"What?" Mist squeaked out. She knew there was something following her, but she couldn't quite place where it was. She peered this way and that, eyes glancing every which way, under the foliage, neck craning to see over the foliage... But she found nothing.If she had looked just a little more carefully, and imagined that what was following her was something small- not something big- she'd see the little filly that was actually quite near to her.
She was quiet, following her as silently as she could, but still, the pink doe knew that Diamond Nimbus was there. Was she really just that perceptive? Or perhaps that paranoid? Paranoid of what, though? The call of "what" caused her to flinch a little, worrying that she had been spotted, but no.Creeping along behind the bigger female, Diamond Nimbus sniffed the air as quietly as she could. She was absolutely sure this was her mother. She looked so similar, felt such a closeness, smelled so comforting.
But how do you go up to somebody you've never seen and tell them they are your mother?
Mist was rooted in place, her hooves so still she was sure that if she didn't move soon she would, quite literally, be rooted in place. Her legs moved a little, not wanting to become part of the scenery here, and she took tiny steps, turning her body in a slow circle.
That was when she saw it- a little glint behind a tree. Some furry tail sticking out, swishing back and forth just over the ground. Not one to really worry about her safety- or even think things through, Mist simply walked over and peered again, catching the little filly off guard.
"Clouds?" she asked, blinking in surprise before her head craned backwards, looking for the sky. No such luck here, the green was too thick, blocking out any sky above it.
Clouds...? What?
"No, my name is Diamond Nimbus." she whispered, her eyes following the larger female's eyes upward. The trees? She shifted her gaze back to what she was sure was her mother and took a deep breath, "I'm yo-"
"How'd you get all the way down here little Cloud?" she asked, unphazed by the little filly's attempts to speak. She had said her name was Nimbus something. That's a cloud. She was a cloud. There was no getting around that.
"Where did you gather such beautiful stars?" she questioned, tilting her head this way and that, examining the little one's legs and the tuft of hair on her head. Mist leaned forward and nipped at the hair, trying to pull the stars off.
"Stars don't belong on Clouds."
"Cloud?" her eyes hid a hint of sadness. "Is that what you want to call me?"
This doe seemed insane. She flinched each time teeth tried to pull the shiny hairs from her head, standing still only because she still hadn't had the chance to tell her.
It was fine if her mother wanted to name her Cloud.
Giving up on the stars, Mist took a step back, frowning "I call you Cloud because you ARE a cloud." she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I am the morning sky." she nodded, "Clouded Quartz. Mist." She pointed towards the green with her muzzle, "Somewhere up there I'll find where I belong." Her voice was longing, that of a child wanting to return home.
"You should return to your Sky if you can, little Cloud." she offered something of a smile before adding on, "And give the stars back."
A wave of sadness smashed against Diamond Nimbus' heart. She knew her mother's name. She could tell her. She SHOULD tell her! But...
Clouded Quartz couldn't be her mother.
Oh, there was no doubt in Diamond Nimbus' mind that she WAS her mother, but she could never be her mother.
She nodded, deciding it was best to just leave it at that.
"I'll give the stars back when I go back home." The words left a bad taste in her mouth, they weren't the ones she wanted to say; they were the ones she needed to say.
Mist nodded in approval before turning away from the cloud. She took a few steps in the opposite direction and then turned her head over her shoulder to call back, "If you find a hole in the morning sky, hold it for me! Maybe we'll meet again, Cloud."
