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Wind lashed salt spray at Visurix, stinging her eyes and nostrils as she swam. She squinted through the hazy pre-dawn air. The weather was temperamental, but at least it was warmer here. Not the same heat as her home land, she realized as the thick green mass of the island materialized in front of her. No, this was a damp heat; heavy, suffocating, but luxurious for plant life. Visurix was not used to abundance, and at first, the sight of the vibrant green frightened her as it loomed out of the foggy air. In the dry lands, you could always see your enemies coming - there was nowhere to hide, nothing to distract the eye from movement. You could also keep your loved ones in sight for the same reasons. The open sky was comforting, freeing.

This... well, this was a beast. The jungle held many threats, and many places for them to hide. It was overwhelming, but Visurix could not swim back now.

She was pregnant near to bursting, and exhausted. The palm trees towered above her menacingly as her hooves sank into the sand, and she eyed them nervously, pausing in the waves. In the milky light, it was easy to mistake them for great looming monsters, and her curled ears flicked uncertainly back. There was no way this place could be safe. No way she could bring a child into the world here, and protect it.

She took a tentative step back, feeling the persuasive pull of the tide on her inky legs. Visurix nearly turned back the way she had come when she realized, beneath the heavy scent of the ocean, was the musky scent of stallions.

Visurix smelled mares, as well, but it was the stallions that threw her off. She knew it might be dangerous to continue inland, but if a herd lived here, it might not be as bad as she had originally assumed. She had yet to meet a stallion she considered worthy of her time (at least, that’s what she told herself - the reality was that she was very shy, and generally mistrustful of men, but she was loathe to admit such a fact to one) but desperate times called for desperate measures. She was not so close to labor that she was in danger of becoming stranded this very day, but that deadline was not far off, and as a first-time mother Visurix did not want to push her luck.

Taking a deep breath, the black Marwari stepped forward again, shedding the water from her shining coat as she went. She cast her gaze downward as she passed beneath the closest palm trees, but as the sun rose, they became a little less frightening. Before her, the jungle opened up like a mouth, a vision of which the pregnant mare was not overly fond. Still, she pushed away her fear and pressed on, following the dominating scent trail of stallion.

She did not have to go far. Visurix could not see him, but among the general sounds of the jungle, she heard the heavy footfalls of whom she assumed to be the dominant male. Before she continued further, the black mare let out a quiet whinny, trying to keep her nervous voice from wavering.

“Excuse me,” she said, as solidly as she could. “I’m sorry to intrude, but... where am I? Is this place safe?”

Visurix