Tumbling down

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

The sudden stillness of the frost-born mare was like a silent scream of recognition, the familiar names tearing through her like so many burning arrows. Isopia The name sent shards of agony into a bleeding wound that had not even begun to scab over; Erthë's eyes closed in a grimace of sorrow. They had not been close. Many times the little mare had irritated herself on the strange demi-god and her peculiar mind, so inflexible and strict. Whenever they had spoken Erthë found herself gritting her teeth against the desire to scream with frustration, and yet... and yet. To know her dead, to recall the grisly scene of the battling gods where no one ever emerged from the shadows, was painful. It was another family member lost, another hole torn open in her heart, another wound that must bleed within her...

Erthë had not known Isopia to be with child. It must have happened sometime during her long absence from the herd.

The stallions name was, of course, familiar as well, but hearing Volterra's name spill from Otem's lips did not surprise her as much as she would have guessed. Instead, it turned her mouth into a thin line of disappointment, the long list of names the filly delivered a good indication of how right Volterra had been. He would indeed never be someone she could settle down with, for it seemed he flitted from mare to mare with the same careless abandon as a honey bee in a field of clover. It shocked Erthë to think that Van and Alvah - and apparently Otem too - had so many siblings that even remembering them all was nigh impossible.

"Someone ought to neuter that man" she muttered under breath, before turning back to the girl with a strained smile.

"Yes, Otem, I recognize their names. Both of them. Isopia is.. was... a long time acquaintance of mine. For a while we even lived in the same herd together, at the World's Edge. It pains me to know that she is gone..."

Drawing a deep breath, she pushed away the grief and straightened up.

"As for Volterra... I know him too. Very well, as a matter of fact. Van?" Erthë called for her son, who looked up from Otem's flower with an annoyed look on his face.

"Come here, and say hello to your older sister."

The look of incredulity that spread across the face of the colt was so comical that Erthë nearly burst out laughing. Almost. But in the end all she managed was a tired twitch of the lips that soon faded again.

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