For many weeks (ones without beginning or end) Essetia had spent time nurturing her growing children. The sun had risen repeatedly, day after day, and fallen far too soon— a plethora of hours and minutes that had somehow become the bane of the spy’s existence. She no longer knew her talents or her joys, her desires or dreams, as they were intermingled with that of her son… and her daughter. The surprise and the shock of becoming a new mother had been doubled and most certainly a burden that Essetia hadn’t been expecting. Since then she had lost track of both her sleeping and waking hours; everything was suddenly infinite and unending. Her worries and her expectations were no longer so far reaching and now so utterly mundane. Did becoming a mother ensure that she would never exceed the current plane of her existence? Somehow the idea was maddening—dismal.

Perhaps that was why she had abandoned the blazing heat of the desert. The dunes had stopped rolling and the oasis had become a mere mirage… Everything about the Throat was somehow blending into the spy’s overwhelming distress and discomfort. She needed (more than anything) to escape the mounting monotony of motherhood in exchange for something else, even if it was routine or, god forbid,boring. It took a great deal of time to decide upon such an action however—she still had children to attend to after all.

That was where Romul came in, despite his urgent refusals to abide by his bonded’s pleading commands. The wolf had done more for the almost-retired spy in the past few weeks than he’d been capable of doing in the entirety of their time together… Essetia knew that and yet couldn’t quite find the caring enough to ignore her need to do something other than be a mother.

The Threshold was and had always been a humdrum chore to all who belonged to any of the four main lands, but it appeared more a delight to Essetia than ever before. The forest was earthy and damp, a heady mixture that the mare had missed, and brambles and thickets that had once snagged and pulled now brushed and tickled. The tops of the trees seemed much taller now, a fortress of dried and dying leaves that would ultimately shed in time for the coming winter. Yet, everything was not as she’d remembered… it was much more than that.

As the spy wandered, her hooves mindlessly trailing familiar walks, she inhaled the woody scent of the very place she’d only just remembered to detest. The presence of others new and old still clung to the aging trunks of nearby oaks and pines. However, the shady glade was far from lonely as far as Essetia could guess and it didn’t take her long to prove the sentiment true.

When the lax outline of cream colored Pegasus became more evident beneath the thick shade of an old and staggering oak tree, Essetia silently longed for the reassurance of Romul by her side. She knew all too well the void of her missing companion, but drew closer without pause, her lips shuddering around a breathy greeting. “You must’ve come a long way,” she commented upon approach. The girl’s eyes were a cornflower blue, light and seemingly unassuming. Intertwined with the cream of her coat was a soft tawny brown that tipped her second and primary feathering as well. In all, she appeared a soft creature, though it wouldn’t be the first time that the spy had guessed wrong. “I’m Essetia and it looks like you’ve managed to find yourself within the parameters of Helovia,” Essetia began, rehearsed. “Welcome.”

essetia