One day as Ruvik was busily brushing out the dust from Trinket’s mane as he waited for Gavin and Iara in town a young girl approached him. For a few moments she watched as he began to intricately braid the chestnut mare’s mane, curious she spoke, “Sir, why do you braid that horse’s mane?”

He glanced over at her for a second as if to consider his answer before he went back to what he was doing, “it reminds me of my little sister and an old friend. I feel closer to them when I do this somehow.” He responded with a broken tone. Suddenly her hand rested on his and before he could pull away she met his gaze. 

Ruvik was caught by a familiarity behind her eyes, and although he could not remember ever seeing this girl before in his life he couldn’t shake the sense that he knew her. He was about to speak when she interrupted him with a warm smile, “She doesn’t need to be a show horse to know she’s pretty.” she whispered and turned to run away.

The words she spoke took Ruvik off guard and he went to follow her. He nearly caught up to her as she turned down a lonely street, but when he turned the corner he found that she had somehow disappeared. He called out, looking down an alley entrance and still the young girl was nowhere to be seen. It took Ruvik a few minutes to gather himself before he went back to Trinkets and reached into his saddlebags to pull out an old photo of a small girl and an old appaloosa horse.

“Ruvik, she doesn’t need to be a show horse to know she’s pretty.” his little sister Vera would say to him when he caught her out in the field braiding his old appaloosa mare’s mane. 

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Render is Vera Rose Veill and Maggie and was rendered by me.