In reality, Cerva is the mother figure and yet she has gradually lost grip on the title. She finds herself following Dovev more than not and has settled passively at his side. There is nothing more to teach him; he is considered an adult now, and while most mothers abandon their children to life, she simply cannot. He is all that she has, all that she has ever truly cared for. The love that warms her heart when she looks at him has amplified over the past couple years and she can’t bring herself to let it all slip through her fingers.
They are inseparable and she finds comfort in the way he occasionally presses against her during their stroll. His body heat is a blanket wrapping around her; she smiles to herself even as the cold, white snow falls around them. While they had initially struggled to find a home Cerva has since concluded that she is happy with only Dovev. There is perhaps less heartbreak if it’s only the two of them. There would be no worry if the world crumbled again because she is attached to only one, only him. With this realization, she reaches her muzzle forward and glides it along his shoulder as it ripples when he walks. He is taller than her now and so she has to look up to see the focus in his eyes as he navigates them through the forest. She doesn’t object, content to simply be here with him.
What she didn’t expect in this endeavor, however, is for him to stop near another mare and engage them all in conversation. He greets her and so there is not yet a reason to speak. Her nutmeg eyes quietly drink in the scenery, her body soaking in the dappled sunlight when the branches above sway and groan. Although Cerva has never been an admirer of winter (she remembers how it weakened mother) she allows herself to smile and find joy in it for the simple fact that Dovev is with her. Glancing sideways to him, she listens to his deepened voice before following it with a tender, ”It’s a pleasure.” What comes next is rather unexpected and it shows by the sudden brightening of Cerva’s eyes as her brows furrow curiously. There is a moment of hesitation as she reflects back on when the Reckoning happened and when pieces of her soul had been ripped from her. The time has quickly pedaled by her and she has to actually think of what she could once do and how empowering it made her feel. ”I did,” she admits as though embarrassed. Her gaze sweeps to Dovev briefly before funneling on Marlyn. ”He isn’t sure if he had anything to lose; he was born around the time it all happened. I, on the other hand, was once able to control poison ivy and shift into a badger.” It was nothing compared to her family members, but those things still made her unique.
Cerva