It was late afternoon at Lions Pride, and from her vantage point on her balcony, Charna could watch the sun setting over the pegasi stables. With the day off from work, Kina and the cubs out for the evening, and the cowboy on an extended cattle drive, the vixen found herself with little else to do but relax. A cup of tea in hand, she settled back into her seat and commenced pondering.
Lions Pride was gorgeous in any light. Even in the pitch dark of night, Charna was in awe of the grounds here, especially when she could see the pegasi roaming the fields and grazing. Despite the fact that she'd been coming here for several months now and even considered it to be a second home, the very human and very nonmagical young woman was perpetually fascinated by the place. Before coming to RhyDin, she'd only read about some of these things in fairy tales. It had taken her a while to grow accustomed to the infamous Red Dragon Inn and all it's "interesting" clientele...and now this wonderland? Sometimes she genuinely feared that the lovely, winged beasts she saw trotting about were nothing more than illusions...that this was all just a pretty dream..
And those thoughts were understandable considering her upbringing. In RhyDin, there were a million sob stories, and she'd come to accept that her's was just one more. She came from nowhere, grew up with nothing, was loved by no one, and was hurt by everyone. Why shouldn't she believe that her present, happy living situation was a mere creation of her own lonely imagination? Why shouldn't she be afraid that one day she'd blink and end up right where she'd fled from?
She'd guarded her past fiercely upon entering the foreign city, and shut down even further when she saw how many begged for sympathy from anyone who would spare it. In her opinion, what had been was a matter left only to be discussed with trusted loved ones, people who would use the information to understand you. Not people who would weep crocodile tears and utter 'you poor thing!'
But no, this was a reality. This beautiful life belonged to her, and the daily pinches on her arm helped to remind her of that. This palace was a home...-her- new home.
..Home...Sickening how she had once used that word to describe the dank apartment over her 'Daddy's' tavern, where she inhabited a bedroom that seemed nothing more than a hole in the wall. Although the place had been torched years ago, the establishment still stood erect in her mind. No matter the number of psyche-healers trying to fix her, some things just couldn't be erased completely.
She'd come a long way, though. The terrors and wicked memories from the hellish establishment no longer plagued her daily life.
Only a short span of time was spared to congratulate herself, though, for unfortunately, she was acutely aware of the parts still waiting to be worked on.
She smiled stiffly and gulped down two mouthfuls of the lukewarm tea.
Lions Pride was gorgeous in any light. Even in the pitch dark of night, Charna was in awe of the grounds here, especially when she could see the pegasi roaming the fields and grazing. Despite the fact that she'd been coming here for several months now and even considered it to be a second home, the very human and very nonmagical young woman was perpetually fascinated by the place. Before coming to RhyDin, she'd only read about some of these things in fairy tales. It had taken her a while to grow accustomed to the infamous Red Dragon Inn and all it's "interesting" clientele...and now this wonderland? Sometimes she genuinely feared that the lovely, winged beasts she saw trotting about were nothing more than illusions...that this was all just a pretty dream..
And those thoughts were understandable considering her upbringing. In RhyDin, there were a million sob stories, and she'd come to accept that her's was just one more. She came from nowhere, grew up with nothing, was loved by no one, and was hurt by everyone. Why shouldn't she believe that her present, happy living situation was a mere creation of her own lonely imagination? Why shouldn't she be afraid that one day she'd blink and end up right where she'd fled from?
She'd guarded her past fiercely upon entering the foreign city, and shut down even further when she saw how many begged for sympathy from anyone who would spare it. In her opinion, what had been was a matter left only to be discussed with trusted loved ones, people who would use the information to understand you. Not people who would weep crocodile tears and utter 'you poor thing!'
But no, this was a reality. This beautiful life belonged to her, and the daily pinches on her arm helped to remind her of that. This palace was a home...-her- new home.
..Home...Sickening how she had once used that word to describe the dank apartment over her 'Daddy's' tavern, where she inhabited a bedroom that seemed nothing more than a hole in the wall. Although the place had been torched years ago, the establishment still stood erect in her mind. No matter the number of psyche-healers trying to fix her, some things just couldn't be erased completely.
She'd come a long way, though. The terrors and wicked memories from the hellish establishment no longer plagued her daily life.
Only a short span of time was spared to congratulate herself, though, for unfortunately, she was acutely aware of the parts still waiting to be worked on.
She smiled stiffly and gulped down two mouthfuls of the lukewarm tea.