Wendy was missing.

Dreadbite had scoured the beach and the jungle alike but had come up empty in her pursuit of finding the gold and white painted mare. It rubbed Dreadbite the wrong way to assume that the other mare had just slipped away from their paradise one night but then she felt guilty when she considered the alternatives; death and theft. While she was keen to find an answer, there was only so much time she could dedicate to looking for evidence before she had to admit defeat. She wondered if Vaaco had hit the same stumbling block or if he even cared (or if he had sent her away himself!). Perhaps she would ask him next time she saw him.

For the most part, Dreadbite had not seen much of her sooty captor. Often, when he disappeared in the ocean surf with the crossing in his sights, she had disappeared in the opposite direction. She had grown bolder with every day that passed, daring to explore the deeper depth of their jungle a little further each time. There were days when she feared she’d become lost and not make it back to the main meeting point before dark but so far she had always managed to retrace her steps. She wondered if Wendy had not been so clever – wandered too far with no idea how to return.

As the heat began to increase a little and more rain began to fall (odd she thought, in comparison to her childhood home), she started to stick closer to where Vaaco would bide when he was around. She had been feeling off lately – restless yet with an urge to be clingy. She’d resisted this urge so far, her mind divided. Sometimes she wanted to be as close to Vaaco as possible but at the same time she was certain she’d want to send her teeth or hooves his way if he even glanced at her. It was irritating it beyond belief.

As the heat of the afternoon began to soar, the bi-coloured mare sought out a pool of fresh water under the heavy shade of some palm trees. Even protected from sun’s glare, the water was barely cool and Dreadbite huffed softly in annoyance before dipping her head down to drink. ”Bloody heat” she muttered to herself, cursing the temperature when it felt like her blood was already running too hot.