Neither Sterre or Het Vuur were poets, so the stallion did not expect the mare to ramble in great detail about their surroundings. And as he had expected, her description was short and to the point. Still, it was effective. The picture that Het Vuur had in his mind’s eye was now a little clearer, and in gratitude he tucked his chin to his chest and emitted a little huff of breath.
When Sterre indicated that they should continue climbing, however, his short-lived elation melted away. Climbing was difficult enough for an able-bodied horse – it was difficult and downright dangerous for a blind horse, especially for one his size. He did not relish having to continually scuff his hooves on the ground to carefully feel out the terrain beneath him; nor did he have any desire to exert himself any more. In coming to the peak he had somehow forgotten it would involve climbing.
Just as he had sucked in a breath to murmur his resigned assent, however, there was the sound of hooves on dead leaves nearby.
---
Late-winter frost crunched delicately beneath their hooves as mother and daughter strolled through the shallow valley. Overhead, naked tree branches revealed glimpses of the cornflower-blue sky, and Inka watched as her daughter tilted her head upward and held it there to gaze dreamily at these snippets.
At first Inka could only admire the way Jetta's eyes reflected the sky with an equally vibrant shade of blue, but then her concern deepened as minutes ticked by and Jetta's thoughtful gaze did not waver. This was something her daughter did often - get so lost in her own thoughts that the world around her ceased to have any meaning. What were trees, air, and earth when your daydreams were just as real and vivid? Inka still remembered what it was to be young and fanciful, but it troubled her to see Jetta become so detached from reality that she often tripped and bumped into things or forgot to feed herself.
At least I am here to watch over her, Inka mused, and tore her gaze away to focus on the forest ahead.
Still, she could not shake the knowledge that Jetta was already a year old, and it would not be much longer until she was old enough to venture the big, wide world on her own. It troubled her to think of the situations Jetta might find herself in if she was not careful. It was difficult enough for her to see the girl stumbling in a daze along the treacherous precipices at the peak’s higher altitudes - it was why she kept to the low foothills and valleys as much as possible.
To draw her daughter from her reverie, Inka cleared her throat and nibbled the growing girl's dark mane. "So, you excited to be heading back to the prairie soon? See your friends again?"
It took a moment, but at last Jetta's pale face pulled away from the sky and turned toward her mother. From the corner of her eye, Inka caught the glimpse of a placating smile on Jetta's lips. It was a smile that said yes, because that is what you want to hear. Seeing it made the Friesian mare's heart sink.
Then there came a voice through the trees. "--long way left to climb..." Pricking her ears curiously, Inka led her daughter through the last copse of trees and into a more open area, where the ground began to climb upward in grassy knolls toward the slopes of the peak. The sight of the two older Friesians - one a smaller mare and one a huge stallion with milky eyes - stopped her in her tracks. Beside her, Jetta followed suit, and stared back at the horses with an impassive face.
"Hi. Who are you?" the girl queried in a pleasant tone, tilting her head sideways, then up at her dam. “Mom, do you know them? They look like you.”
Inka's mouth was dry as she stared at Het Vuur and Sterre. The shock at seeing her sire alive momentarily overruled any happiness she might have felt at seeing him again. "Dad," she choked out.
---
The sound of the unfamiliar, youthful voice led Het Vuur to believe that they had stumbled across one of the peak mares’ children. He was not wrong, of course. But it was not until he heard the unmistakable cadence of Inka’s surprise that he realized just whose child he had stumbled upon. No, he thought, wrinkling his nose with alarm. It had been some time since he and his daughter had last spent time together, but surely not long enough for this to have happened... right?
The stallion stepped forward apprehensively, flaring his nostrils to test the air. Curse these broken eyes. “Inka,” he said simply. “I... We... hoped to find you. Who... Who is with you?”
het vuur, inka, & jetta |