Common

Keiko had been young; just a spindly legged filly, when Izumi had braved the cold-water lapping on the shores of Atlantis. His scent had faded, his presence no longer there to protect them. The demon had come too many times, and if she remained, then he would know where to find her and Annubis wouldn’t be there to protect her a second time.


Now, as the mother grazed quietly on dying fall grass, her eyes cast out to the filly who would be nearing her second year of life in the spring. Keiko was still lean as all young horses were, but no longer the gangly child with spiky mane and snapping short tail. Her mane was already long, and would clearly be longer than her mothers in a few years. Though her tail still had a bit of catching up to do since it barely brushed lower than her hocks.


When the young mare’s head raised, the afternoon sun casting a golden halo on her crown, Izumi raised her own to try and see what had caught her daughter’s attention. Anxiety of being found still nestled strongly in her chest, the fear of being found by the demon or worse; the lagoon, always sitting at the forefront of her mind. But Izumi saw nothing, and when she looked back to Keiko, the filly was gone.


“Keiko?!” Izumi called, head raising further as she looked around. Her daughter’s scent was still fresh, easy to follow, and Izumi tried to keep down her panic as she quickly followed after the girl.


“Keiko?!!” Izumi called a little loud, more insistently as she anxiously followed her daughter’s scent into the Commons. The place she had drilled in to Keiko’s head to never go. Why had she ignored that? What had garnered that much attention? Izumi hoped she could find her daughter and slink back to the shadows before either of them had been found.