M A G N U S
COLD winds tore around the bay, pushing and prodding at Magnus’ thick winter coat to little avail. It was colder than he had expected and certainly colder than he remembered when he’d accidentally stumbled in (before his appointment of second). Surprising, he did not mind it as much as he thought he would though and it was miles better than last winter. Sure, it seemed colder but at least this time he had company.

THE fight for the bay had been short lived and the spotted boy felt a little guilty that he hadn’t reached the fray a little quicker. If he had, the challenger might have been scared off without having to injure Soljor first. It was not hard to spot the stiffness in the tobiano’s gait while Magnus, on the other hand, had escapes unscathed.

MAGNUS was finishing his patrol of the borders when he heard Soljor’s call and he briskly trotted to cover the distance between himself and the rest of the horses of the bay. He had caught Elexzra’s scent on the wind earlier in the day but despite his best efforts, he hadn’t located the dark woman. Perhaps she was deliberately keeping to herself until she decided she needed his help. Regardless, he would make another effort after answering Soljor’s call; who knows, maybe she would be curious and he could kill two birds with one stone.

WHEN he breaks through the trees, he finds Soljor and a mare he hadn’t seen much of but knew by scent (and not name). ”I saw that cat’s tracks again” he informed Soljor, ”Seems to be headed up the mountain again”. He hoped it would stay there. Olaf had told him about the cat that had killed Magnus’ grandmother and almost killed his aunt. He seen them on the mainland too, different to the ones here but the way they killed was the same. He didn’t like the thought of one being close by even if it was unlikely to attack a group.

ONLY THE STRONG WILL SURVIVE