Ryuu

Momma says I should try and get out more. I don't really understand what I have to get out of, I'm not really stuck in anything, but she explained to me that she wants me to start making friends. Meeting people. I trust momma more than anything...but I'm scared to do what she says I should. In the Edge, the only one I had was Annie, and it had been in the stolen moments when she wasn't chasing after Aurelia trying to win her love. Aurelia hadn't spared me so much as a word or a second glance since I had been born, and I had stopped vying for her attention soon after. Annie hadn't. In a lot of ways I envied her, for having that kind of loyalty for our birth mother. But I knew momma treated me far better than anyone else ever could. I was her spitting image, nobody questioned us when they found out she was my momma, and it stirred a warmth in my belly every time.

I finally had somewhere I belonged, even if it was only at momma's side.

The only other soul I knew was Cera, he was really nice and always visited me and momma. It took a while before I began to trust him. I'd been abandoned and hurt too deeply to trust him too soon. But he seemed to understand, and soon he was the only person aside from momma I was okay being alone with. Illy the red panda was my other best friend, and Cera would let her stay with me when he went off on trips, and we played together when he and momma visited together. So when I heard his voice calling out across the sand, I lifted my head and turned in the direction it came from.

Turning to look at Momma with uncertainty, knowing he wasn't calling just for me or he would have come directly to me, I hesitated. Momma smiled, bright and beautiful as the sun and as soft and warm as Illy's fur, and she gently touched her muzzle to my flank. Prodding me towards Cera's voice with an encouraging look. I didn't talk much, and sometimes I wondered if I rubbed off on momma, because we never seemed to need words when we were together. Was it bad? But momma wanted me to meet new people, and while I would be more confident and a lot happier if I were to meet anybody else with momma at my side, Cera was a good substitute for her comforting presence.

Wobbling off on aching hooves, it took me a lot longer to arrive than the other colt seemed to. The sand hurt me more than any other terrain, so I sank to my knees close to Cera in silence to relieve the agony that was building the longer I stayed standing. Illy padded over to me and hugged my face with her short little pawed arms, and I blew warm air over her belly playfully. Releasing me, she curled up behind my elbow, and I quietly observed the other colt. I wanted to ask what his name was, but I was scared to. But momma wanted me to make friends...swallowing hard, I squeaked out to the other colt, voice trembling and eyes scared, trying to be brave. "H-Hi...what's your name?" Mismatched eyes flickered to Cera uncertainly only to receive a kindly smile, and I tried to summon the rest of my courage as I looked back towards the hybrid child.

leave me your stardust to remember you by