Spring had acquiesced to winter, and Marceline had begun to feel anxious as the days ticked by. She was due to give birth any day now, and the foal inside her certainly seemed to know it. It was lively and eager to be part of the world, often expressing its zeal by gouging its sharp, tiny hooves against her insides. Each time she prayed harder to a deity she didn't believe in that the damned thing would just come out already. And while she wasn't looking forward to the pain of birth, she was confident this time would be easier than the last. Experience made for ease when it came to childbirth, mother had always said.
In order to take her mind off her impending labor, Marceline made a voyage to the Crossing. Perhaps there was a chance she'd find someone of interest to distract her from the emptiness of the Hills, or how terrified she was of this thing inside her bringing her to an untimely end. The day was early when she pulled herself from the sea, settling at the edge of the field and grazing to pass the time. As the sun crept higher into the sky the appaloosa began to lose hope that today would be eventful in any significant way.
Until a nearby call caught her attention. Marceline turned her gaze towards the source and laid eyes on a similarly spotted mare, standing out like a sore thumb against the lush emerald grasses of the Meadow. She must either be very brave or very naive, the queen thought to herself with a shake of her head. Head held proudly and posture radiating confidence fitting of a queen, Marceline walked towards the other appaloosa, reciprocating her call with a friendly whinny of her own. When at last she stopped, she was standing only a few yards away.
"You should be careful putting yourself out there so brazenly. There are some unsavory types around here that wouldn't hesitate to cage you like a little bird." She said by way of greeting. Of course she was mainly referring to the Lagoon boys; though she'd had little interaction with them herself, the never-ending wellspring of gossip that fed the islands told her enough. Enough, in fact, that she'd made it a priority to avoid them altogether. Best to save the trouble by never getting involved in the first place, right?
But they weren't the only threat lurking, equine or otherwise. Marceline herself wasn't anything to bat an eye at, a sharp and cunning snake that curled in the shadows and waited for unsuspecting prey to come to her. But this mare wasn't prey. She was something better. If luck was kind, she would be but one thread on the loom of Salem's future. Marceline had plans, after all, and a solid populous was the root of it all.
Marceline eyed the ash-colored mare and then gave a small nod of her head, as if approving something silently to herself. Honeyed gaze caught the stranger's again, a sweetened smile curving her freckled lips. "Luckily I'm not one of them. Tell me your name, mademoiselle?"
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