inka

Inka awoke with a start, jerking her head up and stiffening her legs as if in preparation to to run for her life. The dream had been so real, so vivid...

As her heartbeat slowed, she blinked against the bright light of day and remembered that she had accidentally fallen asleep while having her lunch. She looked at her sourroundings – at the open slope of the mountainside spreading out before her like a gentle green-and-gold waterfall, and at the nook of dark, aromatic firs that sheltered her at her backside – and after considering her options for only a second, decided she needed to walk.

So it was that Inka found herself unknowingly wandering closer and closer to someone she had not met before. She travelled downhill, towards the base of the mountain, without really being aware of where she was going. The rhythmic jolt of her jounts supporting her weight down the slope was enough to clear her head, which she needed desperately; the dream had brought back a flash of old, ugly emotions she thought she had buried away deep and safe.

With her head down and her dark eyes focusing on the ground beneath her hooves, she almost walked straight past the stranger. In fact, she might well have, had the stranger not been so boldy colored. Pulling her head up, she stared for a moment, hesitating in her tracks, then remembered her manners and offered a sheepish smile. "Oh, hello. Are you... new here?"

13 – friesian – 17hh