Falls

Vihar prayed her mother was too busy being pregnant to realize her first daughter was gone. It wasn’t that she was resentful of another sibling with whom to share Nadja’s attention; in fact, it was quite the opposite, but Vi simply could not wait until the arrival of her new family member to take advantage of the valuable distractions his existence brought. Even still in the womb, the new foal captivated a significant amount of Nadja’s energy and attention, and Vihar used this lapse to escape. It wasn’t the first time, either, and usually she did not get caught. It also helped that she was socializing with her siblings in the Cove, which bought her more time while Nadja assumed she was off with Nicaule or Domino or Sevket.

Still, leaving the island altogether was bold, especially in the depths of winter. Vihar shivered mightily as she made her escape, but the deliciousness of freedom was entirely worth the discomfort of the bitter water. It was easy to forget that she was very young, what with how alive the cold water made her feel, but she was eventually reminded by the exhaustion that crept in as she got closer to the Crossing. As an adult, she might have been rightfully afraid of growing too tired to continue, but Vihar was a filly and incredibly naive. She thought she was invincible, and reaching the shore with little more than a yawn to show for the price she had paid to swim only reinforced this idea. Vihar strutted boldly (if a little numbly) away from the beach and into the shelter of the Crossing’s trees.

“Hellooo!” she called, trotting loftily in no particular direction. She had no concept of danger from another horse, and despite her mother’s persistent sheltering, Vihar had no regard for predators, either. The Cove was full of friendly faces and zero scary ones, equine or otherwise; how was she to know that the entire world was not the same as her home?

In the distance, Vihar began to hear the rushing of water, a familiar sound to the frothing river in her home. Her too-big ears perked forward in excitement (the river was always a good place to play) and lanky, stockinged legs carried her toward the sound at a bumpy little canter. She gave a delighted squeal when she saw the Falls, and would have rushed immediately into them if not for the golden shape beating her to it. Vihar watched for a moment, curious but unafraid, as the horse submerged themself into the likely frigid water. The coloration was familiar, as most of the mares in the Cove shared similar golden coats and white hair, but something was different. This only heightened Vihar’s curiosity, and she let out a high-pitched whinny before dashing to the edge of the pool beneath the Falls and plunging her front legs in.

“Oh!” she gasped, shocked that the water was even colder than the sea had been. “That’s freezing!” She looked to the golden stallion in awe, not a hint of reserve or distrust in her wide eyes. “Hey! Isn’t that too cold? How are you all the way in like that?”

vihar

filly // newborn // EE aa Dd nCh RnT // 14.3hh wfg