The mare spoke her name easily enough, though Nymf sensed a hesitation behind her voice. Her pale blue eyes peered out through her messy wet forelock and she studied her newfound companion. She wasn’t particularly unique to look at, her only defining feature was the ‘v’ shape that framed her forehead. There was a distance within her eyes, a faraway look that instantly set her on edge. It was as if she was searching for something in the void between them. Answers perhaps.
The emptiness inside of her widened.
Volcan tore her gaze away and Nymf allowed her body to relax. The soreness in her limbs was numbed by the chill of the cave, though the pain of childbirth still lingered.
”This week we rest,” she huffed, almost as if she were a soldier preparing a new recruit. “I will stay close and make sure you are well.”
Nymf wasn’t sure how she felt about the declaration. Volcan seemed strange, odd and rough. She had a direct and calloused way of speaking, direct. The idea of having as a constant companion didn’t exactly upset Nymf. She seemed strong enough, and capable.
Volcan was staring again, this time at her blood stained hind legs and tail. Nervous, she pivoted her back end away and placed her wings strategically against her sides. Although wet and droopy, they provided enough coverage to add to her comfort and privacy.
Unfazed, Volcan continued, “And then after that, we train.” Her next words were angier, determined – almost protective. ”Nobody will hurt you or yours ever again.”
Nymf was startled by the declaration. She barely knew the lone mare and yet she was swearing to protect and guard her. Again, the face of her passed son flashed in her mind and she found herself wondering if he’d had her blue eyes or his father’s deep brown. The thought filled her heart with grief once more and she fought against it violently. She had to be strong if she were to defend his life and that of her beloved Sebastian.
”I forgot to ask your name.” The inquiry pulled her out of her thoughts and she was grateful for the distraction. ”Please forgive my rudeness. How did you come to be in Nerine?”
”Nymf,” She breathed. She was afraid to speak, afraid that he voice might crack and reveal her true depth of emotion. Even so, her voice carried through the belly of the cave and bounced around them. For a while she listened to it as it disappeared farther and farther into the deep black depths of the cavern.
Outside, the storm shook the earth with the sound of a thousand rain drops plummeting from the heavens. It was easy to ignore the howling wind and low claps of thunder – but impossible to forget the panicked journey that had brought her to the farthest point of Beqanna. Before today, she’d never even seen the ocean.
Sebastian had always promised that one day, after their foal was born, they would make the journey and see it together. Now, that would never be.
She decided that the best way to explain to Volcan was to start at the beginning. ”We were grazing,” her voice cracked and she paused to compose herself before she continued. ”They came from the west, vicious and taunting. They challenged Seb for the right to me and he – he fought. They were too much for him, so I ran.” Nymf was ashamed. She should have died beside her beloved. She couldn’t bring herself to say the rest, about the stallion who had pursued her, bit at her side and tore her flesh and ended the life of her unborn son. The pain of that loss was still too fresh – the image of his frail, helpless body still too crisp. ”My running brought me here, to Nerine.”
