cassiopeia
it is not in the stars to hold our destiny
Across the red slate of her desert home a roaned mistress paced frantically, beads of sweat clinging to nearly every inch of her peppered physique. Her lover hadn't been there with her, called off to fight a war that was not his own. With eyes swarming tones of brilliant azure, a bright, hectic pigment, she scanned the horizon with the frail hope that her beloved mate might return.
There was a sort of panic that had settled over her, fearful that Azzuen might not be able to attend the birth of his second child. The contractions had begun, and beneath an overcast sky, obscuring the setting sun's final opulent beams behind a thick, looming veil of clouds, it would appear as if there was no avoiding the imminence of their daughter's birth. Reluctantly, a rather plump Cassiopeia made her way toward the Oasis, each contraction amplifying as she went along.
The wind twirled the delicate fronds of her mane in a consolatory manner, as if attempting to do just that. It gave her a rather alluring, windswept appearance as she gazed behind her, the expression of longing stark upon her features.
Finally, she turned away from the direction in which he had left, stepping softly toward the Oasis as desolate, russet waves of rock sundered and made way for a vast expanse of viridian green and tall palm trees. Even now, as the Sun God's powers had begun to wane, the heat was intense in this region, and it did little to ease her frayed nerves. Closing her eyes, finally succumbing to her own body, her legs folded beneath her, conveying her to rest among the sea of swaying grass.
And with that, the delivery commenced.
Just as it hadn't been before, it was not a swift process. For what seemed like many hours she would thrash her legs below her in acute angst and infrequently attempt to stand, only to find she was incapable of getting to her hooves. All this had felt much easier before. Now, though, she felt so alone. Still, she favored solitude to the violation of prying eyes, or any that did not belong to the one who had helped create this new life. Her only regret was what Azzuen might feel upon his return. Even more intense was the burrowing dread that he might not return.
Her cyan eyes squeezed shut in defiance, fighting off the horrid sentiment. The mere thought caused her heart to sink somewhere down within her stomach. "Please keep him safe." She breathed, an airy trill of a prayer directed toward the Gods. Could they hear her?
And where had Cirrus run off to? That, too, sent her into even deeper turmoil. Had her daughter decided to naively follow her father to the brunt of war, she doubted she could bear the burden which that loss of life might harbor. She would sooner lay down her own life than allow her daughter to venture into such peril, and she swiftly thrust her head into the air. Ears and head erect, she searched phrenetically across the sea of emerald, distress laced through ever fiber of her being.
Tilting her slender face upward, her muzzle pointed in the wind, she allowed a brisk neigh to bellow out from her bosom: a sound accustomed to the belle's ears, no doubt.
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