she’s not sure how they became separated, but the small chestnut mare is no longer at her side. Božena’s heart hammers in her chest as she searches the trees for macabre but her dark eyes find nothing. her legs are marred with small scrapes and bleeding cuts from the piercing foliage that skirts the forest floor but she cannot feel pain, only panic. a frantic whinny leaves her lips, calling for sister, but as she feared, there is no reply. if something happened, Božena would feel responsible.

after this brief pause the giant black mare propels herself into action, unable to stand and wait. she would search until she found her friend. as soon as she is able to locate a winding trail she lunges toward it in a powerful trot, her huge round hooves indenting the forest floor. her bearings are uncertain…the huge mare had never left the common isle before and she regrets it now. she should have done better to prepare herself. she had vowed to protect her sestry, her sisters, and now she was failing.

a flash of light colored mane in the shadows catches in her periphery and Božena slams to a stop. she turns her head into the darkness off the path, hopeful that she will see it again, and she is lucky. her hard dark eyes are unable to make out a figure, but the sight of flaxen hair is enough to warrant her investigation. she doesn’t bother trying to find a path, which likely wound it’s way safely through the dense underbrush and sapling trees, choosing instead to charge through directly.

the black behemoth of a mare emerges like a thunderclap nearly on top of two figures. a surge of anger mixed with disappointment washes over her as she studies them. her sides heave with the exertion of her hunt and her nostrils flare breathlessly. a hard snort leaves her maw, as she shakes her bold convex head with irritation. ”where is she? i cannot fail my sestra.” her words are spoken with exasperation, and not necessarily directed at the pair before her, but she wonders genuinely if they may have seen the mare. it is worth turning over every stone.