citrus
(Please no claiming to the Peak or Lagoon <3)
'Stay safe out there, my love,' Citrus's mother had crooned as she pressed a kiss to the young mare's forehead, her dark eyes brimming with tears. Citrus' own hazel orbs were glistening as she leaned into her dam's comforting touch, a soft sigh ghosting past her petal-pink lips. "I will, mama," she had promised, gazing up at the loving faces of her parents one last time before turning and plunging herself into the briny sea.
It felt like forever that she swam, pouring each ounce of energy she had into traversing the many miles of ocean that separated her from her unknown destination. She took refuge on sandbars and found solace on uninhabited islands, spending her nights gazing up at the void-black sky and marveling at the incandescence of the stars. There were so many millions of them twinkling above her head, and sometimes, on nights when the moon hid behind its cloak of shadow, she felt as if she could reach out and pluck them right from the heavens.
Eventually she lost count of how many days it had been since she left home, time becoming an abstract thing that she couldn't quite grasp. From one archipelago to another she wandered, but each was more disappointing than the last. She was certain it was out here somewhere - she had heard the tales the vagabonds at home had told, of an island chain far away that housed lush forests, barren snow plains, scorching deserts, all inhabited by thriving herds. She wanted to see it for herself, to escape the monotony of her grassland home and feel, for once, that she was truly alive.
It was easy to feel alive, though, when one was under threat of being swallowed whole by the ocean's relentless currents. Citrus struggled against the tide, fighting to stay on course and reach the smudge of land she spied on the horizon. Each swift and furious thrash of her legs drew her closer and closer, until at last she could see pale sand flanked by a verdant green meadow and, in the distance, an imposing snow-capped peak that rose above a thick forest.
Citrus squinted against the lapping waves, lips parting in a gasp when she spied horses upon the beach. Renewed by hope, she swam harder than she had in days, sheer determination driving her towards the island. At last - at long last - she hauled herself weakly upon the shore, her jellied legs collapsing beneath her, sides heaving as she fought to catch her breath. A hysterical laugh bubbled from her throat, lips spread in an elated grin as she lifted her head to take in the wondrous sight before her. She was here. She was alive. She'd made it.
three years ● mare ● lusitano mutt
gold champagne pearl sabino ● 15 hands ● no home
played by pippa