Falls

The young filly was not the only creature drawn to the roar of the falls. The rumbling echo rolled for miles, mingling with the similar ebb and flow of the ocean’s waves. A pale creature stood on the pebbled beach where the fresh, cool water of the river trickled into the ocean. The handsome face was lifted into the breeze that rippled down and across the red ticked flanks of the stallion, his eyes pressed lightly shut. He allowed the mingled rumbles of the earth to wash over him, to envelop him, as he drifted deeper and deeper into his mental palace and away from his present self.

He was new to the islands, having only washed up on shore a few days previous. It had been an unfortunate circumstance of situation that he had had to throw his pale body into the tumultuous waves, but not entirely an unforeseen one. This place, however, was a pleasant surprise to the fleabitten grey. The islands were teeming with life, with possibility. Now that he had regained his strength – for though the journey was not a surprise, it had been an irritating strain on his body – he was eager to delve deeper into the islands and investigate all that they had to offer.

Collecting himself, the stallion turned slowly on his quarters, carefully negating the slick, uneven footing of the river mouth. As his broad hooves found more sure purchase on the sprouting earth of the riverbank, he increased his pace to a collected, but expedient, walk. His dark, near-maroon eyes roamed keenly over his surroundings as he moved further inland, ears flicking occasionally at the few sounds that could permeate the rumbling of the falls. It was not until he spotted the dark, fleeting body of the filly that he grew interested in what he was seeing.

He watched her carefully; a flicker of what could have been a smile passed over his pale face as he drew nearer to her innocent antics. He paused briefly, tilting his head inquisitively as she splashed into the churning water below the falls. Cautiously, he wandered closer to the filly, coming up along her left flank at a respectful distance. He fixed his eyes purposefully on the river, not the filly, and watched the fleeting tail of the fish disappear into the froth of the falls.

“It’s a shame they’re such a skittish creature,” he mused above the rumbling of the falls, “I imagine they would be much more interesting up close.”