More often than not, Adelhied watched as Iris wandered off during the days. Every time the painted woman moved away, Adelheid’s dark blue eyes watched with a strange desire to follow and to comfort. She sighed to herself, knowing her presence was next to useless, and possibly unwanted. Had their roles been reversed, Adelheid would have seen her as a captor and would have hated her for it. It would not have been the cold, or the ice drifts in the water. Nor would it have been the impassible mountain trails that led to the northern beaches. It would have been the one who had told her ‘no.’ Not only did the Vulcan assume the hate of Iris, she assumed her need to grieve alone. In the loss of her mother, Adelheid had no shoulder to cry one and no one to wrap her in their warmth. She had come to terms with the loss on her own. Her heart still broke at the words she had screamed at the old mare’s face the last time they had ever seen each other.

Instead of forcing her presence onto Iris, she had made it clear she was welcome in her family’s clearing if she so chose to stay. It was up to Iris herself to establish the boundaries between her and the foals that followed hot on Adelheid’s heels and kept her on her toes. For now, since the two had come to an age she could leave them, she had approached Iris in her safe space for the first time, stubbornly not apologizing for disrupting the other mare’s peace.

Dark felt ears flicked back against her skull at any skepticism that could have been detected in Iris’s voice. She did not detect any, but the wild hope seemed to be disbelief enough. Yes. She stated simply, the cool edge in her voice sharp as glass. I promised you I would. If anything, Adelheid tried to be a mare of her word. Iris forgetting she had said she would help was nearly insulting. So, are you ready? To the north? Do you know anything else about where we might find her? She looked in the direction of Tinuvel, her tail swishing. There were not many on the tundra island that were friendly toward the Peak at this time. She doubted they would be greeted with open arms.