my ear, and I tilted my head toward her playfully. "Do I have something in my mane?"