After spending a day alone to reflect and consider some personal things —such as the mysteries of her family’s whereabouts and Anath’s cruel treatment of her and the newcomers only recently— Impa descended from the heights of the Peak and made her way closer to the middle section of the mountain. It was warmer there, and the air not nearly as thin. The top of the mountain was a grand place to go for solitude sometimes, but with winter well underway it wasn’t as pleasant a location as usual. Impa listened to her hooves crunch through the snow and let her thoughts drift free of her recent concerns. She would not let them weigh her down, and having given them her full attention for almost an entire day, she decided it was time and past that she found some company.

Still sore from Anath’s derision and not quite prepared to seek out either Giselle or Shira, the black blanketed mare scanned the area for the small, quiet form of Mouse. She’d been meaning to speak with Mouse ever since the unobtrusive mare had made her way to the Peak, but their first encounter had occurred with the arrival of another new mare. It would be good to speak with her friend without distractions such as Anath’s attitude or the uncertainty of newcomers. And while Impa would not mind if they were joined by others, she was hoping to find that one-on-one interactions with the grulla would prove to be less stressful for the other mare. Impa was a laid back and calm mare unless provoked. They would make a good pair. Conversationally, that is.

Impa snorted and tossed her head before releasing a loud whistle. She couldn’t see Mouse, but the mare was small and would blend in well with the gray boulders that littered the mountainside. Impa kept walking, turning her ears and her head as she moved to keep an eye out for any motion that might materialize into the form of Mouse.