With Magnus on the northern border, Soljor had doubled up on his patrols of the oceanside. The pulled muscles seemed to have healed and he again moved with ease. The thick drifts flew beneath his prancing hooves as he trod the old path. He’d seen those tracks again. Earlier in the week he had come upon the carcass of a seal that had been dragged up from the ocean. But the painted stallion had to keep his focus on his territory and his mares. With all but Mercury now clearly pregnant and a few of them appearing to be near to foaling, he was worried. He had not intended to spend the night in the Crossing those few days ago.

He didn’t mind the return to normal. And Stardust seemed temporarily satisfied with the excursion, so he was free to roam alone. His dark eyes spotted the black form and his head picked up a bit. He detected the sweet musk of a female and his ears tilted forward. He offered a call to the stranger and approached with ease.

“Hello there,” Soljor said once he had come closer to the arabian. She was heavily pregnant. “I’m Soljor, Lord of the Bay.” Now that he thought about it he had smelled her around. She hadn’t made her presence known before though. “I have smelled you about and sorry to not have made your acquaintance yet.” He was a bit suspicious, but he was far more trusting of a mare than a stallion.

“What brings you to the Bay this time of year?” And so pregnant. It might have been a dangerous swim.