Valve did not follow Bloodmane very closely as they travelled from the Commons. The black mare knew precisely where Salem lay amidst the cluster of islands that she once called home. As she eventually made landfall, her narrow hooves stepped up the beach at a nimble trot, leaving the painted stallion some distance behind her. The saltwater slipped from her slender frame in glittering droplets as she moved inland, her head held high, on the lookout for the stark outline of another soul against the sloping, sandy dunes.

The heat was considerable despite the approaching winter, and Valve’s jet-black coat quickly turned from a dampened slick to a dry shine that gleamed brightly under the high afternoon sun. Her pace quickened as she crested a large dune, pausing momentarily at the top for a good look around. As her dark eyes fell upon the oasis, Valve counted the distant outlines of six others milling about. There was at least one stallion—large and carrying himself with authority. The rest, she assumed female, were hardly noteworthy in their movements. Valve snorted, fairly certain Yusuf was not among them.

The bastard was proving elusive for a blind colt whom she suspected didn’t have the faintest idea that his life was in danger. Perhaps he knew more than she imagined. Surely the whispers of his name would travel back to his own ears in time, and he would at least learn that she was looking for him. What mattered was that he did not find out the true reason why. If he did, their subsequent encounter would be far more dramatic than she hoped.

As Valve resumed her floating stride over the supple sands, she kept alert, expecting the other stallion or perhaps even a particularly nosy mare to notice her impending arrival. It hardly mattered who approached her, as long as they did so with willingness to answer her questions. Stubbornness or coy ignorance would not be met with patience or pleasantries.

VALVE
slenderman x black heart machine