For the longest time, a scent had lingered in the far recesses of the forest but so far the owner of that scent had eluded the smoky black stallion. Through his daughter, he was aware of the colt that resided within the forest borders and was aware of a blue mare that often accompanied the colt but neither had crossed his path in their time on Luthien. Olaf sometimes wondered if Jörmungandr had warned the pair to stay away, that he would be a danger to a colt that was not his. It was an unfounded fear if that was truly what she though; only colts from his own mares that were not his would be chased out.

As the skull-marked stallion made his usual patrol, checking for signs of intruders or predators, an unfamiliar call was carried to him on the icy winds. Breaking from the well beaten path, Olaf moved briskly toward the direction of the call. As he drew closer, the familiar scent of the unknown mare became obvious, though there was no traces of the child yet – had something happened to him?

Emerging from the trees, Olaf slowed as he neared her, offering his muzzle in greeting briefly before his ears flicked back and he surged forward down her side, turning sharply to herd her toward the rest of the herd that waited near the forest border (where Xina had moved them last season).