Stardust left the Bay in the early morning. It was a simple thing to slip out just after her father had crossed the beach. Soljor had been a bit slower lately, like he was sore. She’d noticed it, but decided that she wouldn’t go too far into pestering him. She instead moved to make her little escapede from the land of cold. Her father had mentioned the island of Atlantis, that it didn’t snow there. She couldn’t help but be curious.
The water was strikingly cold as she entered and swam. She pushed farther and father and soon enough the cold, white shore of Tinuvel was far behind. The dark green of Atlantis appeared before her. Long, golden beaches and even the water seemed to get warmer as she got closer. It wasn’t long before she finally found dirt under her hooves and up she clamored onto the beach. The painted filly stood there and shook, but the biting cold she expected didn’t come. As she trotted up the beach, she found several downed wooden creations. She stopped at one and poked it with her feathered hoof. It was a strange thing.
Sokka had been feeling pretty miserable lately. First his mother had disappeared one night in a storm. He should have begged her to stay closer but he’d been trying to be a “big boy.” Then his father had told him to stay put and had gone off. Sure, Xina took care of things, but Sokka still was upset. There was a new stallion here now. He’d been given permission to stay for as long as necessary, and the chestnut boy was going to stay put. At least for now. But as he trotted along the shorelines, his habit of late, he spotted something quite different. There was a new horse, but it was small and had huge patches of black and white all over.
He trotted forward, ears ahead. It didn’t take long before he realized that this was a filly that had wandered up on the beach. He’d never seen a horse like her. Her nose went up and not quite straight. She had those strange patches of color and there was a mane on her hooves. It was weird and Sokka was curious. He offered a nicker to her as she was examining a downed palm tree which clearly startled her. She jumped up and spun around.
She also hadn’t seen a horse like Sokka. He was thin and gangly, his coat sleek with a shine. She was curious, as ever. After her initial fright, she smiled and trotted forward to meet him. She extended her nose to exchange breaths and Sokka did the same.
“Hi!” she said. “I’m Stardust. I come from the Bay. Is this Atlantis?” She looked around. She didn’t think there was much else that it could be. She shook her black mane.
“Nahce ta mee’ ya!” Sokka said. “Ah’m Sockuh! An’ ya, yer on Al’anis! Where’s da Bay?” He cocked his head. She was really fuzzy. That was quite different.
“You talk funny,” Stardust commented, her mind working over the strange syllables.
“Mabeh yer da one who talks funneh!” Sokka snorted. He pawed the sand with one hoof.
“The Bay is on Tinuvel,” Stardust said finally. “You can see it if you look hard enough.”
STARDUST & SOKKA
filly || black tobiano || ten months || the Bay & colt || chestnut || nine months || the Paradise |