The Thistle Meadow had become a place of remembrance for the spy and her companion. However, it was also a parallel universe in which to take refuge from the brutal heat of TallSun in the South. With Gyda safely stowed away in the blissful shade of the oasis, likely distracted by colorful desert flowers, her mother felt comfortable travelling north. Gyda had an eye for beautiful things like herself and Essetia was quite proud of the miracle she was blessed enough to called her daughter. Yet, that niggling desire to roam had not left her since giving birth— in fact, it only seemed to grow more intense. Even as she’d planted the seed of distraction for her daughter to become enamored by, Essetia felt guilty after sneaking away toward their borders, unwilling to look back.

But the Meadow wasn’t far from home and she silently promised to return at the next daybreak, when the sun would again find her fresh-faced filly alive and well. Gyda would smile as she always did and she would resume her antics until sleep finally swept her off her tiny feet again. Those were the moments Essetia cherished as a mother; she enjoyed the peaceful look of happiness when Gyda finally succumbed to a deep and restful slumber. Her eyes would flutter and twitch as she dreamed and Essetia would watch and smile, refusing to sleep until she was certain Gyda wouldn’t simply disappear from her life. She was too beautiful an angel… and if lost, Essetia would be destroyed.

With Romul leading the way, Essetia and her wolf made their way back into Thistle Meadow, somehow awestruck by its lack of grandeur from before. It didn’t look anything like it had last season and Essetia  had been utterly distracted when she’d met the Basin mare called Zyanya there only weeks before.

As the pair bustled through the tall grasses and abundance of wild flowers, they heard an interesting trilling from the nearby river banks. They considered the idea of company for a moment, almost deciding against it, before growing more curious by the appearance of a crimson maned pony working his way through the tree line in search of the disturbance in question. When Essetia looked to Romul, trying to gain insight, the wolf looked back and, silently, they resolved to trail the little stallion toward the source of mysterious laughter. “Right behind you,” Romul soothed as the spy approached the shady grove at a brisk, but nervous trot.

The two made their way down to the riverbed and watched, mezmorized, as glowing orbs dropped shimmering dust along the water’s gleaming surface. The pony, who was unfamiliar to them, had taken to studying the river’s current for reasons even more unknown, while Essetia and Romul slowly made their way closer to the brilliant orbs and their onlookers. Forest creatures had gathered around to fantasize about the origin of the fluttering globes of light, and Essetia was enamored by the trails of silver and gold left in their wake. On impulse, the spy ducked toward the water’s edge where a small gathering of golden powder had settled against the muddy embankment. She nudged the accumulation with the soft velvet of her muzzle before pulling away, mystified, with a gold spattered nose. “This is… beautiful,” she sighed in spite of herself. As beside herself as she was, the spy hardly noticed the presence of two other mares down the stream, one well-suited for the water’s edge, and one so much... Perhaps if she had, she would have initiated conversation with one or the other, but it appeared a more self-serving atmosphere anyway.  


Essetia & Romul