Gotta hold on

You gotta have the patience and believe you're gonna make it
Gotta hold on

It was all so painfully familiar. Erthë could only stare with her gut twisted into a tight knot of sorrow and disbelief at the white beach that stretched out before her. The sands were pale and would probably glow a brilliant white if the clouds scattered and the ground was allowed to dry up. Even now, under the dim light of heavy skies and darkened by the ceaseless rain, the landscape reminded her of the Endless Blue, the cliffs bringing to mind the jagged rocks and steep cliffs beneath the World's Edge. Not sure whether to laugh or cry, the young mare settled with a seething curse towards Kisamoa and slowly made her way down towards the ocean.

When she was almost there, her oldest son finally had enough of trailing quietly in her wake and overtook her, his onslaught not so much a dash as it was a very eager shuffle that never quite broke into a run. Frowning, Erthë watched the boy with mixed feelings. In no way had she been ready to become a mother, and it showed. That great, all-encompassing love towards the life she had created had yet to appear within her heart. Oh, she was aware of some small amount of affection - they were cute after all, and she more or less liked everyone she met - but she found it hard to take her role as their guardian and caretaker seriously. Feeding them was a chore, tending to their needs grated on her nerves and she had no patience whatsoever for games or tomfoolery. Perhaps later, when they were old enough to understand more of what happened around them, she would take some delight in passing on what knowledge she possessed of the world.

Granted, it was not much. This, the Rift, was not her world. It was a foreign place, alien to her in so many ways that she hardly knew where to begin. That she resented it, and the demon that forced her to come here, did not make it any easier.

Still. There were things she had to learn, and some were more urgent than others. Leaving the newborn colt to play in the surge, Erthë withdrew a bit further up the beach and settled herself in near the entrance to a deep crystal cave. With one eye on the boy she took a deep breath and turned her mind inwards, focusing on the energies that had surged and swelled within her ever since the presence had overcome her. Changed her.

It seemed it had altered her abilities too. The boys were reluctant to nurse, they complained of her cold and often withdrew from the teats with frostburn on their noses, rime glittering in the woolen coats until the rain could melt it away. It had surprised Erthë for her body's perpetual chill had never harmed anyone before, but as much as it pleased her to find herself growing stronger, it was frightening too. Without knowing how to control it the magic was as dangerous as anything she might come across in this place... Learning to do that was the task she had set for herself today.

She let out a sigh, drew a deep breath and began.

I know you're tired of surviving but you gotta keep on trying
Hold on!

@Akeli @Alvah