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03-27-2013, 08:23 PM
For days they wandered, Valka like a shadow at Snö’s side. The trees around them thinned and the darkness receded. Far in the distance, mountains loomed high and then, at last, reared only behind them. Valka watched forest thin to grassland, and then rocky soil devour the taste of green. A crisp breeze snapped in her long mane, and it tasted of thin air and frost – a far cry from the humid forest mulch. As the path ahead narrowed into a rocky, winding trail, Valka hesitated. Her long neck arched; the wolf’s shape stood reflected in the pale gray of her right eye. Silently it moved ahead of her, like a foal at Snö’s flank. Valka could only watch in wonder and give the sharp-toothed creature a wide berth. If Snö governed such a beast as well… Valka’s ears pricked forward and her toes clapped lightly on the bare earth. Who could say what awaited her in the unicorn herd here, at the top of the world?
They paused overlooking a wide valley. Valka’s forelock tangled around her single jagged horn, but her mismatched eyes both trained on the sweeping expanse of land below. One ear canted toward Snö when the pale mare spoke, and silently Valka nodded. ”Psyche,” she murmured, and the wind stole the word from her. The DarkEmpress, she thought, and wondered what kind of mare that might be – Snö’s mother, no doubt more graceful and magnificent even than the pale mare. For a brief moment Valka thought of her own mother – defiant, bristling – and the mare’s ears twisted back into the tangles of her mane. I am far past it, she told herself. I am a creature of the north.
”I can barely wait,” said Valka more loudly. Her limbs tingled with cool air and with excitement. More than anything, she wanted to run full speed down the path winding in front of them – take the future in her teeth and claim it. She stood quietly though, just a few feet behind and to the left of Snö, her ears twitching in curiosity. Beneath Valka’s dark coat, muscle lay taut and ready to respond to any stimulus – though she expected no danger. She was merely ready, anticipating the mighty empress who would grant entry to this herd - would, Snö had assured her. I am home.
They paused overlooking a wide valley. Valka’s forelock tangled around her single jagged horn, but her mismatched eyes both trained on the sweeping expanse of land below. One ear canted toward Snö when the pale mare spoke, and silently Valka nodded. ”Psyche,” she murmured, and the wind stole the word from her. The DarkEmpress, she thought, and wondered what kind of mare that might be – Snö’s mother, no doubt more graceful and magnificent even than the pale mare. For a brief moment Valka thought of her own mother – defiant, bristling – and the mare’s ears twisted back into the tangles of her mane. I am far past it, she told herself. I am a creature of the north.
”I can barely wait,” said Valka more loudly. Her limbs tingled with cool air and with excitement. More than anything, she wanted to run full speed down the path winding in front of them – take the future in her teeth and claim it. She stood quietly though, just a few feet behind and to the left of Snö, her ears twitching in curiosity. Beneath Valka’s dark coat, muscle lay taut and ready to respond to any stimulus – though she expected no danger. She was merely ready, anticipating the mighty empress who would grant entry to this herd - would, Snö had assured her. I am home.
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