It had been in her head for some time now, wandering back off to try and find at least a few of the many faces she had met and left over the years. Some of them had been from established herds who stayed in one place. She had seen two of them already and, to her great happiness, they both recognized her. It was a wonderful experience. Others were harder to find and the search for them began to remind her of the fruitless, almost hopeless search for her first daughter, Hong Yen Ha. Still, she tried to keep heart. Being with her mate, with the one she loved, made her realize that there was no law saying every relationship was doomed to some horrific failure and separation. If it was meant to be, she would find them again. If not, they would remain treasured in her thoughts.
That mantra had been in her head just the day before when she had stumbled upon, completely by accident, yet another familiar face. Vasilissa, a mare Doan had met what felt like ages ago. They hadn't spent many days together, at the time it seemed they both had a wanderer's heart, but she remembered the bright coat, eyes full of strength, and how she felt they related well regardless. Upon seeing her, the old mare had felt such a swell of excitement. And now, with the sun high in the sky on a new day, she was looking around constantly, as if expecting to find someone again.
"Mẹ. What are you looking for?" The voice came from behind, from a stallion who had been following without really knowing the reason. His mother had simply barged into the cave, returning from her planned trip earlier than usual to pick him up, nuzzle Illidan, then drag him off to... wherever it was they were going. It was not like his mother to be so thoughtless.
"Mẹ. Mẹ?" No matter how many times he called to his mother, he got no response. She only continued to walk, head swaying back and forth. Xuan Teo let out a soft sigh and picked up the pace to come up beside her. "Mẹ bạn đang tìm kiếm?"
Sometimes she responded better when he spoke to her in her native tongue. She had taught him enough to get by, but he was fairly poor at it. Luckily, she seemed to catch his attempts this time, turning her head with a slightly startled expression.
"Oh, Xuan Teo, forgive me." Eyes immediately went back to searching, landing everywhere but her son's face. "I'm looking for Vasilissa. It was here I met her yesterday, I'm sure."
"Ah." A pause. "Who is Vasilissa?"
"A friend of mine." Finally she looked back to the stallion, smiling and slowly beginning to stop walking. "I haven't seen her in so long, but we met here yesterday. I asked her to wait here so I could introduce the two of you. I'm sure she wouldn't have left." Maybe it was just her pride as a mother, but she truly felt she couldn't possibly catch her old friend up on her life without showing off at least one of her newest children. "I think you will get along."
"I see." He returned her smile, but still felt unsure about just what his mother hoped to accomplish by bringing him here. Although... it would be untrue to say he didn't care about who his mother deemed friends and she seemed to keep good company. Now, well, he was sort of looking forward to meeting this Vasilissa. Giving a gentle shake of his head to himself, his smile widened. Looking up, he saw his mother take a few steps forward before raising her voice.
"Vasilissa! Are you around?"
