Spring. It was spring. Two more seasons and Hickere would have lived on Luthien for an entire year. How strange and wonderful a thought that was and, as it occurred to her, a smile came to rest on her dark grey mouth. Spring in the forest was astonishingly beautiful. The snow had melted away and her eyes, having been used to the bleakness of a grey sky and white wonderland now were filled with explosions of rich greens, deep, dark browns, and a bright, pretty blue sky. From time to time thick, lazy white clouds drifted through and when Hickere was not busy she tilted her chin upwards and let her eyes trace their path.
That was what she was doing now – the last mouthful she’d taken of sweet spring grass having been chewed and swallowed down, Hickere’s eyes traced a thick cloud as it curled and drifted along through the sky. Her mother had once taught her of a game when she was a filly, a game where you’d look up at the clouds and try to guess what shape they were making. Hickere’s heart pained suddenly to think of her mother and her head dropped swiftly from the sky, swallowing and taking a sharp inhale of breath as if to soothe the ache. Hickere had done well to not think of her mother since her unfortunate death and she felt that if she just kept repeating she was fine, that it was a way of life, she would be.
Thankfully a distraction seemed to come right at the perfect moment. A flash of red and white caught her eye, the pattern too different to be Georgiana and her build too different as well. Ears forward, Hickere rumbled out a whinny to whoever the stranger was and then took off after her, dark tail flagged out at her haunches as she picked up her pace in order to catch up to the stranger.
What she found was a mare – young like Hickere was – and wondered for a moment if Lyden or Braylen had brought another mare into the herd. She hadn’t known if either of them had gone off to Crossing lately and Hickere normally tried to keep herself in the loop of things… “Hello?” She said, and wondered if maybe the mare instead belonged to Valentine in the Prairie and was simply visiting… “I’m Hickere,” a smile shortly followed, “are you… new here?” Confusion blanketed her tone, her gaze curiously searching the face of the pretty young mare.
|
