’The world is wild and full of wonder….’ the gentle voice that had once whispered that to her bright and curious eyes had clearly never visited the Lagoon before. Paper thin nostrils quiver as she listens to the various birds crying the indignation at the disturbances. Some, like the seagull and gray catbirds, are familiar to her. Others, well others she has never heard before. The painted dunskin stallion leading the way offers her little reassurance aside from calm indifference. He does not flinch at the strange calls of the Lagoon as she does and despite the prickle of nervousness, she remains still. It could not be nearly as bad as she imagined, right? There were no ghosts or monsters here. At least none that she could see.

That was before the creature appeared.

Small, cupped ears twitch at the sounds of destruction approaching. White rims her dark auburn eyes as the unfamiliar clamor grows louder. Alarmed, she lifts her small head, glancing towards the stallion for answers and yet even he seems unnerved by the growing noise. When finally the creature bursts from the dense sawgrass It lunges into the calm waters to shower them all in droplets of salt water. Rivka startles. In one fluid motion, she pivots to the other side of the large stallion, trotting purposefully to his other side. ”Monsters!” she squeals, the intake of her breath leaving her gasping for air to fill her lungs. Her heart hammered audibly within her breast.

’Peyote!’ the stallion snarls and snakes his neck forward to lip the taller creature of brown mire. ”Peyote?” she repeats, more to herself than to the stallion beside her. Dark lashes blink away the fear and for the first time she manages to register what has happened. Mud. Not a mud monster or creature drummed up by her imagination but a mud covered colt. Relief floods her and Rivka lets a loud sigh escape her nostrils as she watches the colt squeal and dance just out of the stallion’s reach. Un-alarmed by their presence, the canine continues to yip and nip at the colt’s heels as though this was normal and not completely and totally insane.

Insane was a great way to put things. Insane. The lagoon was filled with insanity. A nervous chuckle rumbles from her breast as the small black and white mare gives her arched neck a shake, sending a spray of salt water from her coat. She glances back at the boy, able to discern more of him now that the water had left splotches of mudless hide visible. ”I take it you know it.... eh... him? Them?” she asks, her flickering ears belying the calm tenor of her voice. She is at least attempting to draw up some form of conversation if only to make herself feel better about the whole situation.