She should be with Maziel.

Guilt plagued each step she took, body trembling against the harsh elements that raked sleet across her body any time she dared leave the tree line and brave the open air. When she had slipped away from the herd, Maziel had been sleeping, peacefully tucked against one of the horses of the herd in one of the caves they’d begun to linger in, preparing for the upcoming winter season. Though Mariael knew her half-sister would be okay, she hardly ever spent any time from Maziel’s side and had placed pressure on herself to be Maziel’s guardian.

The bright, light colored filly paused in her step, throwing her head over her shoulder and casting a glance back the way she’d come. Maybe she should go back… this was a fool’s errand, wasn’t it? Maziel needed her more than anybody (or so she told herself but, really, it was Mariael who needed Maziel most). What if something happened to Mariael while she was out, braving the elements on her own? What would Maziel do if Mariael never returned?

Her heart sank. Maybe she should go back…

Then, she saw movement. Very subtle, but the sound of something traveling through the trees became louder over the wind rattling the pine branches, signifying whatever it was was coming closer. Mariael swallowed, her heart beating hard and heavy in her chest. Mother.

Mariael and her mother did not have a bad relationship. But did they even… have a relationship?

“Mother.” Mariael called in a clear voice as she stepped around a tree, ducking her head beneath a branch that scratched at her back, leaving droplets of freezing water against her coat. She tried to keep any emotion from her voice, tried to simply appear strong and unaffected, as she always did. Weakness, sadness, Mariael never allowed herself to show it. She had to be a rock in this world, the backbone; she had to be strong for those that couldn’t, like her dear sister.

“I’ve been looking for you.” She confessed, but still stood by the tree she’d emerged by rather than moving close. Her mother was… special, she knew. It would not be the first time Hollowshank looked upon the daughter she’d birthed half a year ago and not remember her, nor, Mariael feared, would it be the last.