The humid late-summer air is stirred by a chilly breeze off the sea. Mercury stands on a jut of stony land that curls around the pocket of seawater that is the heart of the Lagoon. Snapdragon is close by, but out of sight for the moment. It’s late evening, so she might be asleep, or she may have snuck off to do her own thing. Mercury doesn’t stop her from sneaking off, but she does usually follow stealthily behind to make sure no harm comes to the painted girl. She knows restricting the filly will only encourage sneaky rule-breaking, and Mercury would much rather blatant, un-stealthy rule breaking, at least while she’s young. Much easier to keep her safe this way.

The buckskin mare sighs into the cool night breeze. It carries faint scents of far away places that Mercury can’t name; she’s only ever been to the Ridge and the Crossing. Her nostrils flutter as she tries to pick out the different notes of the other islands, but she can’t identify anything other than brine and the ever-present scent of Lagoon. Her ears flick with something akin to frustration. She’s fidgety here without Vadim, and she wishes she had even an inkling of where he might have gone. She doesn’t think he would have just disappeared on his own; something must have happened. That’s what you want to believe, she tells herself with no small note of bitterness. You never really know anyone.