"One Day, I Shall Live By the Code of Honor."
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*"You should be in bed."*
Laila clamped her muzzle shut, suppressing the urge to scream and rail at her mother; she knew it was only a small comment, made perhaps out of the undying insistence at motherhood and parenthood—but to the ebony filly in her moment of passionate anger, it felt as though the ivory mare was mocking the situation, as though she were making light of the pain and confusion Laila was feeling about it all. Her hooves became intensely hot indeed; Laila couldn’t help the uncormfortable groan that escaped her lips as she began shifting from hoof to hoof, trying to find comfort from her burning frogs. Ther was something wrong with this picture. Laila didn’t know what, but it felt like something was rumbling in her limbs and feet, desperate for release, begging Laila to unleash it into the world. She didn’t know what it was, and surely didn’t want to take the chance to find out. Not now. Not at this fragile time.
*"Did you miss me?"*
It was possibly the tiniest set of words Laila ever caught in the rushing, salty winds of the World’s Edge, and yet somehow she caught them. As they floated into her ears, some dam deep within decided that it was entirely too much--and it burst forth in the form of hot, salty tears that fell from Laila’s eyes unchecked. They were thick, swiftly falling things, filled with all the intensity Laila felt about her mother’s return—all the anger, sadness, apprehension, and blinding happiness she felt whenever she gazed upon the ivory mare. She made no move to wipe them away, or indeed, she never even shifted her gaze from Tor. Instead Laila continued to listen to her mother’s explanation, desperately trying to make sense of her mother’s side of things. As every word and syllable drifted toward Laila, one question was repeated in the filly’s mind, increasing in volume until Laila had a hard time picking up her mother’s tormented voice.
Why didn’t you tell us? As swiftly as the tears fell, Laila’s demeanor remained dignified all throughout; not even a sob wracked her chest. Why did you leave without telling us this? It was the root of her sadness; why had her mother left without so much as a word? Laila had literally woken up one day to an empty nest; she had searched and searched, and yet her mother was nowhere to be seen. The memory made the tears fall even thicker, and Laila couldn’t hold her tongue anymore. She had to say something—anything—to her mother, to try and make her understand how desperately Laila wanted to trust her again and how hard it was to do so.
However, someone else beat her to it.
*“I do not believe that regret would pertain to such emotions Tor, though perhaps you’ve mistake the term for resentment.”*
Laila blinked through her tears, turning to see the new arrival and interloper in their conversation. Except it wasn’t an intruder—it was a large, hulking behemoth of a stallion even larger than her own father, a brute with small, malformed wings and the kindest, gentlest eyes sitting deep within their sockets. Laila remembered his face; he was Thor the Gentleheart, named Weyrleader at their last herd meeting. The turmoil she felt at Tor’s return made the memory fuzzy, but she remembered nonetheless. There was a new king in town, and here he was in the flesh. Hastily Laila dipped her head in respect, honored by his presence. “Gentleheart,” she said with reverence; she was pleased to hear her voice had not been affected by her violent weeping, and that she spoke out as clearly and robustly as ever.
*“Though I am curious, Nurse, how you plan to prove your loyalty to this family, to the Edge? I have heard of your return and perhaps I can recall the day I met you at the Healer’s gathering- but I do question whether or not your fervor back then had been true? What has aided your return that did not burden you upon your departure?”*
His words resonated within Laila—in an instant, the ebony filly realized she had been somewhat selfish in her anger. She attributed Tor’s actions strictly to how they affected herself and her family first and foremost—but had completely forgotten that they had also affected the herd entire. Laila kept silent because Thor had said very eloquently what was going on inside her head; I want to trust you mother. I want to love you and accept you and forget about all this. I want to go back to the happy family we were.
But how can I trust you not to run away again?
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