Her foray into the Lagoon had been unsuccessful, and Impa was limping by the time she left the bachelor territory —alone. Despite how prominent the smell of mare was in the Lagoon, Impa had not come across any and, reluctant to linger in a place where she knew a mare of the Peak would be unwelcome, the heavy draft made her way to the edge of the Crossing. Her right leg ached, as did the same side of her chest, her cannon bone, and her forearm, all bruised beneath the mare’s black coat and causing her discomfort with each stretch of her sore muscles. At least she’d done some damage to that palomino roan she’d come across, although as Impa strode into the ocean still favoring her right foreleg she reflected that it wasn’t likely that the stallion had any idea why she’d attacked him in the first place.
So much for making an impact.
The swim did not take long. Impazienza hadn’t taken this route more than a few times in her twelve years of life, and the chill of the water eased the aches in her leg. By the time she pulled herself out of the ocean she almost felt good. But within a few steps her stride shortened to compensate for her injuries, shallow as they might be, and as the trees around her thickened in both girth and quantity, all of her memories of Kisei, of her childhood, and of her painful adolescence came bobbing to the surface of her mind, and the black mare moved on with turned-back ears.
She had returned to the Forest for one reason and one reason only, and it was with this mission in mind that she set her nose to the wind and rustled through bushes and between trees as she traveled familiar paths toward the heart of the territory, her heavy steps softened by the loamy carpet of her childhood home. She traveled slowly but with purpose, and by the time she altered her course to head toward where the smell of horse was strongest, Impa was certain her presence in these woods would not go unnoticed for long, if at all.
The Prime Minister of the Peak continued to walk, slowly and with care for her right foreleg, as she searched for the Forest herd.
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IMPAZIENZA