<dd2 - esper>

     The crackling of fire is the only noise filling the home. Everyone else seems to have already fallen asleep, but Esper’s mind is elsewhere, completely unaware of the slumber taking over the Coursers. It had been a long time since she left home and her parents had passed away, but they were still as present as ever in the little mare’s mind. Every so often, memories would flood back to her, reminding her of all the time they spent teaching her and training her. 

     Her sense of smell and her hearing had both always been impeccable, and they were things her parents liked to hone in on. She thought back on the little tests they’d set up to see how well she could identify different herbs on smell alone. It’d become her favorite game to play with them, and she can hardly remember a time she failed. It had sparked her exceptional interest in herbology, and a smile formed on her face as she thought fondly of the day Wolfrem accompanied her to Venita’s house on the surface, hauling home wooden boxes so she could finally start growing her own plants.

     It had been Lethia who sparked the idea in her. After she came home from her most recent, and longest, trip on the surface, she’d spent many days and nights telling Esper about all of the new books she found, everything she’d learned. Lethia had come home with many books on plants and gardening, eager to share the information with the little blind mare. Ever since, the two had been tending to the garden together daily, nurturing the flora with Lethia documenting everything.

     She thought back for a moment, to how lonesome she’d felt once before. How the worry filled her, even as a little foal, that once she left home, she may never find companionship again. She’d grown determined and independent, never wanting to allow herself to be a burden on anyone, and had survived on her own for quite some time until she’d found Lethia. A small laugh escapes her as she recalls Lethia’s homecoming and her first time meeting Wolfrem - how smitten she was with him, stumbling over her words and always offering to go with him anytime he went to explore.

     It was a miracle she never talked the poor puck to death. With a sigh, Esper lowers her head, closing her eyes and taking in the warmth and peace. She’d finally found everything she ever wanted out of a life in the dungeons - her friends.