Common

Sæ was not as lucky as her childhood friend had been. She had left the mountain side with Nadine, but they had been separated during a storm which seemed to follow the golden roan even into the ocean. It even seemed to follow her onto the shore of the Crossing, after an entire day of fighting the violent waves as they tried to swallow her down. She hid in a cluster of trees until the offending weather retreated, taking the last of Nadine’s scent with it. Sæunn was resigned to never seeing her friend again, though at least she knew she had made it to the Islands.

Still, it was with heavy sorrow the pale Vanner mare finally emerged into the sun. She was sore, thirsty, and stiff with salt. She missed Nadine, though the two had been almost entirely separated by language. For a pair with no way to communicate outside of body language, the two mountain-dwelling mares had been nearly inseparable, and Sæunn missed the constant shadow at her side Nadine had provided over the past moons. If she ever wanted to see her partner in crime again, hiding in the shadows was not going to do her any good.

Cautiously, Sæunn explored the island, not getting terribly far before she discovered the Common. The tangled scents of countless other horses was nearly overwhelming, though it was a good sign; if she could find Nadine’s scent, she could track the French mare down. It was with her nose to the ground that Sæunn emerged into the communal space of the Common, striding carefully over trampled grass and scent trails both old and new. She did not particularly care about running into any strangers; she doubted she would find someone who could speak to her, and she was not yet old enough to realize the dangers of the season.