Inka

The cold winter winds felt colder without her eldest daughter.

After spending over a year travelling the islands, Jetta had returned home for just a measly few weeks before leaving again. Inka had been overjoyed to see her, and had treasured every moment of her stay, taking the opportunity for them to catch up and trade news. Jetta had told her of her time spent as a captive in the lagoon, as well as her visit with Macabre in Paradise and the troubling news that Macabre was being harrassed by a rival band stallion. She told her also of her meeting with Oswin, and urged Inka to seek out their newfound relative. Inka, while intrigued to learn of their relation to the newest Peak member, was in no hurry to meet her, at least until Jetta was gone again. She had spent far too long apart from her children and, while Jetta was home, intended on giving her her full attention.

In exchange for stories of her daughter's travels, Inka told her about the family drama that had occurred while she was gone. She told her of her falling-out with Adelheid, she told her of Argento's spur-of-the-moment decision to go travelling with Taika, and she told her how she accidentally revealed Diamant's true parentage to him, and how he had subsequently abandoned her to live in the lagoon. Inka told her daughter all of this with a heavy heart, and Jetta comforted her as thoroughly as she could manage.

As autumn became winter and the snows began to blanket the highest slopes of the Peak, Inka begged her daughter to wait until spring to leave again, but Jetta would hear nothing of it. She had a duty to return to her friend on Atlantis, and to ensure that Macabre was still safe from the stallion who had made it his mission to kidnap her. "Besides," Jetta had said reasonably, "Maybe I'll run into Argento while I'm there. I'll finally be able to meet my baby brother."

That had been weeks ago, and Inka was alone again. Taika and Argento were still vacationing on Atlantis, and Impazienza had become an inaccessible recluse, confining herself to the very top of the mountain. If Inka wanted to socialize without leaving the comforts of home, she really only had one option.

Though she had not seen Oswin yet, Jetta had given her a physical description of the young mare, and so Inka knew to keep an eye out for a flash of gold among the dark greens and browns of the forested foothills. This was how she found her on an overcast winter's day, when the air was nippy with the promise of snow, resting among the evergreens that crowded the downward-flowing river. Inka approached the young mare with a cheerful whinny that cut above the rush of water, and her eyes roamed Oswin's appearance, immediately noticing the traits that marked her as one of Valentine's children.

"Hello, you must be Oswin," she greeted her companion with a smile, reaching her grey-peppered nose toward the young mare in a friendly manner that belied her nerves. "I'm Inka, Jetta's mother. It's good to meet you at last."