Irina had been alone for some time now.

Since the mare had washed upon the shore nearly a season ago, she had seen neither hide nor hair of the mysterious O Melhor. Her fleeting encounter with his son was the last she'd seen of anyone at all, let alone the Queen, who she was supposed to be providing company for. She searched, her gently-curved ears tipped forward to catch anything and everything, but the jungle was thick, and the thrumming of various birds, insects, and goodness knows what else drowned out the sounds of any others. She saw no stray strands of mane or tail around, nor hoofprints save her own, and soon the scents began to fade, most noticably O Melhor's.

Irina was used to a small herd, having grown up in one herself, but this was concerning. She wanted to join the group, and had thought (judging from the colt's words) that she'd found the correct place. Where, then, was the pale-haired stallion? He had seemed in such a hurry to get here. The last time she remembered seeing him was in the Common, when he'd gently claimed her for his own. As she wandered through the thick foliage, she felt quite alone, but not necessarily lonely. There was life all around her, absolutely teeming with its vibrancy, but she couldn't communicate with any of it. It was a very lonely existence.

Imagine her surprise when later on, a strident whinny broke through the cacophony! She stopped in her tracks, lifting her head and listening, trying to filter through the background and the ensuing storm to pinpoint the source of the noise. The air above her was suddenly filled with the pitter-patter of rain on the canopy, warm drops filtering down to her here and there, and she glanced up, forget-me-not blue eyes taking in the verdant green leaves. To think it was still winter!

Unfortunately, as Irina glanced up, she made herself vulnerable. And in her momentary distraction, she didn't notice the immediate silence, followed by the hard pound of hoofbeats and the gentle shushing of disturbed vegetation. She had only a second to react as another horse came barreling into her path, close enough to make her jump back and squeal in surprise. Her posture was stiff, but just like that he seemed to keep going, as if he hadn't even noticed her there. Irina broke into a trot after him, sending a whinny in the direction of his rapidly-retreating rear end.

"Wait!" she called, though after a few paces she stopped short, lightly-dappled brown body tense and stiff in his wake. Who was that? The stranger was much too light to be the colt or O Melhor, and the traces of his scent left behind were unfamiliar to her. A small part of her worried for Soljor, for Tallynne and all of them... but on the other hand, she almost wanted to meet this stranger, so starved was she for attention. At this point, any conversation was good conversation. Her only worry was that he'd drive her out.

Where would she possibly go after? Back to the Cavern? Ha.