Much like her father and her grandparents before him, Rowena is well-suited to cold weather. She is stout, insulated in a healthy layer of body fat and volumes of coarse, water-repellent hair. A slow metabolism warms her from the inside out. She is fueled by very little, poor quality grazing. She takes sure and steady steps on broad hooves, rarely losing her footing on trails of packed snow and ice. Sometimes she forgets that others are not blessed with such genetics.

Rowena is surprised to hear her call answered from such a distance. Her eyes come to focus on the copper mare on high ground across a narrow gorge. When she shouts instructions for Rowena to stay put, she gladly obeys. Macabre undoubtedly knows this terrain much better and can reach her sooner than if Rowena tried to navigate the winding trails herself.

The black mare is eagerly anticipating Macabre's approach, so much so that she flinches when Macabre rounds the corner on the path below. "Macabre!", she exclaims, taken aback some by her sudden change in appearance. It hasn't been long since they last saw each other, but suddenly Macabre looks pregnant. The firm grip of winter has taken hold, and with it, they both have grown the appropriate coat. Perhaps it's just the timing, or winter woolies standing on end, but the swell of her pregnant belly is notable to Rowena now. "You look great!" Rowena can think of nothing more to say. Macabre is beautiful as always, with her correct and refined features (compared to her own at least). She carries the look of impending motherhood well, but with the admiration, Rowena finds so many other emotions.

There spawns a note of sadness. Were Vodnik still around, that foal might have been his. Rowena could have a sibling on the way, but her family can no longer grow in such a way with both her parents being gone.

There's a small part of Rowena that is jealous of Macabre. There are still a lot of unresolved feelings for Ailill spinning around in her head and she's imagined herself living happily ever after and starting a family with the estranged golden stallion, but right now a happily ever after and a family seem like such faraway impossibilities for her.

Rowena is also jealous of this foal. Soon Macabe will have someone more important than Rowena to focus on. Rowena returned to the islands and follows Macabre now because she has no one else, and until recently, she though Macabre might not have anyone else either, so maybe, just maybe, they could lean on each other. This dynamic can't happen if Macabre starts her own family though. Rowena is happy for her, but at the same time, it makes her feel even more alone.

Through the hurricane of emotions, Rowena still manages a smile. "I made it." She takes a deep breath before plunging head first into difficult words. "I had to find you again. I mean, I wanted to find you. You're my friend... But I also need to tell you something. I have a message from father."