Evelyn caught the little whisper of sadness in her mate, lavender eyes fixed upon the stallion who so willfully replaced that echo of doubt (doubt that anyone might not wish to come home, when this place of love and acceptance was what home had become) with his typical boundless joy.
A grown mare, family, out alone in the world.
It was a place for growth, to be sure, but it was not a place to be alone.
Nor to feel as if one was alone.
Family.
Love. Of oneself, and of others. In whatever capacity. Friend, loved one, family.
These things, she had come to realize, were all that really mattered.
She bent to caress her beloved, feeling her legs starting the movements that would fold them neatly by his side, where she belonged.
And her new sister- she had a sister of the heart! Oh, how wonderful! - teased them both with a sparkle in her eye.
Evelyn laughed, the melodic sound soaring up to the clouds before settling another layer of warmth over their three-way interaction.
"Admittance of age is hard when one remains so young at heart."
She reached out, returning the mare's nudge with a playful little caress of her own, a gentle touch on the mare's shoulder that seemed to meld into a gesture towards Bliss, a lowering stroke meant to energize and soothe.
She did wish to take a nap. Maybe just a little nap, and then "We shall find her." Everyone, every soul under the sun, eventually came back to Bliss. How could they not?
She gazed at her beloved with admiring eyes, not seeing the signs of age he felt. They were simply marks of courage, of a life well lived. Of many Soquili (perhaps, were she so inclined to taint their precious reunion with jealousy, a few too many mares... but such was in the past. And she, they, were the future.) loved.
Of a full life, and one that was still continuing to grow.
"We have all the time in the world." she smiled at them both. "And what better way to spend it than with family?"
She had family of her own, out there, somewhere.. children, from two stallions, who had never known a home.
The boys.
Her second round, raised by another.
And .... perhaps.
A warm glow stirred inside.
More?