A quiet resolve flooded over the mare as she ambled along the path toward the Hidden Falls. Kipling was distant, but for once Essetia could understand his qualms… After all, he was alone in the world much like she had been for the past few years. Without Romul to soothe the unease that often plagued her heart during the long, cold nights in the Wilds, the mare feared what would have become of her and her sanity.

After the colt’s vague response or rather lack thereof, Essetia nodded absently, more to herself than Kipling, before nurturing the ensuing silence. She had much to debate, celebrate, and mourn… Even if Kipling didn’t feel the need to share much about his past, the mare felt little need to press him for answers. It was clearly something that he needed to sift through on his own.

Romul

I had bent to her will, followed her orders, and given her my devout attention… all in the name of love. I loved the girl foolishly and with wild abandon. She was my master of the elements, my hanger of the moon. However, upon meeting the hapless colt in the Threshold, I found something else in the world to ponder. He reminded me too much of Essetia when she was just a wee one; he reminded me of a carefree time spend exploring the Edge and hiding from prying eyes. We were such a force back then, so wild and young. I missed my love of life and my reckless tendency to act without thinking. The colt, Kipling, had given me something I’d been missing for quite some time. I was the mare’s companion for life, but I possessed free will just as much as she. I possessed the ability to agree or disagree and I possessed emotions just as strong as hers.

Many forgot to acknowledge that, including Essetia.


I had taken my place at Kipling’s side shortly after leaving the claiming grounds and had no trouble dodging Ess’s attempts to reign me in. However, I was more than shocked when his curious eyes found mine with a sense of true delight brightening his expression. I had a hard time trying to translate his words into an emotion I knew because the only thing I could truly come up with was satisfaction.

Essetia

The colt’s mention of Romul brough the mare to her senses, though her thoughts were still hazy from being ripped away from the past so violently. “We met in the World’s Edge,” she whispered with a growing smile. “His mother brought him to me… just a little orb. I didn’t know what to expect but he has proved to be the best thing to come into my life since then,” she trailed off blissfully. The wolf whimpered softly astride Kipling, a show of appreciation despite the fact that he did not leave the colt amid their ascent into the Falls.

The waterfall that had been frozen in the winter had begun to thaw once more into a steady stream. It was cold and exciting all the same as Essetia hurried beneath the spray. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that!” she yelled from within the cave that guided straight into the land itself. As she waited for the colt and her companion, she felt an overwhelming sense of comfort in knowing that this was now her home just as it was now Kipling’s…


Essetia