It was all too damn much.

Briar couldn't remember the time she'd interacted with so many others all at once. Her life had become so isolated: she was familiar now with the quiet hours of twilight, the thin slant of golden light sifting through the forest, the soft puff of her own breath. Her knowledge of interacting with others had withered away like plants in winter, and simply making her way to Tinuvel had been an effort, let alone stepping within the Inlet's borders. It was a chore to stand there, in snow so familiar to her it hurt, and try to focus on the new souls in front of her while the ghosts of the past accosted her from all sides. The mare - Winter, she called herself - softened her disposition, but all Briar saw was the tree some distance over her shoulder where Ivan would stand and ask her about the sun, the stars, the sea. A stallion came to them, his dark eyes sending her irritated glances, but her mind's eye saw only Koschei's pale form.

The whole situation overwhelmed her. Briar retreated into the confines of her own mind, and from that standpoint wondered why she thought any of this would be a good idea. She shouldn't have approached the colt, though his distress pulled so hard at her heartstrings. She shouldn't have come to the Inlet at all. When she looked upon the ocean, way back in the Falls, she should have swallowed the longing she felt and turned away. It would have been so much better than this. The colt seemed to understand, but the adults amongst them looked at her like she was crazy.

Perhaps she was.

Her breath came to her in short pants, and she looked from the stallion to the reddish mare to the injured boy she'd sworn to protect. Briar wanted to stay, to keep the intruders from hurting him. They didn't know how to care for him like she could, but she had no idea how to make them leave. The frustration she felt overpowered her. "I..." She swallowed, staring down at the ground. When she spoke next, her voice was as small and quiet as a snowflake.

"I can't."

Briar took one last look at the bloodied colt, reaching out to him with her muzzle. Her blue eyes found his, so sad, so sorry, and in the next moment the small mare had vaulted herself out and away from the group.