It had been a rough time for him. He had watched the warm seasons fade finally to fall and yet he still only lingered on the fringes of the society which seemed to thrive as much as ever in this place. He saw the comings and goings of so many, he even recognized certain forms and though he had no names to put to faces he still felt connected in some small way. He was a ghost amongst the island hub, keeping to the shadows and sparse woods surrounding the falls, barely uttering a word since she had doled out his punishment. Thinking of his scarred battle maiden brought a familiar, dull pain to his chest. She had finally seen him for what he really was after her teeth and hooves had passed judgment; he hadn’t even had the will to fight back, to once more show the passion which had been ever present between them. At his lack of retaliation he had seen a look dangerously akin to disgust cross her face and she had turned and walked silently away from him. Once more he had sealed his fate with lack of action.

She is truly the one he watches for every day while he takes in the commonplace scenes, emerald eyes every searching for her tawny form on the horizon. As much as she seemed to linger on the edges of his thoughts every day she never appeared before him again. It took weeks for his worry to fester, growing daily as he expanded his typical wanderings, searching for sight or scent of her. He chewed on her absence like a sore in his mouth, considering every possible negative outcome that could have befallen her all because he hadn’t had the balls to make her stay with him. He had been convinced she would be better off without him, convinced that she deserved more or better or some other nonsensical notion of gallant behavior. He had lived his life based on the idea of honor and family, yet the longer he went without seeing her the more he started to think it was all a load of his own shit.

All of this lead to the moment that his increased self-inflicted patrolling brought him quite close to the edges where Peak met Lagoon. Rounding the base of the mountain-women’s dwelling a scent latched on to him like a puma, its effect was immediate and it seemed he had no choice whether to follow it or not; without even thinking his hooves led him up the rocky path that led in to heart of a very literal no-mans land. The scent at the base of the mountain had been faint, so much so that had he not been so focused on her already he very well might have missed it, but the further he tread into the mountains grasp the stronger it grew. His pace quickened, stepping recklessly fast over what was a treacherous trail he often sent smaller gravel skittering in varying directions but he paid it no heed, he focused on her like a moth to a flame.

The further he went the thinner the air grew, though older he was still in prime condition for his age yet he found himself wheezing as he climbed. It didn’t matter he told himself, pushing through the growing pain in his chest, what mattered was showing her who he had been…Who he could be again. He rounded a bend, driven almost to a fever pitch as he followed her growing scent like a bloodhound set to hunting, when he finally saw her standing on a ledge. His immediate instinct was to rush to her, run his spotted nose over every inch to ensure she was still whole, but he shoved it down. The wind whipped from behind him, strewing his thick two toned mane and forelock around his chiseled face and he waits for her to take notice as he knows she will. She looks strong, he thinks as he appraises her from his vantage point, the wind lifting her own dark tresses as it reached her. She looked strong among the mountains, and for the first time he thinks perhaps she deserved no man but instead deserved a sisterhood.