Nyimara is not left to her own thoughts for long.

Small cupped ears perk forward amid the tangle of silver white mane as the mahogany woman turns her finely dished face towards the jungle blanketed in shadows. The chirp and twitter of birds and insects alike silence themselves as the thud of hoofbeats intensifies. For the briefest of moments, Nyimara sees her sire. She sees him in the large bulking figure that manifests himself from the darkness. Paper thin nostrils flare as the sudden excitement causes her slender limbs to dance beneath her. Eagerly, she starts towards him, suddenly needing to press her shoulder against his powerful chest and rest her weary chin against the strong curve of his back. She may have long left her years of childhood in the past, but that did not mean that from time to time, a girl simply needed her father.

And yet as the haze clears from her mind and the figure steps into the sunlight, realization washes over her like the shock of icy waters from a mountain stream. Hooves dig into the earth as her dished facade is tossed upward and lips curling back to flash her teeth in warning. The figure who stares at her with clear irritation is definitely not Rougaru. His charcoal ears lift amid the knotted tendrils of his mane.

Now it is her turn to be irritated. Small ears swivel backwards and forward as her emotions rise and fall like the tides. Anger, confusion, surprise and irritation dance in her dark eyes as she meets his stare with one of her own. Long, silver white tail flicks slowly back and forth against her heels as understanding begins to sink in. The only reason this stallion would be approaching her now was simple; Rougaru was truly gone.

He speaks, his gruff tones breaking through the silence that had built up between them. Surrounded by paradise? A coy smile tugs the corners of her ashen lips up as the tension begins to ease from her muscles. So far he represented no threat. Long neck arches as the russet woman glances around them. The once closely cropped grasses of the glade have grown long and lush without the constant mouths full of blunt teeth to keep them cut short. The once clear paths trampled down by meandering hooves that she remembered so clearly have all but disappeared. No face, familiar or likewise peeks out at her from the shadowy trees and gnarled vines. ”Can it be called a paradise without anyone to share it with?” she asks, her barbed tongue curved by what cool collectiveness she can manage to muster.

She turns back to him now, letting her dark gaze travel over the muscular curves and contours of his dappled gray form. He was larger than Rougaru, not by much but still noticeable to her detailed stare. The muscles beneath his stormy coat rippled with each subtle shift of his weight. His face is handsome in that there are no noteworthy scars to mar it and despite herself she feels the heat of fall beginning to boil in her blood. In any other situation, she might have found it difficult not to taunt him with the feminine curve of her hips or the tingling touch of her lips as they explored his body in finer detail. But that was not why she was here.

”Where is Rougaru?” she asks, taking another bold step towards him. ”Last time I was here… this place was nearly overrun by children and mares…” she continues, her words trailing off as she tilts her head towards him, the long tangle of her forelock veiling her dark eyes. ”What happened to them?”