again you’re gone, off on a different path than mine
i'm left behind wondering if i should follow
She takes a deep breath, the thick smell of pine and summer heavy in her nose, and exhales it slowly. It is time. Past time, truly, but there are some things that are hard to let go of, and harder still to forget.
With Elio at her heel, the dun mare makes her way through the redwood forest. When she finds the landmark from which she had made her first address to Taiga, she finds Pteron already there and his olive eyes are somber. A fresh scar marks his piebald shoulder and Lepis frowns, but heeds his dismissive head shake and does not press farther. Instead, she steps up onto the rocky ridge, listing her head and letting out a call to summon the residents of Taiga. This vantage point is not meant to give her cause to look down at them when they assemble, but rather to make sure she is heard, and that she can hear them in turn.
Not all the residents will come, the Comtesse knows. There are some who prefer to live in the shadows of the redwoods, to raise their dark-eyed children at the edges of the land in peace and quiet. But many will, and most must. Lepis’ blue grey eyes search for a few in particular: Aten, Izora Lethia, Lilliana, and Wolfbane. Whether they come or not, her message will be the same. While they wait, Reia joins them, sliding up beside Pteron and pressing what Lepis sees as an affectionate kiss to his neck. Her sides are swollen with child – her grandchild, Lepis thinks with a faint smile.
Celina comes next, a pale shape in the woods, and she lingers at the edge of the meadow. Even at this distance, the distrust comes off her in waves, and when she finally leaves the woods it is with purposeful space between herself and her mother, standing nearer to Pteron and his pregnant wife.
When the rest of them come, Lepis swallows, clears her throat, and steps up to speak.
“Most of you know my son, Pteron.” At his name, the stallion steps forward, standing equal to his mother. “He has served Taiga for years, and Loess even longer. It is my belief that he will make a fine leader for Taiga, which is why I have chosen to make him my heir.” She pauses for a moment, allowing Pteron to speak if he wishes to, and watching the assembled faces. She is proud of her eldest son, immensely proud, but she does not take this chance to instill that same pride in the gathered Taigans. She could, quite easily, and yet knows that it is better if they develop such an emotion on their own rather than receiving it via projection.
“I’ve called you here to tell you this, as well as to announce that I will be taking my leave of Taiga within the next few days.” Back to Loess, she thinks, back to the first home she had ever known. The home she should have never left, she thinks sometimes. There is little pause before she speaks again, though her thoughts whirl quickly. “I ask that you accept Pteron in my place.” Now she falls quiet, leaving the request hanging in the empty air of the forest. Now is the time for them to voice their objections – if they have them – or to welcome the new order of Taiga.
LEPIS
i’m the one who sees you home--
but now i’m lost in the woods
and i don’t know what path you are on |
