Kohelet brushed past Fell with a touch that sent shivers across his body. She looked over the little secluded waterfall with wonder, and Fell’s amber eyes watched her face as she took in the sight of the leaf-choked little place. She stretched to inspect a moss-covered stone, and Fell cocked his dark head in surprise when she actually nibbled a bit of it. There was moss in Paradise, but there were also a million other things to eat, most of them far tastier. He had of course tried eating plenty of things he shouldn’t have, including a bit of moss, but that had been during the wet season of Atlantis and the stuff had mostly just tasted like a pond. Fell suspected the hardier lichen of Tinuvel would be a very different story.

He didn’t really have to wonder, as it turned out. Kohelet went on to explain the dare between her and her sister, and Fell laughed silently, the action little more than a smile and crinkle of his eyes. He sidled in next to Kohelet, pressing close despite the small space allowing for the two of them to maneuver with relative freedom, so long as they minded the stones. He dipped down and plucked a flake of the dried stuff of its rock, chewing it uncertainly. His nose wrinkled in distaste, but she was right — it wasn’t that bad. It made him want to sneeze, though.

He picked his way back over the stones to the edge of the clearing where Kohelet had returned. He moved slower than she did, unfamiliar still with the mountain terrain, although at this point he had crawled a good distance up and down the steep trails of the Bay’s part of the range.

“Did it snow where you are from?” she asked, and Fell shook his head vigorously without hesitation. He reached for the sliver of stream that trickled away from the waterfall, and sucked in a mouthful of water. Pressing his lips tightly together and tilting his head up, he forced the water to spray up and out over the ground. Rain, he thought, and wanted to tell her. It rained, all the time.

FELL

stallion. 16hh. black. marwari x. Rougaru x visurix.