your faith was strong but you needed proof

The darkness that had enveloped following the herd meeting was endless. There was a silence so loud around her constantly that it was deafening. Her mind was dull, lifeless, and it reflected physically. Her normally pristine look was replaced by dirt, grime, sweat- her hair although grown back was still choppy along the bottoms. She had fallen so far since her rule. Edgar had also degraded with time. His feathers were dinghy and dull. Neither of them had the energy or the incentive to keep up anymore. Life was slowly swallowing them alive, and no matter what they did their screams would never be loud enough to be saved.

That was, until a familiar call swept across her ears. It shattered the silence, and suddenly, it was like she was alive again. Between the two of them, Edgar was the first to lose his shit. He pushed roughly off of her poll and took to the skies, cawing so loudly that it could be considered shrieking. He heard Darwin, but the only image that filled his head was Antaa. Elsa could feel Edgar’s and her own heartbeat increase considerably. They were at the gate, he had to be.

Elsa took off in a gallop, her hooves hitting the ground, leaving impressions in her wake. Edgar flew above, pushing his body as fast as he could manage. It was quite a sight to see the Icebound and her companion moving with such speed- but the one reason she had to return showed up at her front door, and she wasn’t going to waste another moment alone.

She hoped he had not moved on- she hoped he had not forgotten. The Icebound couldn’t fault him for it, but seeing him with someone else, or seeing him jaded and bruised, she could never forgive herself. The already broken hearted matriarch could not survive such a disaster.

Upon arrival at the gate, she saw him and froze. Antaa was curled up against him, and Edgar was already diving down and landing on the ground near her. He chirped incessantly towards his friend, and his heart fluttered as he bounced back and forth. He so desperately craved attention, craved her. Elsa was too wrapped up in Darwin to pay attention to him, and instead closed the distance between Darwin and himself. A gate would not keep her away.

She rushed forward closing the distance and connecting chests probably a little too hard. Her neck wrapped around him, her muzzle landing on his opposite should as she tried to pull him closer. There was a brief moment of pure awe at the feeling of contact again, and her eyes watered. They threatened to cry. Her breathing was ragged, and the Icebound sniffled feeling suddenly so small in his presence. ”Darwin… I’ve missed you.” the words were quiet, and she clenched her eyes shut. He may not have missed her, he may have moved on, but she needed this one moment to even survive. ”I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked, and with it so did the Icebound. She cried, and cried, and cried. The sobbing was ugly, and pent up over the course of months. He was her release- she needed him. But the question was did he need her?

the icebound