▶ They’d rested on their way back to the Edge. Lourdes wasn’t sure if Mauja had stopped them for her sake or for his own. Perhaps it had been both or perhaps he’d had the good sense to present her on her best behavior. Whatever his reasons – she was grateful, though a word of thanks never did cross her lips. Most of the journey had been silent. The speckled unicorn hadn’t struck her as the intrusive type and if he did wonder anything about her, he didn’t bombard her with questions. Then again, Lourdes hadn’t made herself the easiest to talk to. She’d kept that weird white stare at the road ahead, gaze rarely deviating, and never toward him. Most of the speaking that she had done had been mutterings to herself – a verbal tally of all the familiar herbs and plants she’d seen on the way. She’d only really addressed Mauja when they passed through the borders of her new home.

▶It was exactly the way he’d described – thick forests as far as she could see, blanketed in a thick mist that seemed to stick to everything in the early morning humidity. “It looks like home.” She’d  said to no one in particular, though she supposed Mauja was as good an audience as anyone. The earthy smell of dew-laden soil wrapped around them, luring the witch further into the depths of the trees. Lourdes imagined it wouldn’t be hard to get lost between the trunks of the old pines and firs. She wanted to veer off the path now, disappearing into the mists in the way she did best. Yet, ahead of her, Mauja was still moving with purpose and she felt compelled to follow. This was herd-life, after all – she imagined there was a bit more to it than being courted in some faraway forest and following the man home like a stray.

▶“What now?” This time she was addressing Mauja, trotting up to keep pace with him shoulder-to-shoulder after she’d fallen behind gawking at some plant or another growing just past the treeline. Her bone-white head fell to the side, tipped at a curious angle that placed her unsettling gaze dead and center on his face. The witch blinked slowly, keeping watch out of her peripheral lest she stumble over some bump in the path. Their pace eventually slowed and then ceased in a clearing, silence still hanging heavy in the wake of her impatience.

a note | closed for mauja + alysanne(?)/other important edgers. plz forgive this trash disguised as a post. also i tried to keep the details of their journey here vague for interpretation.

▶ Lourdes supposed she liked Mauja, as much as she could like someone she’d met just the night before. He was content to let her be and when she was direct and to the point, he didn’t give her an offended look, only offering up the answers she sought. Interacting with him was easy and straightforward and he didn’t wear on her patience in the way that so many did. There was a nod on her part, acknowledging his answer without really offering anything else to the conversation. The witch was intrigued by the mention of the garden, the same way the word had roused her when Mauja had tempted her with it in the Threshold. Still, Lourdes was silent, filling her time scanning the trees.

▶ An ear fell in his direction, surprised when the speckled stallion spoke again. She snaked her head around, peering at him with a speculative gaze. Did she have any questions? Lourdes supposed she had plenty, but she was drawing a blank. Momentarily her gaze shifted upward, focusing on the owl perched on his face. She recalled the bird appearing during their encounter at the Threshold, and another which he’d sent off when they’d reached this clearing. “Why do you have owls?” And then she frowned, dropping her gaze back to the treeline. What was she asking? Why did he have owls, as opposed to other birds? Why did these owls follow him around and do his bidding? Just, why?

▶ Then the trees spit out a mare (and another owl), and captured Lourdes's attention. The mare’s expression was knotted with worry that seemed to ease when she settled before them. Even before she introduced herself, the young witch had assumed this was the doctor they were meant to be meeting – Alysanne. After a disquieting amount of time observing the black and white Pegasus, she nodded as if to accept her introduction. “I am Lourdes.” She glanced between the speckled unicorn and the splotched Pegasus, a flat expression inhabiting her features. “Mauja brought me here.” Another pause. “He says you have a garden.” She wanted to go there, to escape the itchy unease that crawled up her spine. She liked plants, not people. 

a note | what a noodle.