The desert is always quiet for Arcana. And when it is not, she finds a secret place that makes it so. The mare has never been accused of being and extrovert, but in recent weeks, she is even more solitary than usual. This pregnancy is much like her last. Arcana's has grown to enormous proportions. Desert afternoons are too hot to bear, and her hormones have left her riding her longest emotional roller coaster ever. Her latest state has left her mostly irritable, with fits of sadness for no reason at all. Right now, she is just irritable.

This may be why Indira has been scarce. The filly knows when her presence is appreciated and when it's not. Arcana may snap at her daughter on occasion, for standing too close with her body heat, or making irritating noises, but ultimately Indira is the light of Arcana's life, and her love runs deeper than any bad mood brought on by late term pregnancy. When blissful quiet lasts too long, Arcana begins to worry.

Indira has been absent for hours. Arcana's worry compels her, against her will, to venture out of her shaded sanctuary. The black and white mare lumbers forth with short, careful steps. Her belly swings to and fro like a tremendous pendulum.

She circles the oasis without luck, and notes the absence of both Indira and Orhan. Perhaps Orhan is out looking for Indira too. For a moment, Arcana thinks of staying until they return, but she's unsure. Something about their absence feels wrong.

Arcana shuffles towards the shore next. A cool breeze off the ocean should feel good, and if Indira can be found in this direction, then there won't be any need to venture into the hottest part of the desert.

As the brink of the horizon shifts from golden sand to blue sea, Arcana is greeted, once again, by no sound beyond those of the lonely island. She hears and sees nothing beyond the rhythmic sigh of waves rolling in, and the rush sand swirling in the occasional gust of maritime wind. Her heart drops. It seems Arcana will have to brave the desert today. She grumbles aloud, though there's no one around to hear her. She closes the distance between herself and the edge of soaked sands, and takes a moment to let cold water rush in over her fetlocks.

Arcana closes her eyes, breathing salt air deeps and exhaling whatever tension she feels. Why hasn't she visited the ocean before?

Maybe she ears a splash, or maybe it's just chance that Arcana opens her eyes and sees a flash of buckskin coat struggling beyond the break. It's only there for a fraction of a second before it disappears again beneath the surface, but Arcana is already neck deep in sea water, fighting violent surf to reach it. Her first instinct thinks it's Indira. Not that Arcana wouldn't risk her life to save Orhan, but maternal instinct drives her into peril with much less forethought, and urges her on with the ultimate level of adrenaline-fueled desperation.

Arcana doesn't know how she made it to Orhan across the violent break, but she is suddenly there. Her lungs burn and her mouth is full of salt water, but this doesn't stop her from plunging herself, face first, under the surface. Arcana lunges for a chunk of mane and attempts to tug it upwards. There's no way the mare has the strength, even with such adrenaline coursing through her veins, to pull the stallion to the surface on her own. All she can hope to do is guide him in the right direction.