he journey had gone remarkably well. It had been a fun day for Velaris, just bouncing around and asking questions or racing to and fro across their path. Nephilim had answered every one of her innumerable questions about the world around him. There had been almost little need to tell him that she was making a game of the journey to ease her daughter along, but he had participated enthusiastically. It hadn't been hard to remember why she had felt about him the way she had. Seeing the two of them interact made her heart lilt with joy; it was easy to forget in the moment what exactly they were leaving behind.

It wasn't until they made to cross the channel that Vervain had taken issue. She balked at the water's edge. Her body remembered the last time she had been here; how far away had they landed, she and Peyote? She couldn't voice what was wrong to Nephilim. This was the only way she would ever truly go home; they had to cross the water. Then there was the fact that Velaris had never learned to swim. Vervain herself only this long trip once before. The water made her nervous. Neph had splashed around in the water with her painted babe, wordlessly distracting the girl to give the mare some space.

When Vervain entered the water, she did her best to shut off her brain except to swim and keep Velaris afloat. In the end, the smoky girl surprised them all and ended up being a truly prodigious swimmer. The black mare looked around with disbelieving eyes at the coastline, the pearly sands of the Prairie. It was home... but it felt completely different than it had before. Vervain's breathing slowed as she disassociated. She could hear the memory of her scream in her ears, remembering that night and the churning sand beneath her hooves. She could feel every scrape of Peyote's teeth against her skin as he bit her time and time again.

Suddenly hyperaware of the movement in the corner of her eye, Vervain flinched away from the golden stallion's touch as he welcomed her home. Her head had already begun to drop submissively by the time the mare could see whose face it was beside her. It took a moment for her to recover and try to just flash a half-smile through the awkwardness. Not wanting to address what just happened, Vervain's eyes darted away as she murmured a 'thank you.' Her eyes lifted back to the seagrass and wildflowers beyond the sloping beach.

The Prairie.. They were here. They had finally made it. They were truly safe now; so what was the dread that hung in her heart? Vervain took a hesitant step forward and then slipped into a trot to reach the wildflowers that waited before them. Upon reaching them, Vervain came to a stop with Velaris on her heels. In a daze, she realized she knew the shapes before her some distance away. There were the pale painted forms of her brother Castillon and her father Zevulun. There, beside them, was the dark shape of her mother. The breath caught in her throat as she gave a strangled cry. Mom?! Dad?!

vervain

mare ∙ mutt ∙ black brindle ∙ 16.3 hands
daire's daughter ∙ peyote's prize