Originally, she hadn't been too sure of the stallion she'd been introduced to. He was too noisy, too clingy, too...Well, for all that he was extroverted, Astraia was strongly introverted.
Not that she could blame her friend, the other, older, mare had been begging her for a long time to at least seek out some prospective mate. If not a mate, then perhaps other friends? And as a result, had come up with a plan; To facilitate meetings between Astraia and whoever would be found to see if it could even be possible to meet beforehand. An in-between, as it were. Just to see.
And Astraia had agreed. This way, she needn't leave her little oasis, and wouldn't need to worry about anyone trying to invade her space. Stories could be shared, and her friend was an amazing enough artist to bring replications of whoever she met back. After all, Astraia did want to know what they looked like, yes? Though she wasn't all that picky on looks, Astraia was perfectly aware that attraction, attractiveness, could be a factor in entertaining even this form of communication.
A White Daisy. The purest of innocence, the freshest of beginnings.
Without having even met the Stallion, Astraia was...intrigued by him. A family man, he led a herd consisting of extended family; His mother, grandmother, sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, second cousins and cousins five times removed and so on and so forth. The herd was large, but the way they were all seemingly so connected, Astraia had to admit she was jealous. Most of her life she'd been alone, and usually when she heard about large herds, it made her feel glad she wasn't a part of one. Leadership squabbles, relationship drama, members leaving and coming all the time...This Stallion's herd grew with the family. Their mates, their children...Accepting those who needed protection...It sounded lovely. And not to mention, the stallion seemed to love his family deeply.
They were a wolf-like herd. A Pack.
And he'd already mentioned his mother would love to meet her. That was quick. And...it felt nice. Betther than it had ever felt being with her brother. Her twin, her other half, had become a shackle she still felt despite his absence.
A Yellow Camellia. Joyful admiration and kindness.
Messages were passed between them, going from purely 'tell him this' and 'let her know' to...the written word. Words on parchment, stories being told of their day to day lives. While Astraia didn't think she had the most amusing life, her new...friend? Friend, for now, was seemingly amused and interested in her daily adventures. To the point where she'd been sent small packets of seeds to plant in her little garden. And in return, she sent him pressed flowers that she'd grown. Giving these small gifts to each other was now normal.
Normal, until Astraia recieved what turned out to be a small bracelet. Made of out, what he said, was precious stones, bone and teeth. It looked like a jagged night sky around her leg, and she wore it proudly. All she could send him back, she was ashamed to say, was a flower crown. And she wasn't even sure she'd made it big enough.
Her friend promptly let her know that the Stallion had put it on immediately and...all but squealed in happiness.
He sounded...adorable.
A Red Rose. Desire. Love. Passion.
Astraia had never considered a relationship, let alone one starting with such a distance between them. While their gifts remained simple, their messages to each other had only gotten longer and more intricate. Detailed and far more...Well, there was certainly an indication that their friendship was growing into something much more intimate. They were giving each other so much detail about their daily lives, to the point Astraia and him knew the other's daily schedules nearly by heart. She knew his family's names, and he knew all about her and her twin brother.
'Love ya'.
Two words at the end of a letter just before his name changed everything. The shackles her twin had on her felt loosened, and she felt like she could finally take the step, leave her home and go meet him. And his family.
And she'd tell him something similar in person, with her own voice.
She'd finally meet Her Wolf.
Lycoris Radiata. The Red Spider Lily. Goodbyes, Mourning. Death.
In an instant, everything collapsed.
It was torture enough waiting for an answer of when his herd would be close enough to pick her up. For them to finally meet face to face.
And for her to say three important words to him.
Three words that would go unsaid, as her friend gave her the news.
He and his herd had gone missing.
No trace. No clues.
Just the bouquet of daisies, camellias and red roses, dropped amongst the single patch of spider lilies that had seemingly suddenly sprouted.
Her Wolf Was Gone.
(831)
