Loneliness clawed at her like a wild beast, feral and ravenous. It did not matter that the world had already stolen away her father. Her mother. Her siblings. Her lover. Her child.
It wanted her, too.
For a long time, she had toyed with the idea of giving it what it wanted, but there was a stubbornness in her, drawn from the old Warsaw lines, that would not allow her to bend the knee, even to something as timeless as solitude.
She watched in silence as the Bay moved on without Fell, adjusting to his absence as if the gaping wound left by his disappearance wasn't a scar across all their hearts. She watched the painted monochrome mare wrap comforting arms around her growing band of family, and felt the absence of her own.
In truth, Corvette had never worried overmuch about belonging anywhere. She'd been brought up a traveller with only vague ideas of what it was like to be from somewhere. Now that she had tasted such sweet fruit, though? She was ravenous for another taste, especially after fasting for so long. She would like to think that autumn had nothing to do with her decision, but she was not so foolish. As much as she missed the companionship of belonging somewhere, so too did she miss the feeling of having a lover's eyes on her skin. Of having their attention, even if only for a moment.
The chill wind tugged against her heavy Tinuvel coat, but even with the touch of damp that lingered from her swim, it could not penetrate to her core. She carried herself as she imagined a Viking might: her petite head high, eyes bright, and step confident. She did not know what awaited her here among the strangers, but she was done convincing herself out of finding out.
Pulled by the breeze, her tail battered against her hocks, forced one way and then the next as she surveyed the land before her, wondering what journey she would face next.