Kiraz was not built for the cold, but she was almost used to it. The slight red mare had almost no winter coat to speak of, but both of her sons fluffed up quite a bit in the colder months, and both seemed happy to snuggle up and keep their mother warm. This season, Vanir had gone off on his own adventures, and Kiraz was left with just Ender to keep her company. She couldn’t blame her eldest son for seeking out some freedom. He was almost two years old, and having grown up in the Lagoon, he was probably ready for a change from the constant company of other men.

Of the two, Vanir took after his mother, and Ender took after his father. The yearling dunalino colt was quiet and calculative, and would have followed Tyr’s every footstep if he could. When he heard of their upcoming adventure to Atlantis, he had been thrilled to go. Kiraz herself was interested, but unsure about it - she had no left the Lagoon since coming to the islands, and though she had become comfortable within its borders, she still shied away from anything outside.

But she had Tyr, and the promise of a warm climate, and that was enough to convince her to go, albeit reluctantly.

In the early morning hours, before the chill of the night had lifted, Ender lead her down to the water’s edge. She had a vague idea of where they were going, but the colt seemed to be confident, because he plunged right into the cold waves. Kiraz swore and cast about, halting at the water’s edge. She knew another mare whom she had not met, Kvothe, was supposed to come as well, but she could not see anything but vague shapes within the trees at the edge of the Lagoon.

“Shit,” the red mare hissed. She had wanted to leave together, but Ender’s pale golden head was bobbing away on the waves. Frustration overcame her at her son’s recklessness, which made it easier for Kiraz to summon her courage and push into the waves behind him. She called out to him, her voice edged with anger, but the colt did not seem to care, so excited was he to go on an adventure. The water might not have reached true winter temperatures yet, but for Kiraz, it was frigid, and it made it difficult for her to pull air into her lungs. With some time, she began to warm up, and eventually she did catch up to Ender.

Either the colt actually did know exactly where they were going, or he made an extremely lucky guess, because they ended up on the white sands of Atlantis without much trouble. Kiraz at this point new exactly what to expect, and she pounced on Ender before he could streak into the trees and get himself good and lost.

“Stay put,” she told him sternly. “We’re going to wait until the others get here before we go any further.” Though he pouted, he did indeed stay put, and soon began to busy himself with shells on the beach under Kiraz’s watchful eye.

Kiraz

mare // 6 // ee aa // 15hh